Jackass stuntman Steve-o made a pit stop at this year's Fringe to prove to himself and the world that sobriety hasn’t robbed him of his sense of humour or stupidity. The thirty-seven year old talked to STV about his newest venture as an unconventional but highly acclaimed stand-up comedian:
“Five years ago I got invited to a comedy club in Los Angeles and the guy who invited me asked me to get up on stage and do something crazy and I showed up and I looked around and I thought ‘man what could possibly be more crazy than me trying stand up comedy’, right away I was hooked”.
But don’t be fooled. This production isn’t your run of the mill comedy show. Little hints of the Steve-o we all know and love literally shone through in a fire acrobatics extravaganza (Steve-o set his head alight much to the applause of an astounded and partly alarmed audience).
When asked to explain the motivation behind his performance he described an innate desire to prove that even though he’s now dry, he’s still the same as before.
“For me, it’s like I’m on this mission to prove that I’m still crazy, I’m still Steve-o, that I’m wild", he said. "I feel like it’s important for me to prove to myself and to the world at large that sobriety hasn’t robbed me of my personality.”
This show is sure proof that Steve-o can still produce the brand of magic responsible for generating mass hysteria during the Jackass hoopla a few years back.
He was quick to make a connection: “I really feel like I’ve catered my show to a Jackass sensibility, I think there’s a lot of stories about Jackass and about the way that it’s changed my life and how certain things like the stories behind certain things that you saw in the movies”.
Steve-o also took time out to reflect on the loss of his former Jackass partner Ryan Dunn.
Steve-o will be showing at Liquid Rooms from 16 August to 17 August at 7pm. To find out what else is going on at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, visit STV’s special festival page.
