Johnny Knoxville Breaks His Silence On Bam Margera & Announces He's Officially Retiring From Jackass Stunts!

Man, who knew the upcoming movie with the most drama and pathos would be Jackass 4??

Obviously we’ve all heard from Bam Margera a number of times about the “torture” he was put through as his castmates tried to keep him on the straight and narrow. Thus far Johnny Knoxville has kept his own side of the story private, but in a new interview with GQ, he does offer a statement on the matter.

Related: Steve-O Responds To Bam

When asked about having to watch his co-stars — and longtime friends — struggle the past few years, including of course the 2011 death of Ryan Dunn in a drunk driving accident, he gets emotional:

“It’s difficult when your friends are… 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.”

As to whether the show, and the fame and money that came with it, made the journeys more difficult, he said:

“I think each of us was responsible for his own actions. 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.“

Not hard to figure out whom he’s talking about there. The interviewer writes that he stared off, “visibly emotional,” for a full half minute before answering:

“We want Bam to be happy and healthy and get the help he needs. We tried to push that along. I think that’s all I really want to say about it.”

Aw. It really does sound like they were trying to show Bam some tough love and get him clean.

Speaking of knowing when to quit, Knoxville also used the interview as an opportunity to officially announce his retirement from doing Jackass stunts. As he explains:

“You can only take so many chances before something irreversible happens. I feel like I’ve been extremely lucky to take the chances I’ve taken and still be walking around.”

Even if there is another movie, he won’t be a part of it — it’s just too much wear and tear on his body at this point, something he never considered when he was first making Jackass over 20 years ago. He laments:

“Half-ass stuntmen don’t really think long-term.”

At the time he just found doing the stunts “exciting.”

“It’s something that I did with my friends. And I was decent at it. [I loved] the exhilaration and relief, once you get on the other side of the stunt. Or when you come to. You wake up, you’re like, ‘Oh, was that good?’ And they’re like, ‘That was great.’ You got a good bit when there’s seven people standing over you, snapping their fingers.”

Some of the injuries have caused lasting damage, even more dangerous than broken bones. For instance, for a long time he had a problem making left turns in a car after being knocked out by heavyweight boxer Butterbean in the first film.

“I got vertigo after that, along with the concussion. So when I’d drive around corners, I would just start to get the spins.”

His solution at the time? He “just drove slower.” Eventually, however, he did fix the vertigo with medication.

Knoxville is 50 years old now (!!!) and says he has to think long-term these days.

“I can’t afford to have any more concussions. I can’t put my family through that.”

The former MTV star also revealed he has begun going to a therapist — but with the caveat that the stunts weren’t on the table to discuss. After all, if he had a breakthrough that made him no longer want to risk his life doing dumb things, there goes the next movie, right?