What It'll Take To Get Jackass Star Steve-O To Stop Doing Stupid Stunts [Exclusive]
Hi, I'm (not) Johnny Knoxville, and welcome to (an article about) "Jackass"!
Somehow, over 20 years after the boundary-pushing reality stunt comedy series that launched Knoxville's career debuted on that dusty relic known as MTV, "Jackass" is still going. And not just the franchise; Knoxville and much of his original crew have continued to actively throw themselves into harm's way to entertain the masses (save for the late Ryan Dunn and Bam Margera, due to his messy situation). In fact, "Jackass Forever" emerged as one of the saviors of the 2022 box office, keeping the art of the R-rated guffawfest alive in typical topsy-turvy "Jackass" fashion. It's not just creaky Gen-Xers and Millennials like myself; even today's youths agree, the dudes rock.
With Knoxville and his boys now in their 40s and 50s, though, it begs the question: Exactly how much longer can they keep poking death and severe physical injury in the eye, and walk away laughing? At this stage, the "Jackass" crew seems to have given up on trying to put an expiration date on their daredevilry, although they know it's coming up sooner than later. In the case of Stephen Gilchrist "Steve-O" Glover, he sees his new stand-up special, "Steve-O's Bucket List," as a harbinger of what awaits him professionally. Not that this bothers him; even Elton John stopped trying to one-up his sequined Dodgers uniforms and feather coats eventually, as Steve-O adroitly reasoned during his recent interview with /Film's Jeremy Smith to discuss his latest project.
'I think I'll always be an attention whore'
Is "Jackass Forever" the end of an era? Like Knoxville, Steve-O (fortunately) isn't concussed enough just yet to claim he knows for certain. When asked if he foresaw another "Jackass" offering on the horizon, Steve-O replied, "I don't think so," before quickly adding, "But then again, I didn't think there would be a fourth one, so who am I to say?" As he sees things, he's less worried about his body crying "Uncle!" and more about him being unable to outdo his previous antics:
"I was speaking with Caitlyn Jenner, and she said something that was so impactful, I'll never forget it. [It was] like a metaphor for what I'm doing with raising the bar. She said, 'There was a time when Elton John, every outfit he wore had to be more and more elaborate and crazy. It went on for years. He got to a point where he was just like, 'All right, with the outfits. I'm done with it. I'm just going to let my music do the work.” I said to Caitlyn, I said, 'Man, that is such a brilliant thing.' At some point I should just do the stand-up, tell the stories, relate my experience, and do what Elton John did. But that's after my next one."
That's not to imply Steve-O sees himself becoming old and boring maturing. "I think I'll always be an attention whore," he added, describing ventures like "Steve-O's Bucket List" and his podcast "Wild Ride! with Steve-O" as a way of "forging lanes that don't require high impact daredevil stuff." Even most of his YouTube output has "nothing to do with physicality" and will allow him to leave all that behind, he noted. He's certainly earned his shot at a (relatively) peaceful and quiet living.