Q 6

PLAYBOY: Were the citizens of Tennessee relieved when you headed to the West Coast?

Johnny Knoxville: They were very supportive of me when I moved out to Los Angeles, but they were just waiting for me to make the move and then come back. For the first five or six years my mom and dad kept my room exactly as I had left it. My father and I packed my belongings into this Suzuki Samurai and drove for three days: Motel 6s and truck-stop food--casseroles with Cheez-Its crumbled on top. We almost perished around Kingman, Arizona. A big piece of construction equipment rolled out into the middle of the interstate, and we had to veer off onto the grass. Dad actually flew out and drove back to Tennessee with me a couple months later when I ran out of dough. I worked for a few months to make money and, once again, he drove out to LA with me. We made the trip three times. God bless him for that.

Q 7

PLAYBOY: Can you set the stunt or prank in the larger context of history and culture?

Johnny Knoxville: There was a German who lived around the 1300s--Till Eulenspiegel. I was quite a fan of his growing up. I don't know if you'd call him a performance artist. I guess he was more of a prankster. Eulenspiegel was not very popular in Knoxville. There's a Belgian named Noel Godin, a performance artist who pies everyone in the face. He's still doing it. Then there was Chris Burden in the Seventies, who had someone shoot him in the arm with a .22. He also lay down in an intersection underneath a tarp in midday traffic. And, yes, I was a fan of Candid Camera. We're trying to take all this to a higher intensity.

Q 8

PLAYBOY: Jackass doesn't strike us as the most original title. Couldn't you have come up with something a little more creative?

Johnny Knoxville: Fuckstick. It's a perfect fit. We went through a host of names, not many of which I can recall, after reviewing the tape and the show. We actually tried to clear Fuckstick, but MTV didn't think it was very amusing.

Q 9

PLAYBOY: Jackass posts the usual disclaimers, warning young people not to try outrageous stunts at home. Would you care to offer another warning?

Johnny Knoxville: Yes. We don't take auditions or submissions. We can't. I try to emphasize at every point: Do not try what we do at home. We're taking the hits for the audience. It might look alluring, but there are actually a lot of serious consequences. You're just going to get hurt and we're going to get canceled. As a child I was always breaking bones, just because I was clumsy. I broke my ankles a couple of times apiece, broke my hands, broke my arms a couple, three times. I sprained my ankle just last June. A few sprains from the show, ankles and back, but that's about it, nothing too bad. McGhehey just chipped his tooth doing a stunt--which was good for the show. But it loses its charm if there are any fatalities or incapacitations.

Q 10

PLAYBOY: Do you have comprehensive insurance and an exceptionally understanding HMO?

Johnny Knoxville: We pay a pretty nickel for our insurance. And we have a lot of prepaid legal for the show.

Q 11

PLAYBOY: We understand you once umpired Little League baseball. What's the secret to making a few hundred calls per game?

Johnny Knoxville: I had a lot of blown calls. My strike zone was pretty wide because I was a pitcher in high school. I was a little biased toward the pitchers. I made the hitters be aggressive at the plate, that's for sure. It was the greatest job I ever had. I umpired for eight- and nine-year-olds in the Valley. I loved the kids, so maybe that made me a better umpire. When I first got to LA I was waiting tables and bartending for a nickel. About five years later I got an agent and did commercials for Mountain Dew, Coors Light and ESPN. I was in a Taco Bell commercial with the little Chihuahua. We were eating nachos on a boat, and the dog would ride up to us on this mini gondola. Between shots I would have to feed the dog chicken as a reward. That's my story about the Chihuahua. It was pretty embarrassing. I was never called upon to drop the chalupa. Maybe in the shower with the boys.

Q 12

PLAYBOY: You attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts--alumni include Jason Robards and Robert Redford. Tell us about your training in classic theater.

Johnny Knoxville: The American Academy of Dramatic Arts was my excuse to head west. I moved to Los Angeles--actually, Arcadia. Living was a bit cheaper in Arcadia. I went to this six-week program at the academy. After the first three weeks, it seemed to me that the teachers were just frustrated actors and musicians. I don't know how much they really brought to the table. I didn't go back after the third week. My parents called the school to see how I was doing, and they were told I'd quit. They were less than enthusiastic. They paid all that money and didn't get it back, but I guess that's all part of growing up. Actually, I never did a lot of theater. There's not much Stanislavsky can do for you when you're hitting your chest with a Taser. But I have been working on films lately, and I want to expand that. Ten years from now? Oh my God. I'll probably be sitting on the front porch with a shotgun, because my daughter will be 15 then. I'm so terrified of that day.