Johnny Knoxville says first Jackass stunt where he shot himself in the chest inspired iconic show
It should come as no surprise to find out that Jackass was spawned from one of its core cast members doing perhaps the dumbest thing you can possibly do.
It’s not quite clear which out of Jackass or WWE’s Jeff Hardy had more of an effect on ‘don’t try this at home’ disclaimers in the early 2000s, but if you ask me Jackass just about edges it.
They’ve continued these wild stunts for well over 25 years, with the brand new (and likely last) Jackass film featuring a stunt that spawned walkouts it was so disgusting.
Nothing the Jackass crew or have ever done however competes with the stunt that started it all: Knoxville shooting himself in the chest with a gun from point-blank range.
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This was shown for the first time in Jackass: Best and Last since it was released by Jackass co-creator Jeff Tremaine as part of Big Brother, a skateboarding magazine which released comedic videos and pranks which pre-dated the TV show and is where they recruited most of the cast from.
Knoxville shot himself in the chest whilst wearing a cheap bulletproof vest
Speaking in the Jackass the Podcast, Jackass co-creator Jeff Tremaine recounts Knoxville coming in to Big Brother and pitching a ‘self-defence’ article where he tests out being pepper sprayed, tazed, hit with a stun gun, and eventually shot with a real live gun.
Tremaine suggested they video this as part of his ongoing VHS series that was a mix of comedy, stunts, pranks, and skateboarding.
The creator, who directed the latest Jackass film where the clip is finally included, said on the podcast: “It was when you went out and shot yourself with the bulletproof vest. That is the most compelling footage.”
Footage, which can be on Twitter and was included in the Big Brother video but was never released in Jackass until the newest movie, shows Knoxville pulling the trigger and getting a ‘click’ because he only put one bullet in the revolver which he borrowed from his neighbour.
Tremaine continued: “It's the most amateur hour bullsh*t. But you were so compelling and the crew is so compelling.
“The gun blows out of your hand. You pick up the gun, pick up the porn mags [he had stuffed into his cheap bulletproof vest], and you guys all scurry and get in the car, and then you start laughing as the car's driving away. It's just the greatest footage cuz it's so sketch. It's like a snuff film.”
Tremaine explained that ‘when that when we started editing that is when it first dawned on me like, man, I wonder if we can make a TV show’.
Knoxville’s disturbing near-death stunt is what inspired Jackass, even though they couldn’t include it in the pilot
Continuing in the second part of a podcast episode where they explain the history of Jackass, Tremaine re-affirmed the importance of the gun tape, saying: “It was the bulletproof vest test when you shot yourself and we got those tapes back, that is what really I think triggered the idea.”
He said that, after the idea came to him he called Spike Jonze, who Knoxville and Tremaine were both friends with, to pitch the idea and he was interested.
They created a tape from the best bits from the Big Brothers VHS tapes, which were called ‘Boob’, and combined it with clips from Bam Margera’s CKY (Camp Kill Yourself) videos, whose crew combined with the Big Brother crew to form Jackass. He explained that it was given to Spike’s agent, and it got into the hands of MTV who agreed to make the series.
The rest, as they say, is history, and all stemmed from Knoxville wanting to know what it was like to be shot and taking it into his own hands when his friend (understandably) didn’t fancy shooting him in the chest, even if he was wearing the cheapest bulletproof vest he could find.
Jackass: Best and Last is available to watch in cinemas now.
Topics: Jackass, Film, TV and Film
Michael Slavin