Posted by Mr. Beaks

Making his fifth feature film appearance in 2005, Johnny Knoxville finally gets it right in The Ringer, the Barry Blaustein-directed, Farrelly Brothers-produced comedy in which he stars as Steve Barker, a hapless office drone coerced by his crooked Uncle Gary (a winningly scuzzy Brian Cox) into helping him fix the Special Olympics.  If that's not enough to grease the wheels on the handcart to hell, Steve's involvement extends to his faking mental atrophy as the lovable Jeffy, whose rare athleticism just might power him to victory over the competition's reigning champion, Jimmy.

As a premise, it only sounds tasteless.  Capitalizing on their long history of portraying the mentally disabled with dignity even when they're on the business end of the occasional punch line, the Farrellys were able to secure not only the approval but also the active participation of the Special Olympics.  Acting alongside a number of terrific mentally challenged actors, Knoxville pulls off a graceful, somewhat restrained performance that stands as his best non-Jackass onscreen turn.  Of course, when I had the chance to participate in a roundtable interview with a man who's been shot with a real gun, kicked in the nuts repeatedly and coldcocked by Butterbean, I couldn't help inquiring about the show that made him a household name (and, for parents with impressionable/stupid children, nuisance).  Though you'd figure he'd be all talked out on that subject, it was only when discussing Jackass that he really came to life during the interview.  And I really can't think of another actor who'd so graciously answer the question:  "Are your nuts insured?"

Is this your fourth or fifth theatrical release this year?

Third, I think.

Fourth.  Don’t forget Daltry Calhoun.

Yeah.  Ah… (shoots questioner a knowing look), yeah, I guess.  I think it’s the most films I’ve been in in a year.

Have you learned anything from the past few months, having them come out and seeing how they’ve been received?

It’s a lot of promotion to have four come out in the same year.  Space ‘em out a little. 

You’re forever in a junket.  How do you relax?

I don’t mind junkets so much.  Some people complain, but it’s part of it, you get free lunches… I don’t care.  Usually, they fly you to New York.  Things could be worse.

Are your nuts insured?  You take so many shots to the groin.

(Laughing)  You’re telling me.  They are insured through Lloyds of London for $7.95. 

Each or for the pair?

Oh, that’s for the pair.

How do you prepare yourself for that?  I know that you’ve got padding and things—

On what?  Jackass?

Yeah.

There’s no pads on Jackass. 

It just amazes me how well you take it.

We take it like sissies. 

The head shots, the body shots, you’ve probably broken every bone in your body.

I’ve broken a few bones a number of times, but I haven’t broken every bone in my body or come even that close.  Burt Reynolds has broken far more bones than I ever will.

Have you had conversations with him about that?

Yeah.  He has a little tape called “How I Broke My Back”.  He was running down a list of things he broke throughout his stunt career, and I was just shaking my head. 

Is there a correlation between the athleticism required to do the stunts in Jackass and the stunts you do in The Ringer?

On Jackass, there’s no athleticism required.  (Laughter)  You just have to fail doing your stunts on Jackass.  If you did a stunt and you landed it, it’s like, “Do it again until you fail.”  On a movie, it’s the opposite; stunt men are insanely skilled and trained in a number of areas.  I love the stunt guys.  And the Teamsters – always be nice to the Teamsters.  No one can shut a movie down faster. 

What was the hook for you to doing this movie?

First off, I was attracted because Ricky Blitt wrote a great script.  It’s hilarious.  And it’s not a soft script; he pushes the boundaries.  And The Farrelly Brothers were attached.  That’s what initially attracted me to the script.  I didn’t get to meet the athletes until I got to Austin, and then I was just sold.  To hang out with Eddie Barbanell, John Taylor and Leonard Flowers… I could go on and on; I don’t want to leave anyone out.  I’d never been around mentally challenged people before.  I had missed out on that whole world and... god, I’ve been hanging around with John and Eddie a lot lately, and we just have a ball.  I showed the Jackass guys the movie, and now they’re open to that world.  Fox has let some of the guys from Jackass write spots for TV.  Spike Jonze recommended a special that we do with Eddie and John, and Fox and MTV let us do that.  I got my friends involved, and now that they’ve met John and Eddie, they love them.  A whole new world opened up to me.

