2008 Woodie Awards
A walk through Knoxville
Star 'Jackass' and of the new film 'Walking Tall' Johnny Knoxville sat on down to tell the View what it was like to make a film with The Rock
Elizabeth Sinclair-Smith
Date created: 4/5/04 Section: ENTERTAINMENT
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"Let the beatings begin!" Johnny Knoxville, star of the infamous MTV show "Jackass" declared at the beginning of the interview.
Knoxville is currently co-staring in the film "Walking Tall" as the sad-sack sidekick, while The Rock takes the lead as the 4x4-wielding hero. Although he is taking smaller roles now, Hollywood will have to watch its back-this is one man with a lot of things on his plate, and this is only the beginning.
"I thought it would be good to get an action film under my belt," Knoxville said. "I think people will see that I can handle it, and the acting side of it as well. I've been kind of taking smaller roles up until this point. After this, I'm going to step up front and do my own films."
"Walking Tall" is the story of a soldier who comes home after completing his service, only to find his once idyllic town overrun by the corrupt influence of a casino. Fighting ensues.
"I don't think there's a message to take away," Knoxville said about the movie. "I think it's just a popcorn film you go see. People have asked me about the message, and one guy was telling me the movie was going to help Bush get re-elected. It's just a big action popcorn movie."
In recent years, the similarly entertaining TV show "Jackass," featuring the outlandish antics of Knoxville and company, caused much controversy as teenagers tried imitating the stunts they'd seen, for example being a human barbecue.
"It's nothing compared to the stuff I used to do," Knoxville said about working in "Walking Tall" as opposed to "Jackass." "They had a stunt guy there everyday, and before each stunt they would walk me through, and show me how to do it because, up until this point, I was just supposed to fail when I did stunts. When you're doing these, you kind of have to succeed. I'm very clumsy. They were very cool about showing me, and not making me feel like a total dipshit."
While "Jackass" might have been the catalyst in Knoxville's breakthrough, he might have ended up in a similar situation through a different means. While "Jackass" was in the works, "Saturday Night Live" approached him with an offer to be a part of their show. An offer, according to Knoxville, that came too late.
Knoxville is currently co-staring in the film "Walking Tall" as the sad-sack sidekick, while The Rock takes the lead as the 4x4-wielding hero. Although he is taking smaller roles now, Hollywood will have to watch its back-this is one man with a lot of things on his plate, and this is only the beginning.
"I thought it would be good to get an action film under my belt," Knoxville said. "I think people will see that I can handle it, and the acting side of it as well. I've been kind of taking smaller roles up until this point. After this, I'm going to step up front and do my own films."
"Walking Tall" is the story of a soldier who comes home after completing his service, only to find his once idyllic town overrun by the corrupt influence of a casino. Fighting ensues.
"I don't think there's a message to take away," Knoxville said about the movie. "I think it's just a popcorn film you go see. People have asked me about the message, and one guy was telling me the movie was going to help Bush get re-elected. It's just a big action popcorn movie."
In recent years, the similarly entertaining TV show "Jackass," featuring the outlandish antics of Knoxville and company, caused much controversy as teenagers tried imitating the stunts they'd seen, for example being a human barbecue.
"It's nothing compared to the stuff I used to do," Knoxville said about working in "Walking Tall" as opposed to "Jackass." "They had a stunt guy there everyday, and before each stunt they would walk me through, and show me how to do it because, up until this point, I was just supposed to fail when I did stunts. When you're doing these, you kind of have to succeed. I'm very clumsy. They were very cool about showing me, and not making me feel like a total dipshit."
While "Jackass" might have been the catalyst in Knoxville's breakthrough, he might have ended up in a similar situation through a different means. While "Jackass" was in the works, "Saturday Night Live" approached him with an offer to be a part of their show. An offer, according to Knoxville, that came too late.
