Few people have attempted some of the wild stunts that Jackass legend Steve-O has participated in. He swallowed a live goldfish and vomited it back out and was launched into the air while in a port-a-potty attached to bungee cords, among other things. Some might assume that the stunt performer and former clown is simply a madman. That couldn’t be further from the truth, as he’s very cerebral when it comes to his and his cohorts’ undertakings. He recently got honest about what it was like watching Johnny Knoxville’s bull stunt, which unfortunately left him with brain damage.
Jackass Forever was the production in which the major moment took place. The scene, which saw Johnny Knoxville enter the ring to match wits with the beast, is considered one of the film’s biggest sequences. However, it proved to be somewhat costly for the star, as he reportedly suffered a concussion, brain hemorrhage, broken wrist and broken rib. Knoxville seems to be doing alright now, but that’s a lot to give of yourself for a movie from a physical standpoint. Steve-O has seen his longtime friend take on a ton of challenges, but it sounds like he was really affected by the sight of his buddy getting taken down by:
This last Jackass movie… it was kind of a bummer, man. It’s not fun to watch Knoxville get hit in the head any more. I wrote this text to the whole cast that day, thanking Knoxville for the sacrifices he’s made for this team, and also begging that he stops with the brain trauma. It was one of my more serious and sincere messages.
It’s very sweet of the 49-year-old star, whose actual name is Stephen Glover, to show such concern, and it’s not all that surprising, either. He’s shown support for his co-stars on a number of occasions, even recently helping fellow series alum Bam Margera, who toured with him. Glover even penned an emotional message to Margera amid his continued struggles with sobriety. One can understand his thoughts on the animal-centric feat as well. He clearly knows that his colleague has put himself through a lot over the years and, as a result, Glover views stunts like that differently at this point.
Steve-O’s also been looking over his own material and seems to have mixed feelings about that as well. Later in his interview with NME, he singled out one particular moment from the 2022 movie, and it involves Machine Gun Kelly. He and MGK got knocked into a swimming pool by a giant hand while riding bikes. While that may sound entertaining on paper and may even look extreme, the Barely Lethal alum wasn’t all that impressed:
I love Machine Gun Kelly; I just wish the actual stunt we had him participate in had been at a higher level.
These days, the entertainer has found different professional avenues through which he can express himself. He’s landed an acting gig or two and appeared as himself during a few media campaigns. He even wrote a book, A Hard Kick in the Nuts: What I've Learned from a Lifetime of Terrible Decisions. He’s also currently on the U.K. leg of what he’s dubbed The Bucket List Tour, which sees him host screenings of filmed stunts that were apparently too spicy for even Jackass. Meanwhile, Johnny Knoxville continues to act and hold down other media gigs. Whether Steve-O and Knoxville continue to look at their stunts differently over time remains to be seen. Though what can certainly be said is that fans certainly don’t want to see either of them get brain damage or any other additional injuries at this point.
Jackass Forever, previous installments in the film series and the MTV show that spawned them all are streamable for anyone with a Paramount+ subscription.
