From Backyard Daredevil To Cultural Stunt Icon, Johnny Knoxville’s Last Dance To ‘Jackass 5’

For over two decades, Johnny Knoxville has built a career on turning risk and pranks into entertainment. A so-called journey that began with low budget production, and do-it-yourself stunts became one of the most recognizable forces in extreme comedy. The Jackass project first started as a concept launched as a MTV series in the early 2000s. Where Knoxville and his team performed outrageous and physically demanding pranks that quickly gained a mass following. It was later expanded into a multi-project franchise.

What started as experimental content later became a professional niche than blended performance arts, real physical risk, and skit comedy for Knoxville. Over the years the franchise grew into a global production company with theatrical releases, spin-offs, and an established fan base drawn to anything they can create.

One of Knoxville’s peak performances that has a good blend of traits as an actor and producer was Bad Grandpa released back in 2013. The film expanded Knoxville’s long running old man character with his crude interactions with the real live people through hidden cameras and setups. Unlike traditional Jackass titles, Bad Grandpa highlights Knoxville’s comedy with loose narrative structure, and with a baseline story.

With the same fearless attitude and countless pranks also has led Knoxville to the limits of his career. During Jackass Forever, A bull-riding stunt left him with a few major injuries. Such as broken wrist, ribs, and brain damage. Leading to doctors to warn him against any more stunts performances. Knoxville spoke up about his situation that he could no longer risk further head trauma after suffering numerous concussions.

Despite the toll, Knoxville says the upcoming Jackass 5 will be the last installment, calling it, “the natural place to end.” In this film some of the original crew members have made a special return just for this project. If this is truly a farewell, this represents more than a comedic impact but marks a closing act of a career. Turning experimental filming into a diverse form of performance art. Jackass 5 is set to release June 26th.