If Lorne Michaels had gotten his way in 2000, Jackass, as we know it, might never have come to be. It was around that time that Johnny Knoxville’s demo reel with his friends was being shopped around to various outlets, including MTV. Knoxville had been trying to make it as an actor for several years, landing minor roles on The Ben Stiller Show and Coyote Ugly. He filmed some stunts for Big Brother magazine in 1998, and, with the help of Jeff Tremaine, the magazine’s editor, he cut that footage into the demo he eventually sent out.
Michaels was one of the showbiz powerhouses who got their hands on that demo and quickly invited Knoxville for a meeting at the Beverly Hills Hotel. During that conversation, Knoxville was offered a three-to-five-minute spot on Saturday Night Live for him to do his Jackass-style stunts. As Knoxville told Howard Stern in 2018, he considered it “a wonderful opportunity,” but he still had reservations about joining the cast. For one thing, he said, they were already in the process of getting the pilot for Jackass made when Michaels offered him the deal.
Another big issue was that Michaels only wanted Knoxville. No Tremaine, no Spike Jonze, and none of the other cast members who were involved with the pilot. “At the time, in my ignorance,” Knoxville said, “I’m like, ‘I’m just gonna bet on us.’” The bet obviously paid off, and choosing Jackass ultimately gave Knoxville more control over things than he would’ve gotten working for SNL, which was also a concern of his.
Although he turned down an appearance on SNL then, he went on to host the show in 2005 while promoting the remake of The Dukes of Hazzard, in which he starred. He also made a cameo in an episode hosted by Jack Black later that year. Curb Your Enthusiasm star J.B. Smoove, who was a writer for SNL back then, stopped by Stern’s show in 2013 and talked about another Knoxville SNL moment we unfortunately missed out on. Smoove’s pitch, while Knoxville was hosting, was for the Jackass star to play a detective who solves crimes by drinking people’s urine. Check out his full description of the unfilmed sketch in the clip below.
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