Steve-O is arriving in New Zealand for three shows next month. Photo / steveo.com
Steve-O is arriving in New Zealand for three shows next month. Photo / steveo.com
Steve-O’s past stunts have been so gnarly it’s hard to imagine them getting any more shocking, but the Jackass star has outdone himself and taken part in something so wild he was left temporarily paralysed.
Due to arrive in New Zealand for his Bucket List Tour next month, the starreveals he has substantially raised the bar in comparison to his Jackass days.
“Very little of what I’ve filmed for the bucket list would ever have been allowed to happen for Jackass,” he tells the Herald over Zoom.
Sitting in his car wearing a grey hoodie and red T-shirt, the star – full name Stephen Glover – explains how most of the stunts you’ll see at his four near sold-out March shows were never meant to happen, in fact, they’re so crazy and ill-advised even he didn’t think they were possible.
“There are legitimately life-threatening stunts. There’s triple X-rated stunts. It’s all really, really high level,” he says laughing, clearly unfazed by the extremity of his antics.
Steve-O found fame performing stunts in MTV's hit show, Jackass. Photo / Supplied
Glover rose to fame in the early 2000s when he appeared on MTV’s Jackass, performing gnarly stunts that saw him stick a leech to his eyeball, part take in an alligator tightrope and receive a tattoo while driving off-road.
Now, 22 years, a successful series, two books and seven movies later, the star has solidified himself as one of the world’s boldest stunt men and at age 48 he shows no signs of slowing down.
The proof is in his upcoming Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland shows which are a part of his worldwide tour, The Bucket List Tour.
Initially, the show was just going to be Glover and a microphone but he wanted more for this tour.
“I edited in footage in post-production for the comedy special to be multimedia,” he says, adding that it’s not for the “faint-hearted”.
And this particular stunt could be the reason why.
“I had a doctor in disguise put a four-inch needle into my spinal cavity and inject a drug called chloro protein into my spinal cavity and then he whipped out the needle and said, go. And I took off running to see how far I could run and what would happen while I became paralysed in a full sprint.”
Steve-O is a man whose desire for attention outweighs his desire for comfort and safety. Photo / steveo.com
For most people that stunt would be too insane to ever think of, not to mention decide to try but Glover thought it was “epic” and while he admittedly was a little bit scared he went on to explain his desire for attention outweighs his desire for comfort and safety.
“I was just sobbing on the ground over the fact that it’s so difficult for me to raise the bar with the types of stunts that I do,” he says. “I was just so elated and, so grateful to have really substantially raised the bar that I found myself just paralysed on the ground sobbing. I was so happy.”
The same can’t be said for his fiancé, Lux Wright, 35, who was so shocked by some of the stunts performed for The Bucket List Tour that they almost caused irreparable damage to their relationship.
“She’s really supportive and instrumental in the execution of the beginning stunts and as the show progresses, she becomes less and less okay with what’s happening, and then by the end of it, she aggressively dislikes what’s happening so much that it creates serious problems in our relationship,” he laughs.
Thankfully, the two are in a “great place” now he shares. They’re in the midst of planning their wedding and Wright will be joining him next month in New Zealand.
Steve-O and his fiancé Lux Wright. Photo / Getty Images
Glover last visited Aotearoa in 2014 and admits he took advantage of our adventurous activities including driving golf balls off a cliff, going to the shooting range and even driving a race car, but this time he has no outrageous plans and intends to do “meaningful” activities instead.
However, Glover smirks because the trip is the calm before the storm. While titled The Bucket List Tour, he still has a few things he wants to tick off it and intends to do them as soon as his final show wraps up.
“It’ll be all systems go. It’s gonna be a real bad boy summer,” he laughs. By that, he means his future stunts will be difficult to keep under wraps. He wants them to be so wild that they will “generate their own headlines.”
As a self-proclaimed attention wh***, Glover wants to retain his notoriety. He loves the fact that after 20 years in the entertainment industry, spanning multiple generations, he is still on an upward trajectory.
And it’s this desire for notoriety that is the driving force behind his next goal to tick off the bucket list.
“Even though I’ve become more successful with my comedy, I think it’s still a fairly well-kept secret and I’m itching for the cat to be out of the bag and for everybody to know how explosive my shows are.
“And to become an arena act on the back of that,” he laughs.
