Many of you may remember that, before Parenthood and before he married Kristen Bell and started making adorable, incredibly sweet commercials, Dax Shepard was on MTV’s Punk’d. In fact, that’s where he got his start. Last week, he talked a little about that experience on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, specifically the Justin Timberlake episode, where Timberlake ended up on the sidewalk out in front of his home crying because he had been tricked (by Shepard) into believing that the IRS was basically repossessing his home for failure to pay his taxes.
First, some context: If you ever wondered why a woman who looks like Kristen Bell would end up marrying a guy who looks like Dax Shepard (no offense), just spend an hour with his WTF Podcast. He is fascinating, and there’s a lot more depth to the guy than you might initially think based on some of his past roles. Did you know, for instance, that he’s a recovering addict (ten years sober), having hit rock bottom around the time he made Jon Favreau’s Zathura?
Dax Shepard also likes to fight. He is quick to get into physical altercations. In fact, on the podcast, he recounts a huge fight he got into shortly after he began dating Bell, in which he jumped out of his car and began kicking some guy’s ass who threw a glass beverage into his windshield, an experience that nearly got him sued and could’ve ruined his career.
The problem with Shepard’s tendency to fight, however, is that on a show liked Punk’d, situations could easily escalate into arguments and physical violence. However, Ashton Kutcher — the host and creator of Punk’d — had specifically told Shepard that he could not get into fights with anyone on the show. He just had to suck it up and take it.
That was never really a problem for Shepard, except for once: The Justin Timberlake episode. Here’s Shepard recounting that episode to Marc Maron:
Maron: Did they tell you that you can’t kick anyone’s ass?
Shepard: They did. As Ashton and I became friends, he said, ‘You know, you can’t, if someone gets physical with you, you’re just going to have to take it, which weirdly enough … definitely the most famous bit on the show in all the years was the Punk’ing of Justin Timberlake. What made it so viral, I guess, was that he had cried at one point in it.
And at the end of that bit, when Ashton comes out [and says], ‘You’re on Punk’d’ blah blah blah, and everyone is celebrating … the bit is over, the cameras are off, and [Timberlake] keeps saying, ‘Yeah, man. I was about to f*cking punch you. And I was like, “Hmm mmm, alright.’
‘Dude, I was for real man, I was about to f**king punch you out,’ [Timberlake continued].
And I’m like, OK, that’s number two. I’m thinking how many times can I hear this dude in his golf outfit — he was wearing a golf outfit — tell me he can punch me out before I’m just not going to be able to handle it?
And God Bless Ashton. He goes, ‘When were you going to punch him? Before or after you were crying?’
And scene.
Shepard was basically like, thank God for Ashton because Shepard was on the verge of losing it. “That was hard for me, because he kept saying it over and over, and I just had to take it.”
And that was the time, ladies and gentleman, that Justin Timberlake — in his golf outfit — threatened, through his tears, to beat up Dax Shepard.
Source: WTF Podcast
