Johnny Knoxville turned down Saturday Night Live for Jackass

Although Johnny Knoxville is arguably the face of Jackass, it was really the whole group that made the concept of outrageous stunts and pranks work throughout the TV series and the movies. It’s hard to imagine Jackass without Johnny Knoxville but it’s also hard to imagine Johnny Knoxville… without Jackass.

In an oral history feature over at THR (which you should really read in its entirety) Johnny Knoxville revealed that he actually had the opportunity to join Saturday Night Live. The only catch was that it would have just been him and not the rest of the Jackass team.

SNL wanted me to be on the show. They were going to give me, like, five minutes each week to do what I do, but that would just be me. And I couldn’t do both. Our show was about to go. So I kind of bet on us as opposed to on myself. I was really flattered that Lorne Michaels asked me to have lunch with him at the Polo Lounge, but I said, “No, I’m going to do this instead.”

After an unsuccessful pitch to HBO, Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Jeff Tremaine, and Spike Jonze took their sizzle reel to MTV and the rest is history. “We showed them the sizzle tape, and they were just dying laughing,” Tremaine said. “And they wanted it right away.” As intriguing as the idea of Johnny Knoxville doing his thing on Saturday Night Live might be, I think we can all be grateful he chose to bet on Jackass.

Johnny Knoxville and the rest of the Jackass team have returned one more time for Jackass Forever. The new movie will celebrate the joy of being back together with your best friends and a perfectly executed shot to the dingdong. The original jackass crew return for another round of hilarious, wildly absurd, and often dangerous displays of comedy with a little help from some exciting new cast. Jackass Forever will debut in theaters on February 4, 2022.