Johnny Knoxville

Early life

Knoxville was born Philip John Clapp in Knoxville, Tennessee, on March 11, 1971, the son of Sunday school teacher Lemoyne (; 19382017) and car and tire salesman Philip Clapp (19352018). He has two older sisters. Knoxville has compared his father to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: "when he's not drunk, he was amazing, super funny. But when he was drinking it was total hell." Hanging out in his father's tire store, Knoxville would watch his dad play pranks on the "crazy characters" who worked for him. When he was fourteen his cousin, singer-songwriter Roger Alan Wade, gave him a copy of Jack Kerouac's book On the Road. He credits this with sparking his interest in acting.

Knoxville attended South-Young High School (now South-Doyle High School) in Knoxville, where he played on the baseball team and was named All-Knoxville Interscholastic League Honorable Mention. He also played in the Knoxville Area All Star game as a pitcher. After graduating in 1989, he moved to California to become an actor. He began appearing in commercials and as an extra, including a job as Keanu Reeves's stand-in on the 1992 Francis Ford Coppola film Bram Stoker's Dracula. When the breakthrough role he sought eluded him, he decided to create his own opportunities by writing and pitching article ideas to various magazines. An idea to test self-defense equipment on himself captured the interest of Jeff Tremaine's skateboarding magazine Big Brother, and the stunts were filmed and included in Big Brother "Number Two" video.

Career

''Jackass''

Knoxville is responsible for many of the ideas in Jackass, and is often seen as the de facto leader of the crew. The show is directed by Jeff Tremaine, who produced a pilot that used footage from Big Brother and Bam Margera's CKY videos.

With help from Tremaine's friend, film director Spike Jonze, they pitched a series to various networks. A deal was made with MTV and Jackass was born. He starred in Jackass: The Movie, Jackass Number Two, Jackass 2.5, Jackass 3D (which marked the 10th anniversary of the franchise), Jackass 3.5, Jackass Forever, and Jackass 4.5.

Knoxville also participated in the Gumball 3000 for Jackass along with co-stars Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Jackass director Jeff Tremaine, producer Trip Taylor, cinematographer Dimitry Elyashkevich, and cameraman Greg "Guch" Iguchi. Prior to Jackass premiering on MTV, Knoxville and company turned down an offer to perform their stunts for Saturday Night Live on a weekly basis, though Knoxville later hosted a 2005 episode of the show.

Acting

Knoxville's original leading role debut was set to be a holiday comedy released in late 2001 named The Tree but the project never came to fruition. Knoxville has been in several feature films, such as The Dukes of Hazzard (2005) and playing a two-headed alien in Men in Black II (2002). Knoxville also worked with John Waters in A Dirty Shame (2004), and appeared as a supporting character to The Rock in Walking Tall that same year.

He starred in Katrina Holden Bronson's Daltry Calhoun in 2005, and in The Ringer as an office worker who pretends to be disabled and joins the Special Olympics to pay for surgery for his office's janitor. He starred in the movie Lords of Dogtown as Topper Burks, made a minor appearance in the 2000 movie Coyote Ugly, and was featured as a guest voice on two episodes of King of the Hill.

Knoxville appeared in the John Madden-directed adaptation of Elmore Leonard's novel, Killshot, however, his character was subsequently removed from the final cut of the film. He guest-starred in a season 3 episode "Prank Wars" on Viva La Bam, in which he and Ryan Dunn trashed Bam Margera's Hummer and performed other pranks. He voiced himself in an episode of Family Guy. He co-produced The Dudesons in America and the now-canceled Nitro Circus on MTV.

In 2010, Knoxville hosted a three-part online video for Palladium Boots titled Detroit Lives. The videos focus on the resurgence of creativity in Detroit. Knoxville guest-starred as the voice of Johnny Krill, an extreme sports enthusiast, in "Extreme Spots", a 2012 episode of SpongeBob SquarePants. Knoxville voiced Leonardo in the 2014 film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles but did not appear in the sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.

