‘Tiny Fugitives’ Interview: Johnny Knoxville and More

(L to R) Isa Bernal Steiner, Benjamin Pajak, Aaron Harris, and Johnny Knoxville star in 'Tiny Fugitives'. — (L to R) Isa Bernal Steiner, Benjamin Pajak, Aaron Harris, and Johnny Knoxville star in ‘Tiny Fugitives’.

Opening in theater on September 18th is the new comedy ‘Tiny Fugitives’, which was co-written and directed by Michael Lewen (‘Trainwreck’), and stars Johnny Knoxville (‘Jackass: Best and Last’), Benjamin Pajak (‘The Life of Chuck’), Aaron Harris (‘Matlock’), and Isa Bernal Steiner.

Tiny Fugitives

“Summer ain’t over yet.”

Release Sep 18, 2026Runtime 1h 39m

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Johnny Knoxville, Benjamin Pajak, Aaron Harris and Isa Bernal Steiner about their work on ‘Tiny Fugitives’. Knoxville’s first reaction to the screenplay, doing his own stunts, the characters, summer camp, and what it was like for the young actors to make the film.

Related Article: Johnny Knoxville and Director Lije Sarki Talk ‘Sweet Dreams’ and Softball

Johnny Knoxville stars in 'Tiny Fugitives'. Photo: Inaugural Entertainment. — Johnny Knoxville stars in ‘Tiny Fugitives’. Photo: Inaugural Entertainment.

Moviefone: To begin with, Johnny, what was your first reaction to the screenplay and the idea of making a summer camp movie with a group of kids?

Johnny Knoxville: I like when people misbehave. I like when kids misbehave and swearing is even better. So it was a no-brainer for me.

MF: Isa, what was it like working on set with the rest of the kids? Did it feel like a real summer camp?

Isa Bernal Steiner: It definitely did. Have you ever hung out with two 13 year old boys for 12 hours a day for two months? That’s what it was like. You can imagine maybe. But it was so fun. It was an amazing experience and we all had a blast and every day truly did feel like summer camp. We went to a waterfall, and we played in the waterfall. It was freezing, but it was so fun. It was a great experience. We’re all great friends now.

(L to R) Isa Bernal Steiner, Benjamin Pajak, Aaron Harris, Jai Soundar, and Alyssa Gervasi star in 'Tiny Fugitives'. Photo: Inaugural Entertainment. — (L to R) Isa Bernal Steiner, Benjamin Pajak, Aaron Harris, Jai Soundar, and Alyssa Gervasi star in ‘Tiny Fugitives’. Photo: Inaugural Entertainment.

MF: Aaron, how would you describe your character and was their room for improvisation on the set?

Aaron Harris: Improv was a very big part on the set. There was a lot of improv on set. Michael, our director, really encouraged us to have creative freedom and be able to make the characters our own. My character, well I’ll compare him to Jacob. Jacob feels alone at home, but then when he gets to camp, he can be his wild child self. I feel like my character is just wild no matter what. In one of the scenes we see that he is struggling to fit in at home because of the things he says and that he’s known for being this crazy kid. He’s the exact same way at camp but it’s received differently. So, I think he can relate to that a little bit. I wouldn’t say the same stuff he did, but maybe a little bit. I can’t really say I’m not like my character when a lot of the lines I came up with. So, I’m just incriminating myself with these scenes. But, because we were in that environment, it was very nice for us to get into character. It made it easier.

MF: Benjamin, can you talk about Jacob’s rivalry with Bob and what he’s hoping to gain by leading his friends to the old camp?

Benjamin Pajak: I think that Jacob just actually loves to torment this guy. I think he very much enjoys it. I think that he thinks at the end of the day that he is the leader of all the kids at camp because he does not feel like that at all when he’s home. He feels that he very much belongs there. Then I think what he hopes to do with the whole part of the movie when they go to the old camp is he just wants to be with his friends. Because he loves them so much and he doesn’t feel like he has that from his parents and he doesn’t feel like he has that at all. The way of fixing that is to just do camp forever. Obviously no one should do that. But I think that at the end of the day, he just loves his friends so much and just wants it to be like this forever.

(L to R) Benjamin Pajak and Johnny Knoxville star in 'Tiny Fugitives'. Photo: Inaugural Entertainment. — (L to R) Benjamin Pajak and Johnny Knoxville star in ‘Tiny Fugitives’. Photo: Inaugural Entertainment.

MF: Finally, Johnny, can you talk about performing the stunts in this movie? Do you get involved choregraphing and designing stunts with the stunt team?

JK: No, the stunt coordinator had everything lined out. On my movies I can do whatever, but when I do someone else’s movies, I let them know I’m up for whatever and let them have the final say because I have nothing to prove. I don’t get so concerned about things.

(L to R) Alyssa Gervasi, Jai Soundar, Aaron Harris, Benjamin Pajak and Isa Bernal Steiner star in 'Tiny Fugitives'. Photo: Inaugural Entertainment. — (L to R) Alyssa Gervasi, Jai Soundar, Aaron Harris, Benjamin Pajak and Isa Bernal Steiner star in ‘Tiny Fugitives’. Photo: Inaugural Entertainment.

What is the plot of ‘Tiny Fugitives’?

A reckless group of twelve-year-olds sets out on a mission to spend the rest of their lives at sleep-away camp. They’ll just have to get past Bob (Johnny Knoxville) – the camp’s deranged, relentless, 50-year-old lifer counselor.