Johnny Knoxvillesays he suffered from brain damage as a result of a stunt in his new movieJackass Forever.
The 50-year-old action star opened up about the injury, and thescary side effectshe experienced as a result, in an interview Tuesday onThe Howard Stern Show.
“I got a brain hemorrhage from that, so my cognitive abilities were in steep decline after that hit,” he said with a laugh, later adding that the injury was “a tough one to come back from.”
Among Knoxville’s cognitive symptoms was his inability to maintain his attention span — on one test, he scored 17 out of 100. Though he laughs now, the star said hearing that news from a neurologist was an “oh no” moment for himself.
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“I had to go under all these types of treatments, this transcranial magnetic stimulation, which they buzz your head with these magnets for about 30 minutes at a time for like, oh God, I would say 10 to 12 treatments over a series of two months. And it’s supposed to help with depression and, you know, help with my cognitive skills,” he explained.
While trying to editJackass Forever, Knoxville said, “I couldn’t sit still.”
Johnny Knoxville with the cast ofJackass Forever.paramount pictures/ youtube
“My brain was just playing tricks on me. I got really depressed and over-focused on things,” he told Stern, noting that he began taking an antidepressant “for the first time in my life.”
“It completely turned me around,” he continued, “that and, you know, doing therapy. It was a really hard recovery from this last injury, but I’m great now. I feel like I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been.”
Johnny Knoxville.Dia Dipasupil/Getty
Knoxville is now open to speaking with a therapist about his love for all things dangerous. Earlier in the interview, the father of three said “no one” in his family is “happy” with the stunts he takes on.
Doctors have also told Knoxville that he “cannot take any more hits to the head.”
“I knew going into this film that after this I can’t put myself on the line with stunts that can forever change my life, you know?” he said. “And after the bull hit, I’m like, ‘I think I’ve done enough, right?’ I don’t have anything to prove and I still have control of all my faculties. So, “I don’t need to do large stunts anymore.”
Jackass Foreverhits theaters on Feb. 4.
source: people.com
