Johnny Knoxville in Jackass 3D. Photo courtesy Paramount Pictures.

Pablo Picasso once said, “Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.” If you’ve ever seen Jackass, either the MTV series or the first two movies, then you’ve definitely seen a few acts of destruction, if mostly self-inflicted and in the groin region. So does this mean Johnny Knoxville and his band of giddy morons qualify as artists? Probably, yeah. It doesn’t hurt that their latest movie, Jackass 3D — which opens nationwide tomorrow — was screened earlier this week at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the very building that also houses a Picasso collection. You could waste a lot of ink writing about the artistry, intended or not, of the Jackass oeuvre. The new movie in particular is brimming with subtext, everything from blistering homosexual tension (has their ever been a group of straight men who wanted to fuck each other as desperately as these guys?) to bittersweet reflections on growing old.

Despite what you may’ve heard, the 3-D technology isn’t the real show here. Sure, it’s fascinating and revolting to watch poop sprayed at you in three-dimensions. But even more remarkable is how the performers, after over a decade of filmed abuse, have discovered flinching. It’s as if in early middle age, they’ve suddenly developed a pain reflex. Or maybe it’s just the anticipation of pain. They still endure every stunt like champs, but with age and experience, they seem more acutely aware of what’s coming and how much it’s going to hurt. If there’s any lesson in the Jackass movies — and I highly recommend watching them sequentially to really appreciate this point — it’s that we’re all dying a little more every day, and ignorance really is bliss.

I called Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, and Bam Margera to talk about their new movie. We ended up talking theology and scrotums, because why wouldn’t we?Eric Spitznagel: When Jackass first premiered on MTV, there was a warning at the beginning of every episode that all stunts were “performed by professionals.” It seemed hilarious at the time to think you could be a “professional” at putting foreign objects in your ass and enduring testicle abuse. But, I guess after all these years, you guys actually are professionals.

Johnny Knoxville: Well, we’re no better at what we do than we ever were. We’ve just been doing it a long time. We still suck.

Bam Margera: The fact that Johnny’s so uncoordinated is what makes it funny. He just falls on his face.

Knoxville: I am the least skilled of anybody in the cast. All I can do is stand in one spot and hold onto whatever they give me.

Steve-O: I was a professional before Jackass ever started. I graduated from Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Clown College.

They must be very proud.

Steve-O: Not at all. (Laughs.) I’m a proud vegan, whistle-blower, and animal rights activist. I know that makes me sound like a hypocrite, because in Jackass 3D I get into a pen with a ram that charges into my nuts. I was really conflicted about that.

About which part? The nuts charging or...?

Steve-O: I remember when the movie started, I said, “I don’t want to work with animals. That’s not what I’m about.” But then I did the ram scene anyway, and I justified it in my head, like, “O.K., this is for work. I’ve got to put my own personal beliefs aside.” So I got into the pen and my instincts took over. The ram charged towards my nuts, and I put my hand down to block it. That happened a bunch of times, and as a result the tendons in my right hand are totally messed up. This was back in February, and we’re now in October and it’s still not healed. I feel like it’s a permanent reminder that I compromised my beliefs.