Production credits

Knoxville has a production company called Dickhouse Productions, which he owns and operates with Jeff Tremaine and Spike Jonze of the Jackass franchise. Dickhouse's projects include The Birth of Big Air (2010), a documentary about Mat Hoffman that was part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series, and The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia (2010), both of which have been picked up by Tribeca Films.

In May 2014, Knoxville (along with Jackass Executive Producer/H.M.F.I.C. Derek Freda) formally announced the formation of a new production company called 'Hello Junior', which will continue Knoxville's now-longstanding relationship with Paramount Pictures, who have signed an exclusive two-year first-look deal with Knoxville and 'Hello Junior' in the wake of the massive success of Bad Grandpa in late 2013. Knoxville was quoted as saying, "I am over the damn moon about continuing an amazing partnership with Paramount Pictures. I have many more films to make and bones to break. I am glad I will be doing it for Paramount."

Professional wrestling

Knoxville, as with the Jackass crew, has been involved with the professional wrestling promotion WWE. On the October 13, 2008, episode of Raw, Knoxville made his WWE television debut feuding with The Great Khali. Knoxville later appeared as the guest star on the October 4, 2010, episode of Raw in Wichita, Kansas.

On January 1, 2022, at WWE's Day 1 pay-per-view, Knoxville announced he would be at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view as a participant in the event's signature namesake match. His entry was confirmed on the January 7 episode of SmackDown while simultaneously starting a feud with Sami Zayn. He entered the Royal Rumble at number 9 and was eliminated by Zayn. Knoxville then returned on the February 25 episode of SmackDown and challenged Zayn for the WWE Intercontinental Championship that the latter won the week prior, but Knoxville got rejected and was attacked by Zayn. The following week, Knoxville distracted Zayn during his match with Ricochet, allowing the latter to win the championship from him. Later that same night, Zayn challenged Knoxville to a match at WrestleMania 38 to which Knoxville accepted, and the match was stipulated as an Anything Goes match, wherein on Night 2 of that event, he won the match against Zayn with the help of Jackass members Chris Pontius, Wee Man, director Jeff Tremaine, and new members Jasper Dolphin and his father Compston "Dark Shark" Wilson.

Podcast

Knoxville stepped into the world of podcasting in April of 2024 with his show "Pretty Sure I Can Fly with Johnny Knoxville & Elna Baker".

Personal life

Knoxville married Melanie Lynn Cates on May 15, 1995. Their daughter was born on January 4, 1996. She can be heard in the credits for Jackass Number Two (2006), is seen in "The Making of Jackass Two" on the special features on the DVD, and was seen punching Tremaine with a boxing glove in the credits of Jackass 3D (2010). After 11 years of marriage, Knoxville and Cates separated in July 2006. Knoxville filed for divorce on July 3, 2007. The marriage legally ended in March 2008, with final divorce arrangements settled in July 2009.

On February 4, 2009, Knoxville explained on The Howard Stern Show that he tore his urethra during a stunt for Jackass Presents: Mat Hoffman's Tribute to Evel Knievel (2008), describing how he had to flush it twice daily. He said this was done by "sticking a tube into [his] penis all the way up to [his] bladder", a practice known as urinary catheterization. He said the process prevented scar tissue from forming and that he performed the procedure "twice a day for three and a half years" after the injury.

In December 2009, Knoxville's girlfriend Naomi Nelson gave birth to their son. Knoxville and Nelson married on September 24, 2010. Nelson gave birth to their second child together, a daughter, in October 2011. On June 17, 2022, it was reported that Knoxville had filed for divorce.

While filming the prank show The Prank Panel in December 2022, Knoxville was sued by handyman Khalil Khan, who alleged that he was subjected to a "terrifying ordeal" after signing up for a job on TaskRabbit. He was sued again in May 2024 for allegedly tazing a segment producer during the filming of The Prank Panel.

On 17th November 2025, Johnny Knoxville announced via Instagram that he had married his long-term partner, costume designer Emily Ting. The wedding was officiated by John Waters.

