Johnny Knoxville Reflects On Eccentric Characters In His Childhood And The Books That Shaped His Worldview On “Books That Changed My Life”
LOS ANGELES (January 15, 2026) – Syndicate X Library dropped the latest episode of “Books That Changed My Life,” the weekly YouTube series that explores how books can transform our lives in profound and unexpected ways, featuring guest Johnny Knoxville. In the episode, Knoxville and host Chris Collins reflect on the formative books, unforgettable characters, and unconventional experiences that shaped Knoxville’s worldview–from growing up around his father’s eccentric circle in Knoxville, Tennessee, to discovering On the Road, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and You Can’t Win, which ignited his curiosity, love of adventure, and appreciation for richly drawn characters. Knoxville shares candid stories about his childhood and early career, finding his own path, making a career out of failing, and his latest projects, including Fear Factor: House of Fear and Jackass 5.
On growing up around his father’s world:
I grew up [with] my father who had all these characters that worked for him like Big George and Ass Kickin’ Robert and Woodrow Wilson Boxcar Johnson Jr. and he was like the fence for a lot of these guys.
He owned a tire company…He sold them and repaired them…He definitely should have been in show business. He would just take over a room when he walked in and was really funny. He was always pranking his employees.
I just looked up to him and all the characters he had working for him.
On a turning point in his education:
‘Til sixth grade I made straight A’s and then in seventh grade…It stopped making sense to me.
I just had this epiphany that I don’t like any of this…It was no longer important.
It was tough for me growing up because my mom was the disciplinarian and she wanted me to behave, but all she liked was misbehaving…I had these mixed messages of like, I want to be good because of her, but then it’s like she likes everyone who misbehaves.
On his interests growing up in Knoxville:
Reading, baseball and pretty much drinking on the weekends…it was that kind of ‘nothing to do’ town.
On his love of On the Road by Jack Kerouac and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson:
I was 14… and it just blew me away and it just gave me this crazy desire to leave. There’s a lot of other things out there…I wanted to get out and see what I could muster up…It opened my mind a lot.
I think I was around 18 and 19 when I read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas…I didn’t know people could write like that. That opened my mind up even more. Those books were very important to me.
On meeting Hunter S. Thompson:
I knew a guy who knew him…I had written a thing for Big Brother magazine, a thing on self defense equipment. So, I tested a bunch of shit on myself. It was in one of the Jackasses, a taser gun, stun gun, pepper spray and then I shot myself in the chest with a bulletproof vest. And that tape, I was like ‘oh Hunter might like this.’ So I had my friend send it to him and he called me…the rush of blood that went through me and the excitement, that was a really big moment.
On how he describes Hunter S. Thompson’s writing style:
He creates such a wonderful world in that participatory journalism style. He just puts his self right in the center of it and he’s completely mad, but he surrounds himself with monsters as well and enough drugs to get you through the day…He was very method.
On his love of “You Can’t Win” by author Jack Black:
It’s one of those books that you just, or me at least, I’ll go back and reread. Just cause I want to be with those characters again. I want to hang out with Jack again and hang out with “Foot and a Half George” and “The Sanctimonious Kid” and “Salt Chunk Mary” who could say no quicker than anyone and none of her no’s ever meant yes…Who doesn’t love an outlaw?
On carving out a path of his own and succeeding out of failing:
I don’t know how it happened for me. I did what I thought I could do. You know, do something you’re good at and since I suck at everything, why not try stunts? Because nobody wants to see someone make a stunt. At least, I didn’t. They’re only good when they fail. So, yes, I made a career out of failing.
On how On the Road, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and You Can’t Win changed his life:
I feel like On the Road changed my life…Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas changed my life. But in relation to On the Road…He helped inspire the beat generation, which made it all that possible…It just kind of stoked my love of those characters, and rich characters, and the adventure of it all.
There’s a great book on Knoxville, my hometown, by Cormac McCarthy called Suttree. And it’s filled with all the same type of characters, and characters that my father grew up with. You know, he talks about Chester Holmes and all these guys…They all remind me of my father and Ass Kickin’ Robert and Super Dick and Woodrow Wilson Boxcar Johnson Jr. and Leroy White. And I guess it all reminds me of my childhood, and all those characters.
On his new role as the host of Fear Factor: House of Fear:
I thought when I took the show, I’m like…these people are going to be scared, and I can just make things a lot worse for them…I was looking at it kind of like Jackass…But then I get there…And I ended up like bonding with them more than I thought and trying to help them through their fears…I became like a really perverted life coach…I was totally invested.
On stunts in Jackass 5:
I can’t do anything where I can get another concussion…I’m way over my limit for concussions.
They’re pure hell for the cast, but they’re a lot of fun for me…They’re having fun too…I’m very excited about that.
Each episode of “Books That Changed My Life” is filmed within the walls of the Syndicate X Library – a hidden sanctuary of knowledge with over 26,000 carefully curated books and works of art. Every guest has the opportunity to share with viewers the story of a book that has shaped or inspired them, paving the path for a meaningful conversation unlike any they’ve had before.