Steve-O On His New Stand-Up And How He's Survived Decades Of Extreme Stunts [Exclusive Interview]
Warning: This interview is not for the squeamish.
If you've ever watched a "Jackass" movie or episode, Steve-O explodes off the screen as a man who enjoys his life. Why, then, does he seem so hellbent on jeopardizing it?
With the possible exception of Johnny Knoxville, no member of the daredevil troupe has performed gnarlier stunts than Steve-O. Over the years, we've seen him shimmy across a tightrope over an alligator pool with a raw chicken dangling from his underwear, wear a Peruvian jellyfish as a sombrero, and sustain repeated genital trauma via all kinds of inventively stupid methods. On the serious side, he battled drug addiction for over a decade before getting completely sober in 2008.
You might think clear-headedness would instill a strong sense of self-preservation in Steve-O, but subjecting his body to all manner of punishment and indignity is what he lives for. Indeed, when the Jackass boys are on a break (one that may be permanent this time, as you'll read below), Steve-O embarks on solo adventures, some of which are a good deal more extreme than what he's attempted with Knoxville and the gang (it helps that he doesn't have to clear his antics with movie studio minders).
If you love "Jackass," but always thought they could go a little harder, head on over to Steve-O's official website and buy a ticket for the hilariously harrowing "Steve-O's Bucket List." It's a taped version of the live show he's been touring for a few years wherein he mixes stand-up comedy with the presentation of stunts that might leave you reeling (audience members often pass out after one bit involving a vasectomy). It's a rough ride at times, but oddly heartwarming given that Steve-O's fiancée, Lux Wright, helps film some of the most extreme scenes.
Steve-O seems indestructible, but he'll turn 50 next year and is mindful of his mortality. It's now a question of the years and the mileage. How much more of this can he take? I recently hopped on a Zoom with the (very sweet) madman, and asked him this and much more!
Note: This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
'I've got to hurry up before it becomes creepy to watch'
The first thing that struck me about the movie was the public nudity. How did you avoid getting arrested for public indecency?
Right? Dude, I was very, very concerned about it, man. Of anybody that I've talked to about this project, you're the first person to ask that question. When you put it that way, there's zero question: "Dick Painting" was absolutely the most stressful thing that we shot for the whole special. What we did was we had a towel, a robe, whatever it was, and we just sprung me on people, and then covered me up. We did our damnedest to isolate areas with no kids. We had people on a perimeter looking for kids and stuff. Yeah, it was f***ing stressful, man.
The concept for this special is really cool. Before we started recording, we were just talking about how old we are. You're nearing 50, and I just turned 50. I loved it because it's very much a celebration of the moment, the fact that you're still able to do this. While you can do it, you've got to cram all this stuff in. When you embarked on this, were you thinking maybe this was the last hurrah?
I was, man, I really was. It's worth noting that I started working on this show before there was ever a hint of a fourth "Jackass" movie. It was the fourth quarter of 2019 when we got word that Knoxville wanted to get the band back together for "Jackass Forever." At that point, I had been actively touring the "Bucket List" for a whole year. The version of the "Bucket List" that was on tour for that one year was very different to what ended up coming out. But the premise of it being "Hurry up and get this done while I can" was always the deal. From the beginning, when I started touring it at the end of 2018, I thought I had painted myself into a corner, like nothing to do after this, man. Like, "God, how am I going to do anything after this?" I'm happy/terrified to report that I've written up a whole outline for a follow-up to this.
Oh God.
I'm not even going to try to pretend that the next one isn't creepy to watch. I said, "I've got to hurry up before it becomes creepy to watch." The next one, I'm planning on just leaning into the creepy.
'When you're working for a studio, you can't flagrantly break the law'
You said "Bucket List" was different in 2019. How so?
In 2019, there was no "Spinal Tap." There was a whole chunk of the show when I talk about opening up an animal sanctuary. I had a whole section of the show that was just devoted to making fun of service dog vests, and what a sham they are. Because in the beginning of the tour, it was in comedy clubs, and I would go to one city per week, and we would fly everywhere we went. I brought Wendy with me to every single show, and in order to do that, I made her a service animal. I wanted to be so above board and do everything by the book, and I absolutely did. But in the process, I learned what an absolute sham it is. For example, there's no such thing as official certification for a service animal. It literally doesn't exist. I had this whole thing about just making fun of service dog law, then I would bring Wendy out.
But once we graduated to theaters, once I made the move from comedy clubs to theaters, then it wasn't just one city a week. Then it was on a tour bus just going around, and Wendy's just terrified of the tour bus. She's great on an airplane, bad in a motor vehicle. So Wendy got cut out of the show. We added the "Spinal Tap," added ... there was no "Pee-Pee Party" until 2021. There was no helicopter scene until 2022. The "Dick Painting" thing was even after the helicopter. "The S*** Hits the Fan" was actually filmed in 2017, "Skyjacking" and [MMA fighter] Jon Jones [who assists in Steve-O's quest to acquire a cauliflower ear], that was in 2020. Every year it just evolved and improved. I can't express how much work went into it, and the evolution of it. It just felt so spectacular. I really am so f***ing proud of it, and I can't thank you enough for helping me get the word out. My biggest fear is that it won't get the audience and support that I feel it deserves.
