On January 23, the comedy “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa” was released in Russia. The main role in it was played by Johnny Knoxville, an actor (it would be more correct to say a stuntman), known to a wide audience from the “Jackass” series. This time he plays an old man who is forced by circumstances to travel across America in the company of his young grandson. “Horrible Grandfather” is Knoxville’s first project that is not just a collection of antics of varying degrees of madness, unrelated to each other, but a film in which there is a relatively clear plot.

The film has already earned $146 million against a budget of $15 million. On the very first weekend after its release, “Horrible Grandfather” topped the American box office. In addition, on January 16, it became known that the film was nominated for an Oscar for best makeup - the American Film Academy recognized the work of specialists who managed to make an old man out of Knoxville. The day after the Oscar nominations were announced, Johnny Knoxville spoke with Lenta.ru about stunts, hidden camera filming and Spike Jonze.

Lenta.ru: Your film was nominated for an Oscar yesterday—how are you feeling about this?

Johnny Knoxville: We're all excited about it, of course. I'm convinced that Stephen Prouty, the man who did the makeup, deserves to win. Without him there would be no film. I had to play pranks on people - and these people should not have guessed that I was hiding under the layer of makeup. At the same time, they looked straight into my face in bright light. One of them would have guessed - and that’s it, consider the prank a failure. But they never recognized me. Stephen achieved some incredible results, but it came at a cost. I was put on makeup for three hours every day. The mask consisted of 11 separate parts.

The thing is that I play an elderly scumbag in this film. But we wanted this scumbag not to make a completely repulsive impression on the audience. I wanted to make him cute in some way. So the make-up artist had another task - to show that my character has a heart.

Nowadays, many filmmakers use computers, among other things, to change the appearance of actors. Did you use computer graphics in any way when filming the film?

No! Everything you see on the screen is the work of the make-up artist. I’m telling you, I sat in the chair in front of him for three hours, and that’s not counting the time it took to touch up my makeup. When you spend an hour in the heat of 90 degrees ( Fahrenheit, that is, about 32 degrees Celsius - note by Lenta.ru ), the paint flows, the mask gradually begins to peel off. Meanwhile, I’m playing pranks on people; I can’t edit my makeup right in front of everyone. Therefore, the make-up artist was waiting for me in the minibus, where he put my face in order. In general, the working conditions were not ideal, but we still managed without computer graphics.

Let's imagine that Horrible Grandfather wins an Oscar. Are you planning some kind of prank for this occasion?

Honestly, no. Make-up is, in fact, a technical category, in which the award is presented without much fanfare, that is, even if I threw something out, I still wouldn’t be shown.

You are 42 years old, your hero in “The Unbearable Grandfather” is almost half a century older. Is it difficult to play a character with such an age gap?

Generally speaking, not very much, but this is again the merit of the make-up artist. When I was wearing a mask and looking in the mirror, I myself began to believe that I was 86 years old. In other words, getting into the role was not difficult. Except that I had to work on my voice.

Horrible Grandfather is the first film in the Jackass series to feature a full-fledged plot. Is it more difficult or easier to shoot a film with a plot?

Rather more complicated.

You wrote the film's script with Spike Jonze. Did you like the collaboration?

Of course! Spike is great. When he speaks, all I can do is listen. During the day he worked on his own film “She”, and at night he came to help us. Of course, he couldn’t devote evenings to us every day, but still he spent some incredible amount of time on “The Obnoxious Grandfather.” He is a kind of teacher for me. I look at him and I seem to develop as a writer or producer.

By the way, have you already seen the movie “Her”?

Yes, and he's great. I'm sure Spike will win the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. I would be glad if this film was also recognized as the best film, but there is too much competition there. It also seems to me that Spike should have been nominated for Best Director, but he wasn’t, and that’s kind of stupid. He is, in fact, one of the greatest living directors.

Let's talk about your Horrible Grandfather co-star Jackson Nicholl. He seems to be ten years old?

Well, it's ten now, I think. When we first started filming, he was only eight years old.

And how did he react to what was happening around him during filming?

We protected him. When they were filming something really indecent, like a scene in a strip club, he wasn't on set. Irwin Zisman, my character, is obsessed with sex, but at the same time I couldn’t talk freely about frank topics in front of an eight-year-old child. That's why we came up with a whole phrasebook of euphemisms. The child didn't understand what it was about, so everything was fine. But any adult who heard these words immediately understood what exactly I meant. You know, phrases like “I’m too old to stir soup, but I can lick a ladle.”

What was the most dangerous stunt in "The Horrible Grandfather"?

Initially, we came up with a bunch of stunts for the film, and some of them made us worry - because if I got seriously injured, the filming would have to be stopped. But then we started working on the film, and our characters with Billy began to form a relationship, some kind of story developed - then we felt that we, in general, did not need too many stunts. Well, to answer your question, the most dangerous moment in the film is probably when I fly off the children's ride and crash through the window of a furniture store. It’s not visible in the frame, but there was a metal beam above the window, into which I could easily fit my head. So when this ride threw me forward, I tried my best to stay as low as possible.

In other words, compared to previous Jackass films, was filming relatively safe this time around?

In a sense, yes. It's all about the plot - thanks to its presence, we decided that we wouldn't do anything really wild. Any nonsense would distract from the relationship between grandfather and grandson.

So you made it to the end of filming safe and healthy?

Healthy... We used to drink at night, I don’t think it had a good effect on the condition of my liver. To be serious, I injured my hand, but it happened after the film was completed - we were filming a commercial for “Early Grandfather” for MTV.

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I also want to ask about the hidden camera. It's always hard to believe that the people involved in the filming are not really warned about what will happen. Do they really not even suspect that they are being filmed?

If we have even a vague suspicion that the participants in the filming are aware of something like this, we immediately decide not to include such a scene in the film. If what we achieve is not one hundred percent honest, then we have not achieved a result at all. We have strict requirements; only people who did not understand what was happening when they were filmed get into the film. If pretense gets into the frame, it's no longer funny.

Wait a minute, but what about, for example, filming in the same furniture store?

In such cases, we, of course, warn the owners. If only for the reason that we need to prepare the site in advance, for example, install cameras. But we tell the owners: under no circumstances notify the employees, otherwise nothing will come of it. There were no such incidents during the filming of Horrible Grandfather. But when we were working on “Jackass 2,” there was a case: I came to a shoe store, filming began, and suddenly I realized that the employees were aware of what was happening. I just felt it. I had no choice but to turn around and leave.

Okay, but how do you negotiate with the owners? You don’t just come to their store, but you also break windows.

Of course, we agree on compensation. In the case of the furniture store, we immediately promised that we would replace the display window. As for this children's attraction, we, of course, did not break it - it was actually a contraption built specifically for the film. Real children's rides usually don't explode. In general, all the places we visit return to their original state after we leave.

Are you planning to continue the Jackass series? And if so, would you like to make another film with a clear script?

There are no specific plans yet, but I would like to film new “Jackass.” And, perhaps, there will be no script in this film - it simply does not correspond to the spirit of the series. “The Obnoxious Grandfather” is still a separate project, not quite “Weirdos,” although it is close in spirit. But I would also like to make a new movie with a storyline using my Jackass co-stars.

"Pretending is no longer funny"