Johnny Knoxville
Birthdate: Mar 11, 1971
Birthplace: Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Johnny Knoxville (birthname: Philip John Clapp) has become synonymous with the outrageous Jackass series on television and especially on the big screen in a theatrical series that ran from 2002, with Jackass: The Movie, with Knoxville (who also produced with Spike Jonze) co-starring with the original crew of Bam Margera, Chris Pontius, Steve-O, Dave England and Ryan Dunn playing themselves (as they do in all of the series movies), and grossing a fabulous $79.5 million for distributors Paramount Pictures/MTV Films (based on estimated costs).
Knoxville continued with the long-running Jackass series as defacto leader for the next four theatrically-released features: Jackass Number Two (2006), Jackass 3D (2010), Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (2013) and Jackass Forever (2022), all of which grossed a cumulative $488.6 million for Paramount Pictures; Knoxville completed his Jackass run with the final movie in the franchise, Jackass: Best and Last (2026), produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and Knoxville’s own Dickhouse Entertainment and released wide by Paramount Pictures.
Knoxville made his feature debut in a background part in Coyote Ugly (2000), and then had his first significant supporting role in the Dave Barry adaptation, the Barry Sonenfeld-directed and produced Big Trouble (2002), with Tim Allen, Zooey Deschanel, Omar Epps, Dennis Farina, Ben Foster, Janeane Garofalo, Jason Lee, Dwight “Heavy D” Myers, Rene Russo, Tom Sizemore, Stanley Tucci, Sofia Vergara and Patrick Warburton, earning a poor $8.5 million (based on estimated costs) for Disney/Touchstone Pictures. Knoxville had a small supporting role in the Scott Kalvert-directed crime drama, Deuces Wild (2002), starring Stephen Dorff, and then Knoxville had his most visible supporting role to date in the Sonnenfeld-directed sequel, Men in Black II (2002), co-starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, and grossing a knockout $445 million for Columbia Pictures/Amblin Entertainment/Sony Pictures Releasing.
Johnny Knoxville portrayed Gram Parsons’ manager Phil Kaufman in his first starring role in Grand Theft Parsons (2003), with Michael Shannon, Christina Applegate, Robert Forster, and Gabriel Macht (as Parsons) under David Caffrey’s direction, and which premiered at the London Film Festival before a release by Swipe Films (U.S.)/Redbus Film Distribution (U.K.). Knoxville landed the top role opposite The Rock in the feature remake of Walking Tall (2004), with Neal McDonough, Kristen Wilson, and Ashley Scott under Kevin Bray’s direction, produced (in part) by MGM and WWE Films and grossing $57 million for MGM (U.S.)/20th Century Fox (International).
Knoxville co-starred with Tracey Ullman, Selma Blair, and Chris Isaak in director/writer John Waters’ NC-17-rated sex comedy, A Dirty Shame (2004), with Suzanne Shepherd, Mink Stole, and Patricia Hearst, produced by Christine Vachon and Mink Stole, launching at the Toronto Film Festival and released by Fine Line Pictures to a $2 million return. Knoxville appeared in the acclaimed skateboarder biopic based on screenwriter Stacy Peralta’s life, The Lords of Dogtown (2005), co-starring Emile Hirsch, Victor Rasuk, Heath Ledger, and Rebecca De Mornay under Catherine Hardwicke’s direction, and which was produced (in part) by TriStar Pictures/Columbia Pictures, grossing over $13 million for Sony Pictures Releasing.
