Behind the Scenes with Johnny Knoxville

Vice: It’s been four years since Jackass 2. Were you guys always going to do a number three, or was it up in the air for a while?

Johnny Knoxville:

After a Jackass movie finishes shooting, you must be feeling pretty destroyed. It probably takes a long time to recover.

Just ready to go.

really

It’s interesting you brought up Buster Keaton because I was going to ask you if you ever think about the place of Jackass in the history of comedy. I think of it as having roots that go all the way back to vaudeville.

Jackass

That’s awesome, to think of cartoons as inspirations for real-life stunts.

Jackass 2

A classic.

Jackass 3

Right, the huge hand full of powder that slams into Bam.

And it is. It really is.

laughs

What’s the creative process like when you’re coming up with stunts for a new movie? Do a few of you sit down and talk, or do you shoot around emails or phone calls?

Jackass

Oh yeah, the guy who paints his whole body to match his larger work.

Jackass

And I’m looking at this photo of you right now as, like, a half-rainbow, half-tree man. I was wondering where you’re standing in it, because your feet are in the mud. So you’re in a bullring?

What’s going through your mind at a time like that? I don’t suppose you’re worried about camera placement or anything like that anymore.

Jackass

I’m

Right.

I always liked how when you guys do something like this, you bring in experts for that sense of authenticity.

That seems smart. And by negative vibes you mean someone acting kind of squirrelly or pissy or freaked out?

Right, a bouncy castle. Jesus.

It was probably an Indian burial ground at some point too.

OK, now I’m looking at the photo of you with a huge bowl of dildos.

Yeah, it’s what I’d call a shit-eating grin.

Jackass

laughs

We have the action shot too, with Spike behind the camera.

I was going to say, you could chip a tooth on one of those things.

What about this photo that looks like it’s a post-football tackle?

Oh, right! Of course.

big

laughs

So did he go easy the first couple of times? Or did he just lay into you from the start?

really

Holy shit. That’s great.

When a guy like that hits you, is it like when you get in a car wreck, where you don’t remember the actual impact? Or are you pretty much aware the whole time?

I have a photo here now of Steve-O holding a trumpet, wearing a band-major kind of uniform, getting hit in the balls by a ram…

Is it hard to get an animal wrangler who knows how to get a ram to come at you like that?

Now this next picture, I don’t know what’s going on in it but it looks like it could be really bad. It’s Steve-O, and it looks like he’s about to drink something kind of disgusting.

Jackass

That’s funny as hell.

The final photo here looks like it’s making fun of those old Maxell ads from the 80s, where the guy is getting his hair blown back by his stereo.

Do you go on the shoots even when it’s not you in the stunts?

Have you curtailed your partying since back in the early days?