‘Jackass’ star Steve-O says he can’t perform within city limits because his show is ‘banned in Philly’

When it come to the stunts, pranks, gnarly injuries, and seemingly endless amounts of bodily fluids Stephen “Steve-O” Glover has tried, endured, and spilled for entertainment, there’s no line between “best” or “worst.”

Steve-O, perhaps more than any other star of the hit Jackass franchise, was willing to do almost anything for the camera. He’s 49 and sober now, and you’d assume he’s tamer than the young man who snorted wasabi sauce in 2002′s Jackass: The Movie. Last year’s Jackass Forever, the fourth installment based on the MTV show, made $80 million. Steve-O, seemingly unchanged all those years later, put bees on his, well, you know.

» READ MORE: Bam Margera arrested at the Radnor Hotel

Born in England, the former professional clown is touring the country with “Steve-O’s Bucket List Tour,” a one-man show that’s equal parts stand-up and clips of stunts that didn’t make it to Jackass. Ahead of three forthcoming shows in Atlantic City, Wilmington, and Easton, Pa., The Inquirer spoke to Steve-O about his sobriety, handling stunts at his age, and his efforts to help former Jackass star Bam Margera, of Chester County. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Congratulations on your sobriety. I was wondering how much of your show delves into that?

I’m definitely not there to proselytize, but it does come up because one of the stunts on my bucket list, an old idea I had, was to be shot with a tranquilizer dart gun, for a tranquilizer dart footrace. I would line up with one of my buddies and they would shoot tranquilizer darts into our butt cheeks and we would sprint for distance. We found a guy who had a gun and who was willing to do it, but we found out what goes into the darts. It’s ketamine, and ketamine is a no-fly zone for me. (He did do the stunt with general anesthesia.)

Were you worried that sobriety would change your professional life or what stunts you were willing to do?

When you get into sobriety, they talk about, like, deflating the ego, practicing spirituality, and the idea of deflating my ego and being spiritual, like, how much does that jive with being Steve-O from Jackass. Luckily, I found that not only was I able to still do the Jackass s—, I do it way better. I’m running circles around every younger version of myself, creatively.

Jackass had an unusual connection to the Philadelphia area with Bam Margera and his crew in Chester County. Do you have any memories of stunts you’ve done around here?

I never did too much in Philly for Jackass. We would generally shoot separately. I definitely shot in Philly for the second Jackass movie, and the third one was all in L.A., I think. When I think about Philly at this point, everything has been adjacent to Philly because there’s not a single theater in Philadelphia which would allow this show, for its content.

Really? Wow.

Yeah, solidly banned in Philly. That’s why we had Wilkes-Barre and the Keswick in the burbs. (Fear not, The Inquirer is investigating this claim.)

You’ve tried to help Bam, who’s been having his own struggles, and you’ve been pretty vocal about your disappointments. Anything more you want people to know?

Beyond what I’ve said, I’m here to help him if he wants to get better. I just can’t do it for him. I tried everything I could to try to encourage him to want to get better and none of it worked, so here we are. He has to want to get better.

(Note: This interview was conducted prior to Margera’s most recent arrest.)

I know you once had a heart-to-heart with your father, where he came to accept the unusual path you’ve taken. Do you have any advice for parents who have a son as wild as you were?

I don’t know, dude, the idea of parenthood just scares me so bad. I don’t even know if I have any advice, besides ‘I feel for you.’ To become a parent, it seems that your heart is now outside your body. I couldn’t do it.

You’re almost 50 now; do you ever think about giving your body a break?

Yeah man, I’m in it right now. I’ve got my hip acting up on me. But with respect to like real heavy stunts, I just have to take my lickins and see how it goes. I don’t know how much, past this next show, that I’m gonna be able to bang my body up like this, but I’ve got one more tour in me for sure.

Steve-O’s “Bucket List Tour” is in Atlantic City on Sept. 2, Wilmington on Sept. 5, and Easton, Pa., on Sept. 7. For more information and tickets, visit Steve0.com.