Johnny Knoxville burst onto the showbiz scene in 2000 as the de facto host of MTV's Jackass,
a strange, hysterically funny reality show that became a surprise smash hit and launched
Knoxville to stardom.
"Hi I'm Johnny Knoxville, welcome to Jackass!"
He followed it up with three hit Jackass movies and acting roles in several other films.
And then Knoxville…pretty much up and vanished.
Why?
Here's a look at the real reasons we don't hear from Johnny Knoxville anymore.
He's not much of an actor
Johnny Knoxville may be a star, but that doesn't make him an actor.
After the success of Jackass on both the small and big screens, Knoxville landed roles in
films like The Dukes of Hazzard, Walking Tall, and A Dirty Shame.
And the less said about The Ringer, the better.
"Do you need a hug?"
"Jeffy doesn't know what's happening to his body."
"Ok."
None of them did well at the box office or with critics.
His only live action acting role in a successful film came way back in 2002 with Men in Black
II, where he played the same kind of slightly dumb mischief-maker that he's played in just
about all of his films.
With that kind of box office record and industry typecasting, it's no wonder we haven't seen
much of him at the multiplex recently.
"I think I'm gonna be sick."
"You don't wanna do that."
Wounded warrior
This won't come as much of a surprise, but Knoxville sustained a number of injuries over
the years working on Jackass.
On the set of the original TV show, an ankle sprain forced Knoxville to wear a brace for
most of the first season, while on the first Jackass movie, he was knocked out cold — twice.
Knoxville would later top that in Jackass Number Two, claiming he nearly died when a
rocket blew up on him during a stunt.
"3...2...1...go!"
"Hahaha ahahaha!"
Yet no amount of concussions could compare to Knoxville's worst injury: he broke his
own penis and tore his urethra when a 400-pound motorcycle landed on his groin.
To this day, Knoxville must use a catheter twice a day.
"Why couldn't I have got a broken arm or leg, or like broken collar - but no!
I got blood shootin' out of my peepee."
With so many injuries plaguing him, Knoxville just isn't able to do as much in general as
he used to, which may have led to less time in front of the cameras overall.
A Jackass no more
While the fame brought on by Jackass helped Knoxville branch out into acting, it also
posed an immediate problem: how could an ultra-famous star continue to perform pranks on an unsuspecting
public?
Well, the films addressed this by sending Knoxville overseas to perform his stunts,
filming in Japan, Russia, and India.
And that costs a lot of money, time, and resources, meaning Knoxville may have actually become
more famous than he can afford to be.
"Hello my name's Johnny Knoxville and I'm about to end this movie!"
Ryan Dunn's death
The Jackass franchise took a major hit in 2011 when Knoxville's co-star and close friend
Ryan Dunn died in a car accident at age 34.
Following Dunn's death, Knoxville released a public statement that read,
"You'll have to excuse me, I'm just very sad because I lost my brother and my world got
about 134-percent less funny.
I don't know what else to say right now, so I will close with I love you, Ryan.
I have a lot of emotions swirling, but I want you to know I love you so very much."
Shortly after Dunn's death, Knoxville spun off from the Jackass brand with the 2013 comedy
Bad Grandpa, which blended hidden-camera pranks with a scripted story.
The film proved to be a financial success and may have shown Knoxville a way forward
despite losing Dunn — and without Jackass.
Smaller projects
It's not so much that Knoxville has left the spotlight than the spotlight has left him.
Knoxville has continued to work on smaller projects that simply haven't gotten as much
attention as Jackass once brought, like the 2013 Arnold Schwarzenegger flop, The Last
Stand.
Following his semi-scripted turn in Bad Grandpa, Knoxville worked on two independent projects,
both slated for release in 2016: Weightless, opposite Julianne Nicholson, and Above Suspicion,
with Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke.
Working on indie dramas like these could help Knoxville finally get out of Hollywood typecast
jail.
"Oh we gonna have to get out of here."
Not the tabloid type
Finally, this may come as a surprise to some fans, but Johnny Knoxville has a happy life
as a family man.
A father of three, he actually credits impending fatherhood with helping him jump-start his
career.
Before the birth of his oldest daughter Madison, and in need of money to support his forthcoming
family, he brainstormed an idea that would eventually change his life.
"I saw something on TV where a guy pepper sprayed himself.
And I thought, 'Well that's a really good idea, that'd be a really good article, if
I could test different types of self-defense equipment on myself.'
And it was just an article, but Jeff said 'You should, we'll film it for ya too.'"
Those videos proved to be so hilarious that they are what originally led to the creation
of Jackass.
That's put food on the table, but his quiet family life and happy marriage to second wife
Naomi Nelson have kept paparazzi away and helped Knoxville avoid the harsh glare of
the tabloid spotlight.
He's earned the break.
"Hey is this okay?
Then we're good."
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