The Last Stand's Johnny Knoxville Praised Arnold Schwarzenegger's Stunt-Filled Role

Johnny Knoxville and Arnold Schwarzenegger know a thing or two about stunts. Knoxville's involve more belly laughs and ornery farm animals, and Schwarzenegger is the garden-variety, machine gun-toting action hero, but both actors have sustained many injuries in their respective lines of work. 

Perhaps it was inevitable that the "Jackass" honcho and the Terminator would eventually team up for a film, 2013's "The Last Stand." Not only did this film bring these two icons together, but it also saw a return of Schwarzenegger to the big screen as his last leading role was in 2003's "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines." For Knoxville, "The Last Stand" was an opportunity to work with a different sort of stunt icon, and he was in awe of his co-star's stamina and work ethic. 

"I can't keep up with him," Knoxville said to hollywoodstreams. "He's an inspiration."

A simple and scrappy action flick, "The Last Stand" ranks among Schwarzenegger's best films. It's also an apt return for the veteran star, who proves, as Richard Roepert affectionately put it in his review, "he's still got it."

If Johnny Knoxville is one thing, it's reckless, but the beloved stunt personality is also humble. 

"I was probably too old to do stunts when I started," he said, "and I'm not that coordinated." His background certainly suited the madcap world of "Jackass," as well as his character in "The Last Stand." As vintage arms collector-turned-deputy Lewis Dinkum, Knoxville is a source of comic relief and a zany ball of energy. 

"For my type of thing, it plays into it," he said. According to Knoxville, when it came to stunts and the demanding world of action performances, however, Arnold Schwarzenegger blew everyone out of the water. 

"In the movie, his character was dealing with his age," Knoxville said. "But on the set, he goes twice as hard as everyone else." Indeed, when "The Last Stand" was released, audiences hadn't seen Schwarzenegger in a leading role since he was in his fifties. His performance as the hardened Sheriff Ray Owens put to bed any concerns that Schwarzenegger was done with acting. 

"I just slipped into it in a natural way and felt good about being on the set," Schwarzenegger told Bodybuilding.com, "doing the scenes, handling all the weapons, doing the action, the stunts and all that." Now into his seventies — and with two more "Terminator" appearances under his belt — Schwarzenegger continues to bring it to the big screen.