Filmography

Feature films

Television

Video games

Music videos

Web series

References

References

1. Mike Rose, cleveland com. (2024-03-11). "Famous birthdays list for today, March 11, 2024 includes celebrities Jodie Comer, Thora Birch".
2. Shanfeld, Ethan. (8 January 2026). "New ‘Jackass’ Movie Coming to Theaters in June".
3. "Johnny Knoxville: Biography".
4. "Johnny Knoxville: Biography". [[Turner Broadcasting System]] ([[Time Warner]]).
5. (September 2024). "Strictly+for+Jackasses". The Times.
6. (November 4, 2002). "Meet Jackass the Sophisticated Dude; You Want Rowdy and Moronic? Johnny Knoxville Is Poised and Bookish, if You Please". The New York Times.
7. Gouch, Beth Harrison. "East High School Class of 1956 1952-1956, Knoxville, TN".
8. "'Jackass': Johnny Knoxville's mother on her danger-seeking son with a 'heart of gold'".
9. (10 September 2024). "JOHNNY KNOXVILLE: Hitting Jackass Limitations, Rage Against the Bullying & Stunting is a Habit". Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum.
10. (15 January 2026). "Joe Rogan Experience #2439 - Johnny Knoxville". PowerfulJRE.
11. (August 1, 2005). "Knoxville: A Southern mix of contradictions".
12. "Overview for Johnny Knoxville". Turner Classic Movies.
13. (May 18, 1989). "Knox all-star game slated for Saturday". The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
14. (25 May 1989). "Pollard, Humberd get top honors". The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
15. Hartmann, Graham. (March 29, 2022). "Johnny Knoxville - Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?".
16. (September 10, 2024). "JOHNNY KNOXVILLE: Hitting Jackass Limitations, Rage Against the Bullying & Stunting is a Habit".
17. Schube, Sam. (May 25, 2021). "Johnny Knoxville's Last Rodeo".
18. Scott, Mike. (August 4, 2009). "Johnny Knoxville: 'Jackass' star Steve-O almost ready to dive back into his work". [[The Times-Picayune]].
19. "In a Southern state of mind".
20. (October 29, 2000). "MGM plants 'Tree' for Christmas '01". Variety.
21. (April 3, 2014). "Johnny Knoxville, Tony Shalhoub Lend Voices To 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'". Deadline.
22. (April 20, 2016). "INTERVIEW: Johnny Knoxville Talks To Me About 'Elvis & Nixon'".
23. "welcome to dickhouse.tv - dickhouse".
24. (October 15, 2010). "Johnny Knoxville and Steve-O: Jackass 3D". SuicideGirls.com.
25. (May 19, 2014). "Johnny Knoxville Signs Exclusive Two-Year First-Look Deal With Paramount". The Hollywood Reporter.
26. (December 20, 2019). "Jackass and Their Strange History with WWE".
27. (August 12, 2010). "Upcoming Raw guest hosts". WWE.
28. Powell, Jason. (January 1, 2022). "WWE Day 1 results: Powell's review of Big E vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship, Becky Lynch vs. Liv Morgan for the Raw Women's Championship, The Usos vs. Kofi Kingston and King Woods for the Smackdown Tag Titles, Edge vs. The Miz". Pro Wrestling Dot Net.
29. Powell, Jason. (January 7, 2022). "1/7 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of the confrontation between WWE Champion Brock Lesnar and WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, The Usos vs. Kofi Kingston and King Woods in a Street Fight for the Smackdown Tag Titles, Sami Zayn vs. Rick Boogs". Pro Wrestling Dot Net.
30. Powell, Jason. (March 18, 2022). "3/18 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of the WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and WWE Champion Brock Lesnar confrontation, Naomi and Sasha Banks vs. Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley, Kofi Kingston vs. Ridge Holland, Drew McIntyre and The Viking Raiders vs. Happy Corbin, Jinder Mahal, and Shanky". Pro Wrestling Dot Net.