Johnny Knoxville co-starred with Seann William Scott and Jessica Simpson in the third movie version of The Dukes of Hazzard (2005), with Burt Reynolds, Joe Don Baker, Lynda Carter, and Willie Nelson under Jay Chandrasekhar’s direction, resulting in a solid $110 million box office for Warner Bros. Pictures (based on estimated costs). Knoxville starred in his first movie in which he was the face of the poster in the barely seen Miramax Films movie, Daltry Calhoun (2005), directed and written by Katrina Holden Bronson with Juliette Lewis, Elizabeth Banks and Andrew Prine, and then Knoxville starred in a comedy hit, The Ringer (2005), with Brian Cox and Katherine Heigl under Barry W. Blaustein’s direction, produced (in part) by Bobby and Peter Farrelly, delivering over $40 million for distributor Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Knoxville joined Patton Oswalt, Rob Riggle and Patrice O’Neal in director/writer Todd Rohal’s comedy, Nature Calls (2012), and returning a $7.7 theatrical box office for Magnet Releasing, and then Knoxville co-starred with Arnold Schwarzenegger in producer/distributor Lionsgate’s action movie, The Last Stand (2013), with Forest Whitaker, Rodrigo Santoro, Jaimie Alexander, Luis Guzman, Eduardo Noriega and Peter Stormare under Kim Jee-woon’s direction, produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura, and grossing a disappointing $48.3 million (based on estimated costs).
Johnny Knoxville appeared in the sprawling ensemble of what’s often considered one of the worst movies ever made, the sketch comedy omnibus movie, Movie 43 (2013), earning distributor Relativity Media a $32.4 million gross, followed by Knoxville voicing the role of Leonardo in the feature film reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), with the voice cast of Megan Fox, Will Arnett, William Fichtner, Danny Woodburn, Abby Elliott and Alan Ritchson under Jonathan Liebesman’s direction, produced (in part) by Michael Bay under the banner of major producers Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon Movies/Platinum Dunes and grossed an excellent $485 million (based on estimated costs) for Paramount. Knoxville was a producer-only via his Dickhouse Productions on director/co-writer/producer Daniel Junge’s non-fiction feature Being Evel (2015), a chronicle of daredevil motorcyclist Evel Knievel, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released by Gravitas Ventures.
Knoxville portrayed Elvis’s bodyguard in the comedy-drama, Elvis & Nixon (2016), co-starring Michael Shannon and Kevin Spacey (as the respective title characters), with Alex Pettyfer, Coin Hanks, Sky Ferreira, Tracy Letts and Tate Donovan under Liza Johnson’s direction, co-written and produced by Cary Elwes (with Joey and Hanala Sagal, Holly Wiersma and Cassian Elwes), and released by Amazon Studios/Bleecker Street to a $1.8 million gross. Knoxville joined star/producer Jackie Chan for the Renny Harlin-directed buddy cop movie, Skiptrace (2016), with Fan Bingbing, Eric Tsang, Eve Torres and Winston Chao, backed by production companies in China, Hong Kong and the U.S., and which grossed $136.6 million for Saban Films via Lionsgate Films (U.S.)/Bloom (International)/Beijing Talent International Film (China).
Johnny Knoxville played a supporting role in star/director/writer Heather Graham’s comedy, Half Magic (2018), with Angela Kinsey and Stephanie Beatriz, produced (in part) by Sid Sheinberg, and which was distributed by Momentum Pictures, and then Knoxville co-starred in one of his few dramas, Weightless (2018), with Alessandro Nivola and Julianne Nicholson under Jaron Albertin’s direction, written by Irish playwright Enda Walsh, and released by Paladin. Knoxville was then a star/producer/co-story writer of the Jackass-inspired comedy, Action Point (2018), with Clover Nee, Chris Pontius, and Eleanor Washington under Tim Kirkby’s direction, with co-story writer (among others) Mike Judge, and which returned $5 million for Paramount Pictures.
Knoxville contributed as an on-camera talking head to director/writer/producer Peter Bogdanovich’s final film, The Great Buster: A Celebration (2018), Bogdanovich’s loving chronicle of the great silent film comedian-filmmaker Buster Keaton, with Knoxville joining an on-camera lineup of Dick Van Dyke, Paul Dooley, French Stewart, Richard Lewis, Carl Reiner, Bill Hader, Mel Brooks, Cybill Shepherd, Werner Herzog, Nick Kroll, Quentin Tarantino, Leonard Maltin, Ben Mankiewicz, Bill Irwin and Norman Lloyd, and released by Cohen Media Group. Knoxville joined director Phillip Noyce and cast members Jack Huston, Emilia Clark,e and Thora Birch for the crime thriller, Above Suspicion (2019), based on Joe Sharkey’s non-fiction crime book, and released theatrically and on streaming by Lionsgate.
