Doing what you love to do while getting paid, is a dream that quite a few people in this world would wish for, but when doing what you love threatens your health so often one has to wonder if it’s worth the trouble any longer. But it would appear that if a Jackass 5 does get made that Johnny Knoxville wouldn’t be able to keep himself from performing or more stunts, which is kind of expected by his fans. The problem with this is that Knoxville, like the rest of the cast, has been knocked around more than a few times throughout the show and the movies. After all the injuries he’s incurred one might think that he’d be ready to pack it in and call it a day. The videos that are easy to find on the internet detailing the many injuries that Knoxville has sustained might make a large number of people cringe. Just a few of the injuries that he’s endured would make a lot of people think that it’s not worth it any longer, but the Jackass crew sees it as just another day at the office.
It’s easy to give credit to Knoxville since he’s said that if a Jackass 5 gets made, which almost makes it apparent that it will happen, has said that he would try to stay behind the camera instead of in front of it, but it’s tough to think that he’d succeed. No matter what a person thinks about the Jackass movies, one can’t help but admit that they managed to grab the attention of an entire generation, and then another one, with their strange and harmful but somehow amusing and even hilarious antics. But as one would have expected over the years, the stunts became bigger, more expensive, and more life-threatening. It’s amazing what people can do when their budget increases.
People do like this however so it’s tough to say that it’s not needed and not desired, especially since fans are bound to howl like a pack of ravening wolves for more and more of the Jackass experience. The only question now is whether Knoxville’s beaten and battered body can take much more, and what would happen if he keeps taking the same kind of abuse that has been heaped on his body throughout four movies. The guy has admitted that he suffered brain damage from one of the stunts in Jackass Forever, and while some might not think that since he’s still up and moving that he’s fine, Knoxville is 50 years old and it’s easy to think that even if he’s in decent shape that his body isn’t going to be able to take much more without breaking down entirely. That might sound a bit dramatic, but given everything that’s happened in the course of the TV show and the movies, each member of the Jackass crew has been through absolute hell in a physical sense. To think that he might be able to go through another movie without doing another stunt is kind of tough since it almost feels as though he might be addicted to performing in the same way that others are. If you do something for so long and happen to love it, then it’s tough to stay away.
In Knoxville’s case though it feels that he should stay behind the camera when another movie gets made since brain damage is the type of injury that should make it obvious that his time as a performer on Jackass is over and done with. A lot of fans might argue with this since they would state that it’s Knoxville’s choice whether he continues to perform in the movies, and they’re right. But the fact is that sitting behind the camera is far safer since it isn’t bound to threaten his health any further. It’s tough to say no to something that you’ve been doing for so long, especially if there are thousands of fans that are bound to encourage you to keep on pushing the envelope. But when it comes to his health, Knoxville knows better than anyone what he’s been through, and as such it’s his decision that matters most when it comes to performing or sitting one out.
The Jackass tradition is for the actors to push their bodies to the limit when it comes to dangerous and over-the-top stunts, and several of them have gone above and beyond when it comes to entertaining their fans. Knoxville has managed to entertain people for years at the price of his health, and he might likely have a very big problem with just sitting behind the camera while the others continue to do their thing. But the thing is that his body has likely told him, in its own way, that it’s time to slow down and take a back seat. Helping to create Jackass is a great legacy to be proud of, which means if Knoxville can bring himself to sit back and abstain from the stunts, it might be the best idea.
Helping to create Knoxville’s
