Other members of the cast had more trouble adjusting to fame. Steve-O very publicly battled drug addiction. In recent years worrying signs have come from Bam Margera, who has entered and exited rehab a number of times. Cast member Ryan Dunn died in 2011 in a drunk-driving accident. Watching his friends struggle has been immensely challenging for Knoxville.
“It's difficult when your friends are…” He trailed off and quieted to nearly a whisper. “It was heartbreaking, losing Ryan. And it was tough when Steve-O was going off the rails. But he has completely, completely turned his life around and is doing just—I mean, he's doing terrific. He's a different, different man.”
I asked if he ever felt that the show, or the lifestyle around it, was responsible for exacerbating his friends' struggles.
“I think each of us was responsible for his own actions,” he said, measured. “And when someone's struggling, everyone tries to help that person. And at the end of the day, that person has to want help. Sometimes they don't. Yet.”
I asked him if he was speaking about anyone specifically.
He looked away, visibly emotional. Half a minute passed.
“We want Bam to be happy and healthy and get the help he needs,” he said. “We tried to push that along. I think that's all I really want to say about it.”
A few days after I had lunch with Knoxville, Margera asserted to TMZ that he'd been fired from Jackass 4 for refusing to follow through with Knoxville-mandated rehab, an experience he likened to “torture.” (Over the phone, Margera confirmed to me that he'd been fired from the movie for breaking his contract. “It hurts my heart,” he said, “because I've waited 10 years for this.”)
“I don't want to get into public back-and-forth with Bam,” Knoxville said when I later brought up Margera's claim. “I just want him to get better.”