Jason Shannon Acuña (born May 16, 1973), better known by his stage name Wee Man, is an American

stunt performer A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

, television personality, professional

skateboarder Skateboarding is an action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. ...

, and actor. He is one of the stars of '' Jackass'' and the host of

Fox Sports Net Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company on Mar ...

's skateboarding show ''54321''. Acuña has

achondroplasia Achondroplasia is a genetic disorder with an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance whose primary feature is dwarfism. In those with the condition, the arms and legs are short, while the torso is typically of normal length. Those affected ha ...

, a form of

dwarfism Dwarfism is a condition wherein an organism is exceptionally small, and mostly occurs in the animal kingdom. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dw ...

Life and career

Born in

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the c ...

, Italy, Acuña grew up in

Torrance, California Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay region of the metropolitan area. Torrance has of beachfront on the Pacific Oc ...

, and attended North High School. He is of Mexican and German descent. He was the subscription manager for the skateboard magazine '' Big Brother''. His association with that magazine led him to become involved with the '' Jackass'' television series in 2000. Acuña's ''Jackass'' antics include skating as an Oompa-Loompa, kicking himself in the head, dressing as a king while rolling

Johnny Knoxville Philip John Clapp (born March 11, 1971), best known professionally as Johnny Knoxville, is an American stunt performer, actor, writer, producer, and professional wrestler. He is best known as a co-creator and star of the MTV reality stunt show ...

down a staircase in a red carpet, and doing deep-knee bends while holding basketball star

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program '' Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the great ...

on his back. A recurring gag involves

Preston Lacy Preston Lacy (born August 14, 1969) is an American stunt performer, actor, comedian and one of the stars of the reality stunt show '' Jackass''. Career Lacy was born on August 14, 1969, in either Sarcoxie or Carthage, Missouri. He worked as ...

asking someone to help him with his bags, only to have Acuña pop out, causing Lacy to chase him. In 2007, Acuña starred in the reality TV series '' Armed and Famous'' and in July 2007, Acuña appeared on TV as a host of MTV's ''Scarred Live''. Acuña appeared on the first season of NBC's '' Celebrity Circus''. In the fourth week of competition, he became the first contestant to receive a perfect score (a 10-point average). Acuña ended the season in third place. Acuña is an investor in the Chronic Tacos chain of fast casual Mexican restaurants. His first franchise location opened in 2010 in

Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ''round'') is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent beach cities along the southern portion of ...

. After a few years of trying to make this location a success, Acuña closed this location permanently and in February 2018, he opened a Chronic Tacos franchise in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporat ...

. In 2012, Acuña starred in the direct-to-video holiday film ''

Elf-Man ''Elf-Man'' is a direct-to-video Christmas family comedy film starring Jason Acuña as the title character. It is distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment and was released in United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand on December ...

'' as the title character. This was his first role in a family-friendly feature film.

Filmography

Films

Television

DVDs

Video games

Music videos

Web series

References

External links

*
Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Acuna, Jason 1973 births American people of German descent American male actors of Mexican descent Actors with dwarfism Italian emigrants to the United States Participants in American reality television series American male film actors American male television actors American stunt performers Jackass (TV series) Hispanic and Latino American male actors People from Pisa Living people