Donkey star Steve-O reflects on the success of the 2022 film Fooled forever and if it was really worth it.
The stuntman, who is known for performing death-defying hijinks in the popular film and TV franchise, recently told NME that he considers the film’s fourth installment to be “kind of a disappointment.”
“It’s not fun watching Knoxville get hit in the head anymore,” he explained, referencing a scene in which Johnny Knoxville was charged by a bull and then suffered brain damage. “I wrote this text to the entire cast that day, thanking Knoxville for the sacrifices he made for this team, and also pleading that he stop with the traumatic brain injury. It was one of my most serious and sincere messages.”
Michael Schwartz/Getty; Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic “Jackass Forever” features Steve-O and Johnny Knoxville
Steve-O also noted that he wasn’t particularly impressed with his own stunts, including a scene in which he and his friend Machine Gun Kelly were slapped in a swimming pool by a giant foam hand while doing stationary bike.
“I love Machine Gun Kelly,” he said. “I just wish the stunt we got him involved in was on the next level.”
Although he may not have lived up to Steve-O’s standards, Fooled forever was still a commercial success, earning $80 million at the box office on its $10 million budget. The film, released in theaters more than a decade after the 2010s 3d donkeyfeatured him and Knoxville – alongside his compatriot Donkey veterans Chris Pontius, Dave England and many more – continuing their tradition of absurdly dangerous stunts and brutal injuries along the way.
Knoxville previously confirmed to EW that his bullfighting days are officially over after his encounter with the movie’s bull, Pecker Wrecker, left him hospitalized with a concussion, brain hemorrhage, broken wrist and broken rib. .
“Everytime [the bulls] destroy me, I like it. God help me, I love it,” Knoxville said. “They’ve been so good to me, the Bulls. They’ve been so good to our franchise. They’re really disinterested – they just want to get you good pictures, no matter the cost. They don’t think of themselves, they just think of that idiot standing in front of them. They hate anything that moves. If he moves, they want to keep him from moving forever. So for that, we bless them.”
He added, “I’m really sad that I can never step into the ring with one again.”
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