So, wait, they’re doing Jackass stuff?

No, no, no, no, no.  They’ve just been around.  Like, we’ll go shoot pool or go watch a game.  Some of the Jackass guys will be there, and Eddie will spend most of the game insulting everyone.  (Laughter)

This movie was completed a while ago.  Were you ever worried that it might not come out?

No, I was never worried it wouldn’t come out.  Just some times movies take the path they take.  But it’s coming out December 23^rd, and I couldn’t be any more excited.  It’s tested higher than any movie The Farrelly Brothers have ever done.  It tested higher than There’s Something About Mary.  And when I’ve seen it with an audience, it seems to really work.

What offends you?  Is there anything out there that’s taboo as far as you’re concerned?

Oh, there’s tons of things.  I’ve walked out of movies.  I can’t take certain things, even to watch in a film.  I know it’s set up, but… I walked out of Leaving Las Vegas during the rape scene, with the guys hitting the girl.  I don’t want to see that.  Anything with women or children in jeopardy… nah.  I don’t like that.

What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about you?

I don’t know.  I don’t care.  I thought you were going to say “… about people who are mentally challenged”.  I care about that.  But what people think about me?  I don’t care.

Is there going to be a second Jackass movie?  It was in the trades, but there hasn’t been an official announcement.

We contacted the studio and told them we were thinking about it again.  We’re doing a little negotiating.  They were pretty stunned that we wanted to do it again. 

You think it’s going to happen, or are you not sure?

Well, bits are being written, but I don’t know how the deal is going to go down.

Are you going to get Mark Zupan back?  You guys did that thing for Murderball.

Oh, we did a special for them, for Murderball.  That wasn’t Jackass.  But Mark Zupan’s great.  I loved Murderball.  It’s a great documentary.

It seemed like you guys were having fun.

Cool guy.  All the Murderball guys.

Do you feel that there has been a shift in perception in how you’re viewed in light of all the acting you’ve done in the last year?

I don’t think about it. 

Are you getting better offers, though?

I’m getting really good offers.  But I have a kid.  I’m more concerned about her than what other people think [about me].

Peter Farrelly told us about a cattle prod incident on the set.

That’s because goddamn Marc Fischer [one of the film’s producers] started a little war with me.  (Laughter)  I don’t know what he did.  He’s a real ball breaker anyway, and the set is designed that way.  Everyone is just on each other the whole time.  I think he must’ve dumped water on me some day or something.

Peter said something about an electric pen.

I think that was one of the athletes who got me with the pen.  I saw the same guy in Austin.  He handed me a pen, and I’m like (expresses disbelief), “Is this the electric pen?”  But it wasn’t.  But, yeah, Fischer and I had a little war going back and forth.  I tried to cattle prod him in the gooch, but I hit his thigh.  He has such a high-pitched voice.  (Imitating Fischer)  “Goddamn it, Johnny!!!” 

Did it put him down?

No, a cattle prod isn’t going to put you down.  On the leg, it’s really painful, but if you put your hand on it, for some reason... oh, mama!  It doesn’t feel good.  It’s just a funny device to walk around with.  It’s funny looking.

How much pressure is on you when a situation escalates like that?

With a cattle prod?

In a situation where someone trots out small artillery and you’ve got to bring out the big guns? 

You don’t have to beg me.  There’s no pressure.  It’s my delight.

I’m still amazed that you went toe-to-toe with Butterbean.

Well, I wouldn’t call it going “toe-to-toe”.  It didn’t last that long.

You stood there and took punches from a man whose hands are registered lethal weapons. 

