"They don't allow you to go any further unless you can do this bomb suit training, because it puts such a mental strain on your spirit. It dumbs you down about 25 to 30 IQ points. You start to hallucinate in the heat inside the suit after 20-30 minutes. So you try not to stay in it too dang long. So the preparation for that - it's either you have it, or you do not"
About this Quote
The choice of language is telling. “Dumbs you down 25 to 30 IQ points” is half-joke, half-warning, translating an extreme physiological stress response into a metric everyday people recognize. IQ is a cultural shorthand for competence; watching it “drop” implies not just discomfort but the stripping away of the self-image we rely on. The hallucinations detail lands like a hard reset on action-movie fantasies: the enemy isn’t only the bomb, it’s heat, oxygen, time, and your own brain turning unreliable.
Then comes the pivot: “it’s either you have it, or you do not.” It’s the oldest tough-guy phrase in the book, but in context it reads less like macho posturing and more like respect for a specific kind of preparedness. Not talent, not bravado - tolerance. Renner is hinting at a cultural divide between performed bravery (on screen, in press junkets) and the unglamorous mental endurance real bomb techs are forced to cultivate. The subtext is humility: the suit decides who you are long before you do.
Quote Details
| Topic | Resilience |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Renner, Jeremy. (2026, January 15). They don't allow you to go any further unless you can do this bomb suit training, because it puts such a mental strain on your spirit. It dumbs you down about 25 to 30 IQ points. You start to hallucinate in the heat inside the suit after 20-30 minutes. So you try not to stay in it too dang long. So the preparation for that - it's either you have it, or you do not. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/they-dont-allow-you-to-go-any-further-unless-you-160317/
Chicago Style
Renner, Jeremy. "They don't allow you to go any further unless you can do this bomb suit training, because it puts such a mental strain on your spirit. It dumbs you down about 25 to 30 IQ points. You start to hallucinate in the heat inside the suit after 20-30 minutes. So you try not to stay in it too dang long. So the preparation for that - it's either you have it, or you do not." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/they-dont-allow-you-to-go-any-further-unless-you-160317/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"They don't allow you to go any further unless you can do this bomb suit training, because it puts such a mental strain on your spirit. It dumbs you down about 25 to 30 IQ points. You start to hallucinate in the heat inside the suit after 20-30 minutes. So you try not to stay in it too dang long. So the preparation for that - it's either you have it, or you do not." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/they-dont-allow-you-to-go-any-further-unless-you-160317/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.
