Knoxville Credits Kids With Success

Knoxville - real name Philip John Clapp - moved from Tennessee to Los Angeles to try his luck at acting, but turned to writing to make a living after his then girlfriend Melanie Clapp gave birth to their daughter Madison.

He was then asked to write about Tasering himself for a magazine article and decided to film the experiment - and a year later, Jackass was an MTV hit.

But Knoxville insists his career wouldn't have taken off if he hadn't become a dad at 25.

He says, "The biggest thing that got me doing anything was the birth of my daughter. I was waiting tables and my girlfriend, who became my wife... who became my ex-wife... was pregnant, and I was like, 'Oh f**k, I really need to do something. I've just been, like, drinking and partying the whole time here.'"

Knoxville also has a son, Rocko, with wife Naomi Nelson.