Jackass Forever's New Stars Jasper Wilson And Zach Holmes Never Said 'No' To Anything [Interview]

There's an old adage that you should never meet your heroes because they'll only disappoint you. But for "Jackass Forever" stars Davon Lamar "Jasper Dolphin" Wilson and Zach "Zackass" Holmes, meeting their heroes was everything they dreamed of and more. As two of the new cast members in "Jackass Forever," they're put to the task of being just as gnarly as the rest of the crew, and they do it with big, goofy smiles ... most of the time. After all, it's pretty hard to smile when you're landing on a bed of cacti or playing musical chairs with airbags, but they take it on the chin pretty well regardless. 

Wilson began his career as a part of "Loiter Squad," the Adult Swim series from the Dickhouse crew (the same team that makes "Jackass"), where he and fellow Odd Future rap group members Tyler the Creator, Lionel, Earl Sweatshirt, and Taco got up to all kinds of crazy stunts and skits. They even invited some of the "Jackass" guys on the series, including Dave Englund, Chris Pontius, and Johnny Knoxville. Holmes got his start on his YouTube channel Zackass, and got the attention of the folks at MTV, who developed his series "Too Stupid to Die." Both were part of the extended "Jackass" family, and their induction into the actual crew feels like fate. 

To promote the arrival of "Jackass Forever" on VOD, I had the chance to sit down and chat with the guys via Zoom. The moment my camera loaded, Wilson yelled "welcome to the neighborhood!", and we were off onto ten minutes of silly questions and lots of laughs. They're perfect additions to the "Jackass" crew, and had plenty of fun things to share. 

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity. 

What was it like working with these guys after sort of following in their footsteps for all of these years and just getting to actually be a part of this?

Holmes: It was a dream come true for me. I never really thought that I would get to work with these people that I looked up to my whole life, and it was just awesome being able to work with them and have them like welcome me with open arms. It was one of the most fun experiences I've ever had.

Wilson: Yeah. I feel you on that one. It was an amazing experience after being younger and watching the movies and the TV shows and all the other spinoffs they did. So for them be able to say, "Hey, Jasper, come hang out with us and do some wild stuff," and I'm like, "Man, this is pretty crazy. I could die, but hey, why not? We here now."

On that note, were there any stunts you said no to?

Wilson: I didn't say no to anything because I didn't want to seem like a lame-o.

Holmes: I told myself going into it that if I said no to something, I would probably regret it. And then I would think about it for the rest of my life. So I was like, I'm not going to say no to anything.

Wilson: It's going to be knocking on your door when you 44.

Holmes: Yeah. "You should have done it."

The hazing on "Jackass" is kind of legendary. Did either of you go through any ridiculous rituals or have to worry about being randomly attacked on set by tasers or shaving razors or anything like that?

Wilson: I wouldn't say there was hazing, but I did walk out of the bathroom to a volleyball to the chest once. But I think that was for everybody, whoever just had to use the bathroom. So they didn't pick on us too bad. If anything, when they pranked us, they pranked everybody. Like it was Jeff [Tremaine] that was up to everything.

Holmes: Yeah. Everyone was getting pranked all the time. So it was like, no matter what, everything could be a prank. So I think it was more like everyone was getting it.

Are there any classic stunts from the "Jackass" TV show or the previous movies that you wish you had gotten a chance to do?

Wilson: Let me think about that because my favorite ones are things I would not want to do. That's a good question. [mimes thinking] Hmm ... No, I wouldn't want that to happen to me. I'm going to go with no.

Holmes: Yeah. I don't know if I would want to do any of them, either.

Wilson: You know, I'll be down to shave my pubic hair to put it on Ehren [McGhehey]'s face. I'll be down for that. That's about it.

Jasper, were there any points while filming the movie where you were worried that your dad might actually choke somebody out?

Wilson: Yes, honestly, I had to tell them like he could snap at any time and go into a different world, because I had seen it from being younger. He's a wild man. He's a wild character, and I'm glad he didn't actually choke anybody. Because I have seen him attempt to choke somebody before, and it's not pretty. He has this look in his eyes, they're almost out of his eyeballs. He just goes to like survival mode or something. It can get scary. 

What was it like reuniting the "Loiter Squad" and the "Jackass" crew and just bringing it all together? It was like a "Blackass" reunion.

Wilson: It was nice. We did do a little "Blackass" skit [on "Loiter Squad"] back in the day, and then we had some of the guys come on [the show]. So it felt good. And then we had — Lionel was in the movie also; Travis, which is Taco; and then only person we're missing was Thebe [Earl Sweatshirt]. Other than that, it was excellent.

What do you both think makes "Jackass" appeal to so many people? How has this stuck around this long and how has it appealed to such a wide variety of fans?

Holmes: Everyone remembers that stupid thing they do with their friends. I feel like "Jackass" reminds people of just doing stupid things with their friends all the time, and I think that's why it appeals. It's always just fun to do dumb s***.

Wilson: A hundred percent. Then also just watching it with your friends, it's just an epic moment. I would go see it with my friends. We watched it probably like five, six times in a movie theater and it always felt good to look over at somebody and see what they were laughing at. Or you laugh at the same little things. It's a good friends and family connection. It's like a family reunion all over again from back in the day.

What are some of your all-time favorite movie stunts? Doesn't have to be "Jackass," just any movie — what stunt really impressed you?

Wilson: I'm going to say just about everything Jackie Chan do, because he's one of my favorite people ever. He has some cool stunts in the movie "Rumble in the Bronx." You know what I'm saying? He broke his leg in that movie and continued to film. He's a legend.

Holmes: Movie stunts ... That one caught me off guard, I don't know.

Wilson: Tom Cruise does all his stunts. I'm the new Tom Cruise. I did all my stunts in this movie.

Speaking of the stunts, what do you guys see as the future of the franchise? If you and some of the other young guys and girls decided to carry it on, would you want to?

Wilson: I'm here to do whatever they need me to do. I ain't going to force nothing to happen, but if they was like, "Hey guys, let's turn up some more," I'm gonna be like, "All right, I'm in." But I also would love for them to always be there to turn up with us. It wouldn't be right for them not to be in it.

Holmes: Yeah. I'm with Jasper on that. If they came to us and were like, "Yeah, we want to do this other thing," I would be like, "Sure. F*** yeah. Let's do it."

Are there any wishlist stunts, anything you wanted to get to do that you didn't get a chance to do in this movie?

Wilson: Man, I didn't get to do "Silence of the Lambs," and I was kind of sad afterwards. So Jeff asked me was I scared of snakes. And I was like, "Well, I'm not scared of them." And it was like, "Would you be down to try to kiss it grab the cookie off the head or whatever it was." And I was like, "Yeah," and they said, "All right, he's not going to be scared." I would've been scared still, no matter what. A loose snake in a room is enough reason for me to go crazy. But I was also maybe too into it to try to touch the snake with my mouth or whatever it was, the cookie thing. But yeah, I'm sad. Could've been me.

What's next for both of y'all? Is there anything we can catch you in or look forward to?

Wilson: Well, I'm actually on tour right now. I DJ for Tyler the Creator and I'm working on some animation things, and maybe I can make my own movie if we finally get this script together, me and the boys, but we trying. We trying.

Holmes: And I'm working on a bunch of other stuff, just working on pitching a bunch of stuff. So yeah, maybe you guys will see more stuff from me soon, too.

"Jackass Forever" is streaming on Paramount+ and available to purchase on Digital.