In a recent interview, Steve-O describes a dangerous stunt that the entire crew of Jackass refused to do. Originally premiering as a television show for MTV in 2000 from the creative team of Jeff Tremaine, Spike Jonze, and Jackass star Johnny Knoxville, the stunt/prank show spawned four main films, multiple spin-off films, multiple TV shows, and a video game. The franchise's latest film, Jackass Forever, reunited the cast after eleven years and contains some of their craziest stunts yet.
Throughout the years, the Jackass franchise showcased its stunt performers subjecting themselves to humiliating and usually extremely painful challenges. Series star and creator Johnny Knoxville is known for some of the show's most dangerous hijinks, including a bull stunt that left him with broken bones and a concussion in the latest film. Stephen "Steve-O" Glover is known for his gross-out stunts, having once agreed to sit in a used porta-potty slingshot for Jackass 3D.
In an interview with Comic Book, Steve-O described a stunt that the entire Jackass crew deemed too dangerous to do. Although the Jackass stunt team has subjected themselves to some of the craziest and most dangerous stunts ever committed to film, there seems to be a line that they just won't cross. Read what Steve-O had to say below:
"I remember a bounce house and the idea was to have like the whole cast in a bounce house and send it down like a Winter Olympics ski jump thing and see how far we can launch ourselves. The problem with that was that it was like a 500 pound generator which kept the bounce house inflated, which would have been trailing behind, and we saw that 500 pound generator flying and doing real damage to us. As well as, you know, all of our heads clinking together was a concern so we opted not to do that. It was the worst idea ever."
Although the stunt performers would most likely have helmets and pads to protect themselves for such a dangerous stunt, that likely would have been insufficient against a 500-pound generator. Steve-O mentioned that some of the other performers had done a similar stunt before using a small hill in Pennsylvania, but not down a large decline like the conceived setup they had for the version in California. Apparently, the bounce house was inflated and ready to go, but when the performers saw it, they immediately balked at the idea. Jackass and Steve-O's Wild Boyz co-star Chris Pontius said, "Yeah, it would have been the end of Jackass."
With the Jackass performers getting up in age, it is unclear if the core crew will reunite for a fifth film. However, fans can look forward to more insane stunts that were previously cut from Jackass Forever in the upcoming Jackass 4.5. Though Knoxville has indicated that he may not return to especially dangerous stunt work after suffering brain damage and broken bones from his bull incident, with recent additions to the cast such as Sean "Poopies" McInerney, Jasper Dolphin, Eric Manaka, and their first female stunt performer, Rachel Wolfson, the Jackass franchise could continue live on.
Source: Comic Book