FILM · 2002 · USA
Jackass: The Movie
24 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
24 Interesting Facts About Jackass: The Movie
Interesting Facts (15)
- #001
According to the DVD commentary, the two angry gentlemen who were the victims of the "Golf Course Airhorn" stunt would not sign a release form to appear in the film until the production crew took them out for a few drinks. The two men eventually agreed to sign their releases.
- #002
When Johnny Knoxville claimed to be Lon Chaney's lover after being thrown out of a liquor store, Knoxville actually had no idea who Chaney was. He saw Chaney's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as he was being thrown out and thought it would be a funny thing to say.
- #003
Loomis Fall came up with the idea for the "night pandas" segment because he wanted to go to Japan. The crew agreed to bring him along because no one dared tell him that pandas come from China, not Japan.
- #004
The shopping cart in the opening sequence was originally built for and used in The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981). Preston Lacy noticed it on the studio lot and it was included in the film.
- #005
According to Steve-O, the Jackass cast was paid almost nothing by Paramount Pictures for the first film. On the H3 Podcast, he said he earned only $65,000 out of a gross of $80,000,000.
- #006
The final segment, "Butt X-ray," had to be edited because any scene in which a toy car is inserted into Ryan Dunn's anus would be classified as pornographic and would earn the film an instant NC-17 rating. Such a rating could have severely limited the film's audience.
- #007
Initially, the Jackass series was going to be retired after this film because director and producer Jeff Tremaine wanted to work on other projects. However, after Johnny Knoxville continued to appear in Wildboyz (2003), Tremaine went to Knoxville and asked if he wanted to bring Jackass back, and he was willing to do so.
- #008
In A Tribute to Ryan Dunn (2011), Johnny Knoxville said he considered Butt X-ray the best sketch shoot for Jackass.
- #009
Originally, before putting fireworks in Phil Margera's car, the cast were going to either cut the car in half or flip it over.
- #010
Steve-O contracted a serious infection the day after the "Poo-Water Pole Vault" scene.
- #011
According to Johnny Knoxville in the DVD commentary, crew member Lance Bangs vomited during the Paper Cuts segment because the room was very hot, and someone gave him pepperoni pizza. He had not eaten meat for 17 years and had vomited 30 minutes before the shoot, but he still went in to do the shot.
- #012
The "Rocket skates" segment was originally planned to air as part of the Jackass (2000) television series, but it was added to the film after MTV refused to broadcast it. It was also added to the film because the sketch was re-shot in Japan, although the bottle rockets used on the roller skates were weaker than those in the original segment.
- #013
The "Wassabi Snooters" scene was filmed on March 11, 2002, Johnny Knoxville's 31st birthday.
- #014
According to Steve-O on the Wild Ride podcast episode with Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx was originally going to appear in the Off Road Tattoo segment. Henry Rollins handled the job instead.
- #015
Jason 'Wee Man' Acuña was originally supposed to have his nipple bitten by the baby alligator, but he backed out, so Johnny Knoxville did it instead. Wee Man later said he regretted not doing the bit, because the photo of it was used commercially and as the film's official poster.
Production Story (1)
- #016
According to a 2021 interview with GQ, Johnny Knoxville said a stunt was planned in which he would dress as Chris Pontius's devil character and attend a Pentecostal church service where congregants handle live venomous snakes. However, the stunt was cancelled because the insurance coverage would have nearly doubled the $6 million budget.
Behind the Scenes (4)
- #017
Another reason for the extensive filming in Japan was that the laws requiring the faces of non-consenting participants to be blurred did not apply in Japan. However, some of the Japanese faces shown in the unrated DVD re-released in 2006 were blurred.
- #018
Ehren McGhehey took 23 takes to get the intro to his mousetrap stunt right. It got to the point where Johnny Knoxville was annoyed with Ehren and nearly performed the stunt for him.
- #019
Some scenes were shot but no footage was ever released for the following: * Bam Margera spraying bear spray on Ryan Dunn. * The original butt experiment with Steve-O and Johnny Knoxville. * The BMXican Wakeboard scene. * Gene LeBell choking every cast member one by one. * Preston Lacy getting "Fat Fuck" cut into his hair and telling them it was done by a barber. * Jason 'Wee Man' Acuña skating in a penis costume. * Dave England pretending to be a sketch artist and making inappropriate drawings. * Co-producer and cinematographer Dimitry Elyashkevich shaving director and producer Jeff Tremaine from behind with clippers, without a doubt. * Wee Man using Preston and cameraman Rick Kosick as a human catamaran raft. * Chris Pontius and Dave trying to put a bicycle lock around Ehren McGhehey's neck. * Knoxville, Pontius, Dave and Ehren racing downhill on trash dumpsters. * Pontius playing with an alligator just before the "Alligator Tight Rope" bit. * An extended paper cut segment in which they put what they cut off into an aquarium full of alcohol. Some of these segments were partially shown in the title sequence, but never in full.
- #020
As seen in the making of this film, co-producer and cinematographer Dimitry Elyashkevich broke his tooth while trying to film from inside a golf cart during the "Golf Cart Antics" segment by standing at the back.
Characters & Cast (2)
- #021
The film's final scene features Johnny Knoxville diving into the water while Rip Taylor holds a "The End" sign. On the film's DVD release, you can see that this was actually the closing part of a much larger stunt involving the entire cast that was never successfully completed. Nevertheless, it was mostly included at least in the European VHS release, and the whole stunt resembled an obstacle course in which every cast member would be part of the track, with Johnny Knoxville diving into the water as the climax.
- #022
The Riot Control Test sketch was edited because it involved Johnny Knoxville being shot with a pellet round from a pellet shotgun. The sketch was edited because Knoxville and the cast could waive civil liability but not criminal liability; that is, if Knoxville or another cast member had been killed or seriously injured, they would have been liable for negligence or involuntary manslaughter or assault.
Easter Eggs & References (1)
- #023
The commentary notes that the BMX Tug of War shoot, in which Ryan Dunn jumps and Preston Lacy is launched off the couch, was actually cut together from two separate takes. As can be seen briefly in the background, Preston actually stayed on the couch the entire time when Dunn made his jump.
Career & Awards (1)
- #024
In the shoplifting sketch, in which Johnny Knoxville appears as an old man and steals multiple items from a store, he steals a replica of an Academy Award. Coincidentally, 11 years later Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (2013) was nominated for an Oscar for Best Makeup, with Knoxville in old-man makeup.
Related pages
- Jackass Number Two — Jackass: The Movie comes up in the facts on that page
- Kill Bill: Vol. 2 — Jackass: The Movie comes up in the facts on that page
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work