The Jackass squad might make great comedy movies, but sometimes they suffer the consequences. In making Jackass Forever, leader Johnny Knoxville had a rather vicious encounter with a bull.
In an interview with Variety, Knoxville explains that a stunt involving the animal is what put a fine point on it being time for him to retire. “I was trying to do a magic trick in a bull ring. I wanted to prank an animal, and that’s what we came up with,” he says. You can see parts of it in the Jackass Forever trailers, as Knoxville, ever the daredevil, steps into the bullring completely unprotected.
The damage led to some concern over his wellbeing, and he took a hammering. “I got a broken wrist, broken rib, concussion and brain hemorrhage,” Knoxville recalls, pointing out there was concern when he couldn’t name the current US president. He points out that his wife doesn’t particularly like him putting his life on the line, and the incident was something that made him feel his age and understand that his time as a full-time Jackass was done.
Some “big” ideas were shelved afterward, because the risk was too high. As Knoxville says, he, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Dave England, none of them have given plenty already. “I’ve done enough. I don’t have anything to prove. I have kids to raise. That’s the most important thing,” he states.
Jackass Forever was the sequel to 2010’s Jackass 3D. We say sequel as if there’s some story – it’s the same gaggle that have been involved with the TV series since day one, doing more daft stunts. Eric André and Machine Gun Kelly among the celebrities and performances roped in for the chaos. Jeff Tremaine returned to direct.