Johnny Knoxville next joined director/co-writer/producer Gia Coppola for her comedy-drama, Mainstream (2020), starring and produced (in part) by Andrew Garfield, Maya Hawke, Nat Wolff, Jason Schwartzman, Alexa Dem, i.e., and Colleen Camp, backed (in part) by American Zoetrope, and released by IFC Films after premiering at the Venice and Telluride Film Festivals. Knoxville was the name above the title for director/writer/producer Lije Sarki’s softball movie released by Paramount Pictures, Sweet Dreams (2024), with Mo Amer, GaTa, Bobby Lee, Beth Grant, Jay Mohr and Kate Upton, followed by Knoxville appearing in a supporting role in director/co-writer Samir Oliveros’s semi-fictional drama, The Luckiest Man in America (2024), starring Paul Walter Hauser, Walton Goggins, Shamier Anderson, Brian Geraghty, Haley Bennett, David Strathairn and Maisie Williams, and which launched at the Toronto Film Festival before a brief release by distributors IFC Films/Sapan Studio.
Knoxville was part of the ensemble of director/co-writer/producer Gregg Araki’s comedy, I Want Your Sex (2026), co-written by Karley Sciotino, co-starring Olivia Wilde, Cooper Hoffman, Mason Gooding, Chase Sui Wonders, Margaret Cho, Roxane Mesquida, Charli XCX and Daveed Diggs, produced by Black Bear Pictures, and premiering at the Sundance Film Festival before a limited release by Magnolia Pictures. Knoxville joined the cast of indie director/co-writer/producer Richard Goldgewicht’s sex comedy, The Marshmallow Experiment (date to be announced), co-starring Sam McCarthy, Dafne Keen (who also produced), Steve Buscemi, Josh Lu, Cas, and Sarah Clarke, and produced by Affinity Core Story Productions/Big Picture Cinema Group.
Johnny Knoxville co-starred in horror director/writer/producer Osgood Perkins’s The Young People (2026), co-starring Lola Tung, Nico Parker, Brendan Hines, Tatiana Maslany, Heather Gr,aham and Nicole Kidman, and which was released by Neon.
Personal life
Johnny Knoxville was born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee by his parents, mother Lemoyne (Sunday school teacher) and father Philip Clapp (car and tire salesman). Knoxville has two older sisters. Knoxville attended and graduated in 1989 from South-Young High School, where he was named honorable mention in the All-Knoxville Interscholastic Baseball League. Knoxville was married to Melanie Clapp from 1995 to 2008, when they divorced; the couple has one child. Knoxville was then married to Naomi Nelson from 2010 to 2014, when they divorced; the couple has two children. Knoxville has been married to costumer designer Emily Ting since 2025. Knoxville’s height is 6’ 1”. Knoxville’s estimated net worth is $50 million.
Known For
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
(2013)
The Dukes of Hazzard
(2005)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
(2014)
The Ringer
(2005)
Johnny Knoxville Movies
actor
Upcoming (2)
- 2026 |
Jackass: Best and Last
asSelf
Follows the Jackass crew as they perform their final series of dangerous stunts and pranks, marking the end of the franchise.
- 2021 |
Previous (43)
- 2025 |
Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted
Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted
Cult musician Swamp Dogg and housemates Moogstar and Guitar Shorty have turned their suburban LA home into an artistic haven. They journey through the turbulent music business, forming a special friendship transcending eras.
- 2025 |
The Luckiest Man in America
May 1984. An unemployed ice cream truck driver steps onto the game show Press Your Luck harboring a secret: the key to endless money. But his winning streak is threatened when the bewildered executives uncover his real motivations.
