Johnny Knoxville Advises His Children Against Following In His Footsteps And Becoming A 'Test Dummy'

Johnny Knoxville has revealed he won’t be letting his kids follow in his footsteps after making a career out breaking his penis and suffering brain haemorrhages through the Jackass franchise - saying they will be going to school to ‘use their brain for something other than a test dummy’. Watch him talk about it here:

Knoxville, 50, rose to fame as a co-creator of MTV’s Jackass, which ran for three seasons before the cast moved onto the big screen – having just released the fourth flick, Jackass Forever. 

But while daredevil stunts have made him a household name, the star has admitted he doesn’t want the same for his three kids – Madison, 26, Rocko, 12 and Arlo, 10 – and is adamant they'll take a more academic route.

Jackass Forever/Paramount Pictures

Speaking to LADbible, he said: “Well, you know, I have an older daughter - she's 26 - a 10-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son.  

“And my son did make a comment once in the car that he wants to do stunts like me one day, and my wife did not find that funny. And he knew that she wasn't going to find that funny - he was just trying to get a rise out of her.  

“But they're not going to follow in my footsteps. They're going to go to school and use their brain for something other than a test dummy.” 

However, it turns out that one of his co-stars could not feel more differently. 

Chris Pontius, 47, became a father for the first time during the pandemic – saying it was a ‘scary’ time to have a baby, but that it had kept him ‘busy’. 

LADbible

When asked how he plans to approach his Jackass career with them when they’re older, he said: “Well, that's actually a good question. Like, I think you do think of things differently when someone needs you, or you have people that need you. 

“But I always think things through really well and leave myself an out, I guess. But yeah, it definitely affects everything that you do - but like any parent, I guess.” 

And if they came to him one day saying they wanted to follow suit career-wise, he’d be all for it. 

Pontius continued: “I would say ‘Go for it’, because it's the funnest thing.  

Paramount

“You know what? If you've got a group of friends that have this grade of chemistry with each other, like, do it like because it's really rare. 

“That's what makes Jackass so special. It's not the stunts or the pranks … a lot of people try to like imitate what Jackass is, but they don't get that because, but what resonates the most is the personalities of everyone and the way we are together. And I think it reminds them of hanging out with their friends growing up. And that's what makes it so fun."

As Jason 'Wee-Man Acuña nodded along in agreement beside him, Pontius added: "Yeah, if you're if you're that lucky to get to make Jackass, do it, go for it. That's what our parents told us.”