(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
Fri 19 December 2025 1:00, UK
Considering Johnny Knoxville is best known for giving himself brain damage on camera, making him possibly the least likely movie star ever, he’s starred in some pretty major flicks.
He serves as the central antagonist in Men in Black II, the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2002, and he’s shared the bill with Andrew Garfield, Dwayne Johnson, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others, which is not bad at all for a guy who once tore his urethra live on camera.
As implausible as it may be, Knoxville is firmly a part of the Hollywood scene, and when somebody like this manages to pierce through the veil, it’s definitely worth getting their opinion on the industry. Thus, during an ‘Ask Me Anything’ (AMA) on Reddit, the Jackass star was asked to name some of his favourite movies, and given his penchant for laughs, he began by naming his favourite comedy film ever made: Blazing Saddles.
This Mel Brooks-directed spoof western routinely comes up in conversations about the greatest comedies ever, such that on the American Film Institute’s (AFI) list of ‘100 Years… 100 Laughs’, it ranks as the sixth funniest film of all time. While these days, it’s widely regarded as a classic, with Knoxville being one of the many, many famous fans of this madcap masterpiece, Brooks had to work extremely hard to get the film made, fighting tooth and nail with the studio to finally get it to the big screen.
Back to the AMA, Knoxville wasn’t going to just stick to comedy, however, and reeled off four more films that are decidedly more serious, beginning with Elia Kazan’s 1957 drama A Face in the Crowd. Starring Andy Griffith in a star-making role, the film follows a homeless musician who becomes an unlikely celebrity against the backdrop of rural Arkansas, which, though didn’t make many waves at the time, has since taken on a complete life of its own, with Martin Scorsese among its many admirers.
Next up came a film that could be described as a comedy, depending on the strength of your stomach, which is Harold and Maude from the great Hal Ashby, which centres on the titular characters: a young man with an unhealthy obsession with death, and a much older woman who is living out her final years in style.
Once again, it wasn’t a big hit upon its initial release but has since found a firm place in the cinematic canon, sitting at number 45 on ‘100 Years… 100 Laughs’, although don’t expect the same sort of humour as Blazing Saddles.
Knoxville’s next most famous selection was Cinema Paradiso, a coming-of-age tale set on the island of Sicily, where Giuseppe Tornatore’s beautiful Italian-language saga is anchored by the friendship between a young boy, played by Salvatore Cascio, and an elderly cinema projectionist, played by Philippe Noiret, marking a surprisingly tender selection for a man who gets repeatedly kicked in the balls for a living.
Finally, the actor rounded out his selections with a documentary, Heartworn Highways, the brainchild of filmmaker and special effects maestro James Szalapski, about the birth of the Outlaw Country genre and features performances by musicians Guy Clark, David Allan Coe, and Townes Van Zandt. While that won’t mean anything if you don’t like country music, check it out if that’s your bag.
Johnny Knoxville’s five favourite movies:Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks, 1974)A Face in the Crowd (Elia Kazan, 1957)Harold and Maude (Hal Ashby, 1971)Cinema Paradiso (Giuseppe Tornatore, 1988)Heartworn Highways (James Szalapski, 1976)
Related Topics