The Nintendo Commercial That Almost Killed Steve-O
Stephen "Steve-O" Glover is probably most recognizable to audiences as the guy they've seen get beat up and smacked around more than any other person on TV this side of Daffy Duck. The entertainer rose to prominence as part of the crew on MTV's "Jackass," and he's since carved out a career of doing increasingly dangerous (and hilarious) stunts. From strapping himself into a flying port-a-potty to snorting wasabi, Steve-O's shown that there aren't many risks he's unwilling to take for the cameras of "Jackass" and "Wildboyz." But there's one stunt that scared him more than any other — and no, it's not almost getting trampled by a bull.
Believe it or not, out of all of the wild stunts he's pulled throughout his career, Steve-O's closest brush with death occurred while he was filming a commercial for the Nintendo DS. In the commercial, the "Wildboyz" cast can be seen gallivanting on an African safari, taking in the sites while enjoying some handheld gaming. The ad ends on a humorous note, as a lion takes Steve-O's head in its mouth and tries to chew through his hat. The commercial would be little more than a curio today, were it not for the fact that it nearly cost Steve-O his life. During a look back at some of their scariest stunts, Steve-O and longtime collaborator Chris Pontius discussed how scary the shoot actually was for them.
Steve-O meets a lion for a Nintendo DS commercial
The fact that the Nintendo commercial shoot was a controlled environment did not make getting the up-close attention of a lion any less terrifying. Steve-O explains that one of the lions immediately went after him when the director called for action. "I just went limp," he says now. "I was, like, resigned. To, like, 'Oh, I'm dead. This is it.'"
Thankfully, the crew quickly got to work in getting Steve-O out of the tree and away from the lion's mouth. In behind-the-scenes footage from the day of the shoot, Steve-O can be seen getting down from the tree on a ladder, an incredulous look on his face. Though he's laughing in the video, it's pretty obvious that the shoot spooked him more than expected. Off-camera, the crew managed to cajole the lion away from Steve-O by bribing it with a different piece of meat. "Wildboyz" co-creator and director Jeff Tremaine seconded Steve-O's feelings in the clip, saying, "We've never had a [close] call like that. That was the scariest thing we've ever shot."
Over the years, the clip of Steve-O's close call with the big cats has become legendary among fans of the entertainer and Nintendo alike. Redditors rediscovering the clip have remarked that it's kind of amazing that Steve-O never drops the DS, even when he's in the lion's jaws. As one fan put it, "That's the best endorsement Nintendo could ever ask for," showing Steve-O's dedication to the job at hand. It's truly difficult to think of any other spokespersons who would risk life and limb in the name of video games.