This should throw comedy fans into a major “What if…” convo.
It seems that Johnny Knoxville, mastermind behind the violently slapstick reality franchise, “Jackass,” might’ve taken a whole other path as a “Saturday Night Live” cast member.
While chatting on "The Drew Barrymore Show," Knoxville explained that back around 2000, while filming the “Jackass” pilot for MTV, the actor and stuntman was offered a role as a cast member on “SNL,” but passed on it.
Now while some “SNL” cast members have taken a critical beating over the years, that would seem to be preferable to the actual bodily harm Knoxville, 50, has endured through all the “Jackass” seasons and film sequels.
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So how did Knoxville come to his more dangerous decision?
“I was really honored that Lorne Michaels offered me five minutes on the show each week to do what I do, videos and whatnot,” said Knoxville of the potentially career-making opportunity. “And I had to choose because, one thing, I was going on to an established show where I would have little control.”
It sounds as if it wasn’t necessarily a full cast member option, but instead an offer to make some fun videos for the show, ala Robert Smigel’s “TV Funhouse” clips that made his name around the same time Knoxville might’ve made “SNL” shorts.
Knoxville's latest leap back into back-breaking territory, the “Jackass Forever” movie, is a hit, and proof that what seemed a cockamamie idea at first has retained a huge fanbase.
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As Page Six opined, the Tennessee native’s decision came down to a choice between personal artistic freedom or job security.
“At the end of the day," Knoxville said, "it’s like, ‘Am I going to go into a situation where I have no control, or am I going to bet on myself and bet on my friends, and go that direction?’"
Knoxville concluded that, yes, it could've been a disaster, but “luckily it worked out... some would argue it was still a disaster.”
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