Johnny Knoxville Bio
Philip John Clapp, known professionally as Johnny Knoxville, is an American stunt performer, actor, producer, and screenwriter. Born on March 11, 1971, in Knoxville, Tennessee, he rose to international fame as the co-creator and central figure of the MTV reality stunt series Jackass, which debuted in 2000 and led to one of the most successful film franchises in modern comedy. Beyond Jackass, Knoxville has built a diverse career as an actor, voice performer, and producer, with a filmography spanning studio comedies, independent films, documentaries, and animated features.
Throughout his career, Knoxville has balanced on-screen stunt work with scripted acting roles, voice performances, and behind-the-scenes producing through his company Dickhouse Productions. He is widely recognized for his fearless, self-deprecating comic persona and for turning outrageous prank-based stunts into a global entertainment brand.
Early Life and Background
Johnny Knoxville was born Philip John Clapp in Knoxville, Tennessee, on March 11, 1971. He is the son of Lemoyne, a Sunday school teacher, and Philip Clapp, a car and tire salesman. He grew up with two older sisters in Knoxville, and his early years were shaped by a complicated relationship with his father, whom he has described as a brilliant, funny man when sober but difficult when drinking. Watching his father pull pranks on the eccentric employees at the family tire store sparked Knoxville’s lifelong fascination with comedy, mischief, and the art of the surprise stunt.
At the age of fourteen, his cousin, singer-songwriter Roger Alan Wade, gave him a copy of Jack Kerouac’s novel On the Road. Knoxville has often credited that book with igniting his interest in acting and storytelling, opening his imagination to the idea of a creative life beyond Knoxville. He attended South-Young High School, now known as South-Doyle High School, where he played on the baseball team and earned All-Knoxville Interscholastic League Honorable Mention recognition as a pitcher.
After graduating from high school in 1989, Knoxville moved to California to pursue a career in acting. He found early work as an extra and as a stand-in, including a job as Keanu Reeves’s stand-in on Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 film Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Frustrated by the slow pace of breaking into Hollywood, he began pitching article ideas to magazines, eventually landing on the concept that would change his life: testing self-defense equipment on himself. The idea caught the attention of Big Brother skateboarding magazine, which filmed his stunts for a video that became the foundation of a brand-new television format.
Path to Celebrity
Knoxville’s breakthrough into entertainment came through a combination of writing, stunt performance, and the underground skateboarding world. The footage he filmed for Big Brother magazine, combined with material from skater Bam Margera’s CKY videos, formed the basis of a pilot that caught the attention of director Jeff Tremaine and, later, filmmaker Spike Jonze. Together, the trio pitched the show to several networks before landing a deal with MTV. The result was Jackass, which premiered in 2000 and made Knoxville a household name almost overnight.
Beyond television, Knoxville pursued a parallel path as a film actor, building relationships with directors across genres. He collaborated with John Waters on A Dirty Shame in 2004, worked opposite action star The Rock in Walking Tall that same year, and developed a strong comedic presence through roles in studio features. His work on Jackass did not replace his film ambitions; instead, it gave him the leverage and visibility to take on more varied roles, including voice work in animated features and dramatic turns in independent films.
Johnny Knoxville Career
Early Career (1992–2000)
Knoxville began his professional career in 1992, working as an extra and stand-in on Hollywood productions, including Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Throughout the 1990s, he supplemented his acting ambitions with magazine writing, eventually creating the stunt-testing concept that would become Jackass. He also landed small on-screen appearances during this period, including a minor role in the 2000 film Coyote Ugly and guest voice spots on animated shows such as King of the Hill.
These early years were marked by persistence and reinvention, as Knoxville blended his love of writing, performance, and physical comedy. By the end of the decade, his Big Brother magazine stunts had become cult favorites, catching the eye of Jeff Tremaine and setting the stage for the television revolution that was about to follow.
Breakthrough (2000–2010)
The launch of MTV’s Jackass in 2000 turned Knoxville into the de facto leader of a crew of stunt performers and pranksters. The show ran from 2000 to 2001 and produced a string of successful feature films, beginning with Jackass: The Movie in 2002. Knoxville reprised his role in Jackass Number Two (2006), Jackass 2.5 (2007), Jackass 3D (2010), and Jackass 3.5 (2011), cementing the franchise as one of the most enduring comedy series of its era.
Alongside the Jackass franchise, Knoxville built an impressive list of film credits. He played a two-headed alien in Men in Black II (2002), starred in Grand Theft Parsons (2003), appeared in Walking Tall (2004), and took on prominent roles in The Dukes of Hazzard (2005), The Ringer (2005), and Lords of Dogtown (2005). He also co-founded Dickhouse Productions with Jeff Tremaine and Spike Jonze, producing documentaries such as The Birth of Big Air (2010) and The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia (2010) for Tribeca Films.
Notable Works and Milestones
Among Knoxville’s most recognizable works are the Jackass films, his voice performance as Leonardo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), and his starring turn as Irving Zisman in Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (2013), the first Jackass film built around a narrative storyline. He also expanded his reach into professional wrestling, hosting segments on WWE Raw and defeating Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 38 in 2022, and into podcasting with Pretty Sure I Can Fly with Johnny Knoxville and Elna Baker in 2024.
Johnny Knoxville Family
Knoxville was raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, by his mother, Lemoyne, a Sunday school teacher, and his father, Philip Clapp, a car and tire salesman. He has two older sisters and remains close to his cousin, singer-songwriter Roger Alan Wade, who played an important role in his early creative development by introducing him to Jack Kerouac’s writings.
Personal Life
Knoxville married Melanie Lynn Cates on May 15, 1995, and the couple had a daughter born on January 4, 1996. They separated in July 2006, and their divorce was finalized in 2009. He later began a relationship with Naomi Nelson, and the couple married on September 24, 2010, welcoming a son in December 2009 and a daughter in October 2011. In June 2022, it was reported that Knoxville had filed for divorce from Nelson. In November 2025, Knoxville married costume designer Emily Ting in a ceremony officiated by filmmaker John Waters. He is the father of three children.