Jackass
The movie
By David Reese
News Editor

Johnny Knoxville explains there isn’t much difference between his television persona and his actual one.
“What you see is what you get,” Knoxville said at a roundtable discussion Oct. 8 in Dallas.

Viewers who have seen the MTV series, “jackass” every week see Knoxville as a lewd, perverted and obscene man with a high-pain tolerance.

What viewers don’t see is that he is the father of a 7-year-old daughter, a husband and an overall pleasant person.

Knoxville participated in the Dallas roundtable discussion to promote his upcoming feature film, “jackass the movie.”

He walked into the discussion dressed in a pair of pants and a Roger Alan Wade T-shirt with a blue-hooded sweatshirt.

After a minute of small conversations, the interview began.

A major question posed to him had to do with the difference between the television series and the new feature film.

“The film goes much further than the show because it has an R-rating,” Knoxville said. “It has a lot of male nudity and male touching.”

Although male touching may bring some fans to the theaters, many love “jackass” for the hilarious stunts and pranks.

Knoxville explained that as the series became more popular, it was a little more difficult to pull pranks. He said that in turn they would pull pranks on the elderly because, most likely, they had no idea what Knoxville and his gang were doing.

Many times, the stunts have turned dangerous and caused medical emergencies. Though he couldn’t remember exactly how many times, Knoxville said the series forced him to visit the emergency room numerous times. That didn’t seem to faze him very much.

“I’m still walking though,” Knoxville said.

One question posed was about Knoxville’s status as a heartthrob, which he seemed to laugh off. He said he was happy to hear the female reporter ask the question rather than either of the other two reporters there who were both male.

Knoxville said his more recent fame and so-called heartthrob status has not affected him or his family very much.

“It’s a bit surreal,” he said. “I don’t take it too seriously.” He said the fame has not overwhelmed him or taken over his life.

He said his family gets a real kick out of the fame, but he said they don’t take it too seriously either.

One side effect of the fame, Knoxville said, is the fact that he can’t visit some public places without being recognized, but he hasn’t lost all of his freedom.

“Some places you can’t go with large groups,” Knoxville said. “Most people leave you alone except in New York and Los Angeles.”

During the interview, his affection for his family became quite clear especially when his nephew came into the room.

Knoxville stopped the interview to ask him if he had received his ice cream sundae from room service.

Knoxville demonstrated his responsible side when questioned about the seriousness of the viewers’ discretion clip in the beginning of the program.

“I hope they take it serious,” said Knoxville without a blink of an eye.

The show’s adult content was also discussed in reference to children and especially his own daughter. He said his daughter, Madison, can only watch the “happy things” on the series and film but much of it is off limits.

Although during the interview he did possess a family-man image, he was also very crude with his language and subject matter. The number of times he spoke with expletives or about alcohol and male genitalia is uncountable.

When he first walked into the room he announced he was drunk. He said that prior to the interview he had gone to a few radio stations promotions and then to a restaurant and bar where he said a lot of people bought him alcohol.

Knoxville said he is about to start work on a new film about Gram Parsons as his road manager. He also has plans to be in an independent film.

At the end of the interview, he posed for some personal pictures and continued to speak about male genitalia.

The film, “jackass the movie,” will hit theaters nationwide Friday.