Knoxville raises heck in ‘Hazzard’

Though it was an ensemble program, Knoxville drew much of the attention, for better or worse — and he’d been offered a spot as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live,” which he turned down because it came up just as he was shooting the “Jackass” pilot.

“It was at the point where I either say yes to my friends, where we had all the control, or yes to ‘Saturday Night Live’ where none of my friends were really going to be there and I had no control,” he says. “I just thought I made the right decision.”

A series of supporting roles in movies followed, including “Big Trouble,” “Men in Black II,” in which he played Lara Flynn Boyle’s two-headed alien sidekick, and “Walking Tall” with The Rock. Earlier this year, he played pimped-out skateboarding promoter Topper Burks in “Lords of Dogtown.”

Jackass forever
Whatever Knoxville does, though, some people still assume he’s that “Jackass” dude, 24/7. Guys at bars have come out of nowhere and bashed him in the head (which has led to a few fights). Girls have approached him and burned him with cigarettes and lighters.

“I kind of brought it on myself, so ...” he trails off. “Worse things could happen.”

When asked how he plans to show he’s capable of more than “Jackass,” he grows slightly defensive — but remains polite.

“I don’t want to distance myself from ‘Jackass’ at all. I’m proud of ’Jackass,”’ he says. “It got me here and opened up all kinds of doors. It’s something me and my friends did. I’m very, very proud of it.”

But his previous attempt at a meatier role was the little-seen dark comedy “Grand Theft Parsons” from 2003. Knoxville stars as Gram Parsons’ road manager, Phil Kaufman, who steals the singer-songwriter’s body in order to set it ablaze in Joshua Tree National Park.

“I love Gram Parsons and I love Phil Kaufman and I wish we could have done that story justice, but it was just kind of a miss,” Knoxville acknowledges. (Critics trashed the movie but were generally kind to Knoxville. The New York Times film critic A.O. Scott wrote that Knoxville “shows some promise as an actor,” but added that the movie “really has no place to go.”)

“All the intentions were good,” Knoxville said. “And after that movie — I wasn’t very proud of my performance — I got an acting coach. ... He’s just helped me a lot, so much, and the past five or six films I feel like I’m getting better with every film.”

Thor calls Knoxville “a natural actor — he just didn’t know it.”

But Katrina Holden Bronson, the writer-director of “Daltry Calhoun,” believes she’s already seen what he can do. In the movie, scheduled for fall release, Knoxville stars in the title role as the estranged father of a 14-year-old daughter who’s a music prodigy.

“I saw a depth and sensitivity to him that runs so deep and everything you say about him being a father, all that came to the surface,” Bronson says. “He was able to access all of these emotions so easily and so quickly. I just saw this reservoir of talent that I think is really going to blow people away.”

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A big reason Bronson wanted Knoxville for the film was because he’s a father in real life. And talking to Knoxville about his wife and daughter, he’s clearly and understandably protective of them, especially when it comes to the recent rampant tabloid rumors about an affair with co-star Jessica Simpson, who plays Daisy Duke.

“I love the tabloids except for when I’m in ’em. Especially with the stuff they wrote about Jessica and I — it’s obviously not true,” he volunteers without being asked about specific allegations. “They write these things and, you know, I’ve got a daughter and a wife and she’s got a husband and it affects the families involved. Luckily, my wife and I have a dialogue. We talk about it.”

Thor says, “For all the stuff he likes to get printed about himself — he very carefully nurtures the image of the hard-drinking, (expletive)-all, who-gives-a-(expletive), it’s his public persona and it’s his private persona to a large degree — he’s extraordinarily considerate.”

In December, Knoxville will also star in “The Ringer,” a comedy in which he poses as a contestant in the Special Olympics. The Farrelly brothers are the executive producers. But Knoxville says it’s not what you’d expect.

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