Well, Lacy was the big guy. Enough said.
Except there's a little more to it than that. Lacy actually wrote that sketch, and many others you've seen on the show and the films. He's now doing stand-up comedy, and is headlining a show in Tampa on Saturday (he'll also be celebrating his birthday with an after-party).
We caught up with Lacy about his Jackass legacy, his stand-up and convincing his buddy to do one of their most famous stunts.
You're doing a stand-up comedy tour, Steve-O has toured a lot and Ehren McGehey has also performed comedy. What is it about stand-up that appeals to Jackass alums?
You don’t get beat up on stage, except for "Danger" Ehren those four times. We love our fans and it fuels us like gasoline to get up on stage and tell some of our favorite stories and some juicy inside baseball.
When you started doing stunts almost 20 years ago, did you think people would remember what you did decades later? How does that feel?
It’s very internal when we film. It feels like it’s just us; we never think about the audience. I just try to crack up my buddies. Those are some really funny dudes and I enjoy making them laugh.
Chris Pontius needs a camera crew filming him all day every day. He’s a funny motherfucker.
On the show and in the movies, you were part of an ensemble. On stage, it's just you. How do you prepare for a comedy set?
I need to get my adrenaline up so I usually do some shoplifting right before or make some threatening phone calls. I used to drive off without paying for my gas but you can’t really do that anymore. It’s prepay everywhere.
On a bonus feature from one of the films, you mentioned dealing with a fear of heights when doing a stunt. Many people would be terrified of speaking on a stage in front of strangers, but you do it regularly. Did that come naturally for you? How did you get into stand-up comedy?
Getting onstage is a cakewalk compared to doing stunts, especially stunts involving heights. Like all fat people, I also hate wicker furniture, which makes hot air balloons my biggest enemy.
Not to get too philosophical about Jackass, but the scenes with you and Jason "Wee Man" Acuna running down the street would be funny if they were filmed the 1930s, the 1970s or last week, and they'd be funny whether the viewer understood English or not. Was there any effort to give the stunts universal appeal, or was it just a "this might be funny, let's see what happens" philosophy?
I purposely wrote that to be a silent film-type gag. We’ve gotten a lot out of that. The hardest part was convincing Wee Man to do it the very first day I met him. He’s one of my best friends now, but that day he looked at me like I was nuts.
What will surprise people about your comedy material? What will they learn about you that they didn't know?
Everybody always tells me I’m smarter than they thought I’d be. I must look like a real dumbass on television.
What's more painful: Getting whipped by a pair of dominatrixes, or working hard on a joke that doesn't go over well?
Getting beaten by dominatrixes. There’s no sexual appeal in that for me. Lots of luck to those who like to get down that way.
What feels better: Writing a killer joke that audiences love, or watching a buddy totally embarrass or hurt himself?
For me it’s writing an idea on a napkin, filming it with my friends and then months later watching it in a movie theater. That’s what floats my boat.
Years later, a number of Jackass performers are still dealing with stunt-related injuries. Any aches, pains or cool scars that remind you of your former career?
It’s not a "former" career. We’re all a little beat up but we’ve still got some game. Jackass is far from over.
This article appears in Aug 9-16, 2018.
