Johnny Knoxville opens up about the brain damage he suffered caused by a stunt from Jackass Forever.
The stuntman and actor is one of the original innovators ofthe MTV reality stunt show along with co-creators Jeff Tremaine and Spike Jonze which aired for three seasons during the early 2000s.
A year after going off the air, Knoxville and his co-stars returned for the first installment in the film series, Jackass: The Movie in 2002.
After a long hiatus following 2010’s Jackass 3D, the gang got back together for a fourth film based around death-defying stunts and pranks – Jackass Forever.
The latest installment features the return of much of the core cast: Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Dave England, Wee Man, Danger Ehren, and Preston Lacy.
Bam Margera is only featured briefly since he was fired during production.
Sadly, this is the first Jackass movie not to star Ryan Dunn, killed in a car accident in 2011.
As usual, Jackass Forever also features several celebrity guest stars, including Eric Andre and Machine Gun Kelly.
With Jackass Forever playing in theaters, Knoxville is now opening up about many of the stunts from the film, including one that left him with brain damage.
The stunt in question is the bull-charging scene in which he stood in front of the charging bovine, was flipped, and then went spinning in the air before landing on his head.
According to The Guardian, Knoxville suffered a “broken wrist, broken ribs and a concussion that left him with brain damage,” which required months of recovery. Read what he had to say about the stunt below:
The bull-charging stunt was teased in the Jackass Forever trailer, though the film reveals the full extent of the stunt and its serious consequences.
Though this is undoubtedly one of the worst injuries Knoxville has suffered over his long and painful career, thankfully, he was able to make a full recovery and return to finish the production of the movie.
However, this is far from the first time Knoxville has narrowly avoided irreversible damage in his career.
It is because of potentially serious injuries like these that Knoxville has indicated this will be his Jackass movie performing stunts and will likely transition to a behind-the-camera role alongside director Jeff Tremaine for any future installments.
Jackass Forever is notably the first film in the franchise to introduce newcomers (including Rachel Wolfson, Zach Holmes, and Jasper Dolphin), so perhaps Knoxville is looking for some replacements.
His latest run-in with a bull can be seen as potentially his last rodeo. Jackass Forever is now playing in theaters.
