Johnny Knoxville knows he’s lucky to be alive, and so does his insurance company.
When asked if he was an insurance agent’s worst nightmare during a lie detector interview with Vanity Fair, the 52-year-old stuntman and Donkey star attempted to lie: “No,” he said, before looking back at the polygraph operator. “Does that ring true?”
After receiving a firm handshake, Knoxville confessed. “Okay,” he admitted. “You got me, I am.”
Knoxville has sprained, torn and broken many body parts over the course of his career. Along with the rest of the Donkey cast members, he spent years willingly participating in life-threatening stunts. So it’s no surprise to learn that the production once struggled to find a health insurance company willing to cover their potential (and often unavoidable) injuries.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic Johnny Knoxville
Admitting that he’s been denied cover in the past, the daredevil revealed, “At the end of Donkey TV show, I think, we lost all our insurance. So it wasn’t great. I think we weren’t insurable at the time.”
THE Donkey The franchise has since evolved into numerous movies and TV specials. Last year, Knoxville told EW his body had suffered so much trauma that his doctors compared it to the damage from a “major car accident.” Because of this, he knew even before filming began that Fooled forever would be his last hurrah in the world of death-defying stunts.
“You can only take so many risks before one catches up with you forever,” Knoxville said. “I realized that and it’s amazing that I’m still walking around. I think I’ve pushed my luck pretty far.”
Watch the interview below.
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