- 2024 | Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted
- 2024 | Sweet Dreamsas Morris
- 2022 |
- 2020 |
We Summon the Darkness
asJohn Henry Butler
Three best friends embark on a road trip to a heavy-metal show, where they bond with three aspiring musicians and head off to one of the girls' country home for an after-party.
- 2018 | Half Magicas Father Gary
- 2018 | Rosyas James
- 2018 |
Weightless
asEd
An emotionally troubled man is forced to care for the obese 10-year-old son he has never met. Together they embark on a high-stakes journey to determine their future together, even as the world tries to tear them apart.
- 2018 |
The Great Buster
asSelf
Documentary on the life and works of comic genius Buster Keaton, directed by Peter Bogdanovich.
- 2018 |
- 2016 | Bunker77
- 2016 | Rip Rip Hooray!
- 2016 | Skiptraceas Connor Watts
- 2016 | Elvis & Nixonas Sonny
- 2016 |
Elvis & Nixon
asSonny
The untold true story behind the meeting between Elvis Presley, the King of Rock 'n Roll, and President Richard Nixon, resulting in this revealing, yet humorous moment immortalized in the most requested photograph in the National Archives.
- 2015 | Being Evel
- 2014 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesas Leonardo
- 2014 |
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
asLeonardo
When a kingpin threatens New York City, a group of mutated turtle warriors must emerge from the shadows to protect their home.
- 2013 | Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpaas Irving Zisman
- 2013 |
Bad Grandpa
asIrving Zisman
86-year-old Irving Zisman takes a trip from Nebraska to North Carolina to take his 8 year-old grandson, Billy, back to his real father.
- 2013 |
The Last Stand
asLewis Dinkum
The leader of a drug cartel busts out of a courthouse and speeds to the Mexican border, where the only thing in his path is a sheriff and his inexperienced staff.
- 2012 | Small Apartmentsas Tommy Balls
- 2012 | Nature Callsas Kirk
- 2012 |
- 2010 | Father of Inventionas Troy Coangelo
- 2010 | Jackass 3D: Purple Trouble
- 2010 | Jackass 3D
- 2010 |
Jackass: The Movie 3
asSelf
Johnny Knoxville and company return for the third installment of their TV show spin-off, where dangerous stunts and explicit public displays rule.
- 2006 | Jackass Number Two
- 2005 | The Ringeras Steve Barker
- 2005 | Daltry Calhounas Daltry Calhoun
- 2005 | The Dukes of Hazzardas Luke Duke
- 2005 |
The Dukes of Hazzard
asLuke Duke
Cousins Bo, Luke, and Daisy Duke, and their uncle Jesse, egg on the authorities of Hazzard County, Boss Hogg and Sheriff Coltrane.
- 2005 | Lords of Dogtownas Topper Burks
- 2004 | A Dirty Shameas Ray Ray
- 2003 | Grand Theft Parsonsas Phil Kaufman
- 2004 | Walking Tallas Ray Templeton
- 2002 | Jackass: The Movie
- 2002 |
Men in Black II
asScrad
Agent J is sent to find Agent K and restore his memory after the re-appearance of a case from K's past.
- 2002 | Men in Black IIas Scrad
- 2002 | Big Troubleas Eddie Leadbetter
- 1995 | Desert Bluesas Bob
Facts About Johnny Knoxville
Inspiration: Johnny Knoxville has commented that his interest in pursuing an acting career began when his cousin, singer-songwriter Roger Alan Wade, provided him with a copy of Jack Kerouac’s 1957 Beat Generation classic, On the Road.
Breakthrough: Knoxville faced much rejection as an aspiring actor and opted to create his own (often stunt-filled) material, which came to the attention of Big Brother magazine publisher Jeff Tremaine, who went on to create the Jackass series with Knoxville and director Spike Jonze.
WWE Glory: Johnny Knoxville has performed in WWE fights since 2008, when he fought on the WWE TV show Raw, and as recently as 2022, when Knoxville joined in a match with his fellow Jackass crew members.
Johnny Knoxville News
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