Steve-O earned less than $1,500 for his first full season on the hit series that launched his career to international fame, the 52-year-old has revealed. In a recent interview, Steve-O revealed the incredible compensation he received despite the show’s growing popularity and strong online ratings.The revelation is very interesting because Steve-O was homeless and unemployed when the series began on October 1, 2000. “Before the show came out, my sister kicked me out of the house. I was broke, unemployed, and homeless, and the star of this big show,” he said to Playboy magazine, showing the brutality of his situation.
The surprising truth about compensation for season 1
Steve-O’s salary was calculated in installments rather than per episode, which he called “ridiculous.” After filming for five days, during which he was bitten by a shark and suffered several injuries, he recorded what he expected to be paid. For a shark bite that left a scar on his finger, he received $500.
The actor shared that he was homeless, unemployed and struggling financially when Jackass premiered in 2000. Photo (Steve-O Instagram)
“When all was said and done, after taxes, I was paid less than $1,500 for the entire first season,” he revealed. “After five days of filming, I was shaken, shaken, bitten by a shark, and I took out a piece of paper to write down what I thought was the most important thing to be on the show. At the top, I wrote ‘Goldfish,’ and I thought, while I’m sitting, I can put what I expect to be paid. Next to ‘Goldfish 0,’ I wrote $20.“
The difference between being famous and being rich
His overnight fame was in stark contrast to his wealth.” “That’s one of the first things I learned about fame: It’s easier than luck,” Steve-O reflected.
Steve-O’s path to ‘Jackass’ and the financial crisis
Before he became a leading artist, Steve-O worked as a sports artist, making trick-or-treating skateboard videos. In 1997, he burned his face while trying to hide behind a Big Brother skateboarding book, portraying himself as someone willing to endure the sport’s biggest risk.He then signed up for Ringling Bros. Clown College as the best way to get admission. The only reason I considered going to Clown College was to further my goal of becoming a very famous person. I had been homeless for three years, I had zero traction, and I thought, well, if I can graduate from Ringling Bros. Clown College, so I’m a trained clown,” he explained.His background in acting, combined with his willingness to perform in horror shows, made him a perfect fit for the series’ creators. “The fact that I was an artist made me very popular with the people who started Jackass. It was alive,” said Steve-O.
As Jackass: Best and Last prepares for release, Steve-O reflects on the legacy of the franchise and the unforgettable journey that changed his career. Photo credit (Steve-O Instagram)
Steve-O at the end of ‘Jackass’
Now, twenty years later, Steve-O and his friends are preparing to close the franchise that made them household names. The fifth and final installment, titled ‘Jackass: Best and Last’, will feature unreleased footage that was not allowed to be shown in the original.Steve-O confirmed the end of the project, saying that the end of the franchise is “one hundred percent” certain. “Jackass 5 includes videos that never made it to the end of the first episodes because they weren’t allowed to be shown before. I don’t really know why they’re allowed now, but they’re here,” he explained.
Steve-O’s thoughts on the legacy of the franchise
He expressed a deep sense of what the franchise meant to him and his friends. “I had my little scene in the edit bay last week, and I didn’t move much. Like, wow. What I was a part of. What I’m a part of. It’s crazy,” he reflected upon watching the final episode.Steve-O described the final project as “finding a home for the clutter that didn’t have a home, and a final rush for all of us to come together and do whatever we have in us.”The closing of the franchise represented the end of a period of excitement, which turned the sportsman into a household name, as the financial realities of the early success told a more complicated story.The movie ‘Jackass: Best and Last’ is expected to hit theaters on June 26.