Steve-O is a major celebrity these days. But there was a time when the Jackass star was homeless and struggling to make it.
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Turns out, it was after filming the first season. Steve-O recently opened up about his career as a stuntman. In 1997, he attempted a fire-breathing backflip and burned his face. That caught the attention of the cult skateboarding publication Big Brother and eventually producers.
Before filming, he also enrolled in Ringling Bros. Clown College.
"The only reason I even thought to go to Clown College was to further my goal of becoming a crazy-famous stuntman," Steve-O explained. "I had been homeless for three years, got zero f---ing traction, and I thought, all right, if I can graduate from Ringling Bros. Clown College, then I'm a trained circus professional. People take me more seriously as a stuntman."
"The only guy going to Clown College to seek legitimacy," he also added.
Steve-O Talks Homelessness
That stunt school helped him find his role.
"The fact that I was a clown endeared me to the f---ing people who started Jackass," Steve-O said. "It was organic."
However, even when filming the first season, he ended up barely surviving. He was only paid hundreds for his stunts.
"After five days of filming, I was all banged up, hungover, had been bitten by a shark, and I pulled out a piece of paper to write down what I felt really needed to be on the show," Steve-O said. "At the top I wrote 'Goldfish,' and I thought, while I'm at it, I might as well put what I expect to be paid. Next to 'Goldfish,' I literally wrote $200."
That resulted in him being homeless after filming the first season.
"When it was all said and done, after taxes, I was paid less than $1,500 for the entire first season of Jackass," Steve-O revealed. "Before the show came out, my sister kicked me out of the house. I was broke, unemployed, and homeless, and a star on this big MTV show."
"That's one of the first things I learned about fame: It comes a lot easier than fortune," he added.
