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 (2002),
Jackass Number Two (2006),
Jackass 2.5 (2007),
Jackass 3D (2010),
Jackass 3.5 (2011),
Jackass Forever (2022), and
Jackass 4.5 (2022). He will also star in
Jackass: Best and Last, which is set to release June 26, 2026. 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 (left) and
Bad Grandpa co-star
Jackson Nicoll 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 first appeared on
WWE television on the October 13, 2008, episode of
Raw, where he was involved in a
feud with
The Great Khali. He was featured as a
Raw guest host on October 4, 2010. In 2022, Knoxville was involved in a feud with
Sami Zayn. He participated in the
annual Royal Rumble match in January, where he was quickly eliminated by Zayn. This led to an
"Anything Goes" match at
WrestleMania 38 in April, where Knoxville defeated Zayn with the help of several
Jackass crew members.
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==