You saw how good it ended.

How many times have you been concussed?

In my life, I don’t know.  On the show and in the movie?  Six or seven times.  That’s nothing.  My friend, Matt Hoffman, who’s a BMX rider, has had over 100 concussions and flatlined twice.  He is way beyond gnarly.  When you meet him, he’s the sweetest, most soft-spoken guy.  There’s no macho jock thing going on.  But he’s something else.

When NFL quarterbacks get, like, nine concussions, they’re done.

Troy Aikman retired after five or six.  Matt is just… I don’t know.  He once had an experimental surgery in Canada.  They had to replace a ligament.  Pretty much everything was gone because he’d had it done so many times, but they asked him, “We’ve never done this on anyone before, so, just as a test, would you see if you could do it without anesthesia?”  He’s like, “Yeah, I’ll do it.”  And he said, “That was the dumbest thing I ever did.”  I don’t know why he agreed to it.  He just kinda thinks a little different from everybody.

That would’ve been something to film.

Yeah.  I was like, “You filmed it, right?”  He’s like, “No.”

How many incarnations did Jeffy go through before you found the right version?

I worked on it for a while with my acting coach Cameron Thor and Barry Blaustein.  I talked with the Farrellys.  It went through quite a few.  Basically, I just didn’t want to be hard to watch.  I wanted to keep it light.  Steve is a good guy, he’s just not very quick.  And I don’t think he’d be that great of an actor.  That’s how I approached it.  I wasn’t trying to be Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man.  Steve is not capable of that.

But there wasn’t a specific method or starting point.

No, I spent time with Special Olympics athletes in Vancouver and in Austin.  I hung out with the cast after work, and you just take little pieces here and there.

What’s the funniest thing that happened on set?

TI don’t know.  Eddie’s AFLAC line.  He improv’d that.  And Geoffrey Arend’s one about ice cream.  That took a long time to film.

What’s coming up for you acting wise?

I’m doing a film with John Madden called Killshot, and trying to circle around doing Jackass 2. 

What’s your character in Killshot?

I play an officer in the Witness Protection Program.  He’s a bit of an unctuous character.

You’re becoming a bit of a brand name.  Does the edge vanish at a certain point if your name is attached to certain things?

My only product is service, and I give it with a smile.  (Laughter)

What’s the worst you’ve been injured?

Nothing too bad.  Some sprains, breaks and concussions, but no missing limbs.  People get hurt a lot worse than me.

I was thinking about how Jackie Chan has come close to death a few times.

Well, it came close to that a couple of times.  The golf cart, the one that threw me on my neck [in the movie], but those don’t really count as injuries.  The almost deaths… that’s just luck.

Thinking about that scene where you’re pissing off the golfers in the movie, I’m surprised that the stunts have never led to fisticuffs.

Oh, we’ve gotten punched before.  I thought those guys were going to do it; I was praying those guys were going to do it.  And we would obviously not fight back.  You know, just take one for the team.  But Pontius got punched downtown.  He was in a devil suit.  An ill-fitting devil suit.  With a sign that said, “Keep God Out of California!”  (Laughter)  He was walking around trying to keep God out, and some Born Again [rushed him], took his stick and broke it, and punched Pontius in the head.  So, they’re rolling around wrestling.  Pontius is a great wrestler, but he’s in those little devil’s feet and he can’t get any traction.  And two ladies he’d been talking to before came over, took their shoes off and started beating the Born Again in the head. And Ryan Dunn got punched.  We bloodied him up, put him in a body bag and threw him in a dumpster.  One guy’s wife got really scared, and the husband came over after everyone was labeling their tapes, forty minutes after we’d finished filming.  No one was looking, everyone was talking about other stuff, and this guy walked up and said, “You scared my wife!”  Bam!  Hits him right in the jaw.  Immediately, everyone in the van turns around and starts dying laughing.  [Dunn] was laughing, too.  Really not much to take away from the boys.