31. "Pretty Sure I Can Fly with Johnny Knoxville & Elna Baker".
32. (July 4, 2007). "Johnny Knoxville Files For Divorce". [[CBS News]].
33. "Johnny Knoxville, Single Jackass". TMZ.
34. Lee, Ken. "Johnny Knoxville to Pay $6,000 Monthly in Child Support". People.
35. (August 21, 2015). "Johnny Knoxville: How I Broke My Penis". The Daily Beast.
36. "Stern Show News — Archive". MarksFriggin.com.
37. (November 7, 2013). "Bad Grandpa and Jackass star Johnny Knoxville reflects on his worst injury".
38. (December 23, 2009). "'Jackass' star Johnny Knoxville has a new recruit: Baby boy Rocko". Monsters and Critics.com.
39. "Johnny Knoxville Gets Married". Us Weekly.
40. "Baby No. 3 On the Way for Johnny Knoxville". People.
41. Kirkpatrick, Emily. (June 17, 2022). "Johnny Knoxville Files for Divorce From Wife Naomi Nelson".
42. Gene Maddaus. (December 9, 2022). "Johnny Knoxville Filming Again, as TaskRabbit Handyman Sues Over 'Terrifying Ordeal'".
43. Wilson Chapman. (December 9, 2022). "New 'Jackass' in the Works? Johnny Knoxville Just Got Sued by a TaskRabbit Handyman Over Filmed Prank".
44. Bamidele, Afouda. (May 17, 2024). "Johnny Knoxville Slammed with 3 Million Dollar Lawsuit for Allegedly Tasing Segment Producer on The Prank Panel".
45. Knoxville, Johnny. (16 November 2025). "It seems I have had a lot of news lately but there is no news bigger than this…..Today Emily and I got married and I’m the luckiest and happiest fella in the universe".
46. Tremaine, Jeff. (July 11, 2022). "Guess who's back on #SharkWeek!!! Dive into @SharkWeek on Sunday, July 24 at 9p ET on @Discovery and streaming on @discoveryplus. Jackass Shark Week 2.0".
47. (September 6, 2022). "The cast of Jackass - Celebrity Family Feud".
48. Knoxville, Johnny. (January 13, 2023). "A real dream come true to be part of Mel Brook's @historyoftheworld. Bless you @nickkroll for making me, @chrispontius, @iamweeman and @realprestonlacy a part of this. Check it out, it's a four night event streaming March 6 on @hulu!! ❤️".
49. Allen, Nick. "History of the World, Part II movie review (2023) {{!}} Roger Ebert".
50. Cordero, Rosy. (November 1, 2022). "Johnny Knoxville, Eric André & Gabourey Sidibe To Lead Prank Reality Series For ABC".
51. Jim Donnelly. (November 1, 2022). ""The Prank Panel" Is Coming to ABC in 2023".
52. (July 24, 2023). "Ride With Norman Reedus Trailer Teaser (2023)".
53. (October 6, 2015). "Jackass Reunion: 15 Years Later".
54. Sean, Evans. (June 7, 2018). "Johnny Knoxville Gets Smoked By Spicy Wings - Hot Ones".
55. (May 25, 2021). "Johnny Knoxville Replies to Fans on the Internet".
56. La Puma, Joey. (January 31, 2022). "Johnny Knoxville Goes Sneaker Shopping With Complex".
57. (February 4, 2022). "The Worst Injuries of Johnny Knoxville's Career - Battle Scars".
58. (February 9, 2022). "Johnny Knoxville Answers His Most Asked Questions - According To Google - Radio X".
59. (February 10, 2022). "Johnny Knoxville - Steve-O's Wild Ride! Ep #93".
60. (February 26, 2021). "Johnny Knoxville Answers the Web's Most Searched Questions - WIRED".
61. Hartman, Graham. (March 29, 2022). "Johnny Knoxville - Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?".
62. McInerney, Sean. (April 20, 2022). "The Shittiest Podcast w/ Poopies Episode 1: Johnny Knoxville".
63. (December 7, 2023). "Johnny Knoxville Was A Very Naughty Boy - Wild Ride #190".
64. (April 25, 2024). "Johnny Knoxville & The Story He Never Told {{!}} TigerBelly 447".