When you do "Jackass" movies, you're working for a studio, it's Paramount, and there's got to be stuff that you come up with there where the studio steps in and says, "No f***ing way."
For sure. I mean, a good example of that is ... the idea for "Jackass Forever" was presented to me at the end of 2019. Yeah, I think that checks out. We got to filming in March of 2020, but it only lasted a week and it got shut down because of Covid. During the Covid shutdown, that's when I found the "Spinal Tap," and this crazy doctor. I figured out shooting the spinal tap, and I knew it was going to happen, and I brought that to the powers-that-be on "Jackass." I said, "I've got this guy. He's going to stick a four-inch needle in my spine. This is so unbelievably awesome. I will give this to 'Jackass.'" They were like, "Buddy, buddy, we can't do that, man." Which checks out, because when you're working for a studio, you can't flagrantly break the law.
'It would be going to the dentist to get one tooth worked on'
This time out, what was the stunt that, in terms of sheer pain and recovery, was the roughest?
I mean, my ear definitely went through a lot, and my balls went through a lot. But I don't remember being like ... for this one, I wasn't really incapacitated or anything. There wasn't anything that was too destructive. I'm going to say "Cauliflower Ear" and "Vasectomy Olympics."
Let's talk about the vasectomy. I have not yet had a vasectomy, though I plan to.
It's not bad, man. It's crazy because when I saw the video of the vasectomy, I thought, "Man, it's not that gnarly." It's almost underwhelming. Then there's just some people that can't watch that. But yeah, I recommend a vasectomy a lot. I do. If I were to liken the actual procedure to anything, it would be going to the dentist to get one tooth worked on. All you feel is the prick that makes the area numb, and then it's numb, you're chilling. It's not a bad experience getting the vasectomy, and it's not required that you have kids whack you in the balls with a stick after you get it done.
You said how painful it was, but how long was the recovery period?
I certainly had a beat-up purple ball sack for a few days, maybe a week. But it never debilitated me. The next day, I was out flyboarding.
'I feel, if anything, increasingly skittish and scared'
Looking back at the start of your career, when you began doing stunts and all of this, to where you are now, do you feel like you've gotten bolder?
Sure. I think so. To imagine how long this has all been going on. It's gotten to a point of being multi-generational, like decades. For me to have even had a career doing this stuff is so against the odds. Then to endure for as long as it has is ridiculous. Then I've actually maintained a largely upward trajectory for the entire time. That's just a trifecta of insanity. To answer your question, I don't know. Do I feel more bold? Certainly, you have to be increasingly bold to continue to raise the bar. I don't feel bold. I feel, if anything, increasingly skittish and scared. But the goal is to be more ambitious, I guess I'd say — not bold, but ambitious.
You guys have to keep topping yourself.
With "Jackass," I don't think "to keep topping yourself" has ever been a thing. I don't think that "Jackass" will ever top the second movie, "Jackass Number Two." With "Jackass," each film had a different vibe. Each movie was different. If it was a question of outdoing and raising the bar with "Jackass," then I'd say we'd be dead.
In the first film, you famously refused to have a toy car inserted in your anus. Do you think you would do that today?
Sure. I stuffed something up my butt, aggressively, yesterday.
For a stunt, or just for the hell of it?
Well, as part of my next show that I wrote up, I'm working with a gay porn star to help train my inner butthole. Yesterday was my first concerted effort to do that work.
'I think I'll always be an attention whore'
Do you foresee another "Jackass" on the offing?
I don't think so. But then again, I didn't think there would be a fourth one, so who am I to say?
What about you? We were talking about how this is celebrating the moment. Can you see the moment on the horizon where your body cries "Uncle?"
Yeah. I wouldn't even necessarily be concerned about my body, per se. I really don't think that's it nearly as much as just where the bar is at. Yesterday ... I was speaking with Caitlyn Jenner, and she said something that was so impactful, I'll never forget it. [It was] like a metaphor for what I'm doing with raising the bar. She said, "There was a time when Elton John, every outfit he wore had to be more and more elaborate and crazy. It went on for years. He got to a point where he was just like, 'All right, with the outfits. I'm done with it. I'm just going to let my music do the work.'" I said to Caitlyn, I said, "Man, that is such a brilliant thing." At some point I should just do the stand-up, tell the stories, relate my experience, and do what Elton John did. But that's after my next one.
What are you going to do once your daredevil days are over?
I think I'll always be an attention whore. There's no way around that. I think it's going to be an evolution. I'm already with the podcast ["Wild Ride! with Steve-O"] and the stand-up forging lanes that don't require high impact daredevil stuff. Even with all my YouTube content, there's a lot that's just got nothing to do with physicality. I can see a way forward where I can leave the high-impact stuff behind. It's all about evolving.
"Steve-O's Bucket List" is currently available to rent for 30 days at his official website.