Jackass star spreads his wings

Jackass star Johnny Knoxville is distancing himself from his knockabout MTV origins and trying to reinvent himself as a leading man by joining The Rock - alias Dwayne Johnson – in the drama Walking Tall.

Sources say Knoxville will be paid a career-best €4.2m for his role as a sheriff’s deputy who helps The Rock’s character stand up to local roughnecks.

Walking Tall, which is based on the real-life exploits of baseball bat-wielding Sheriff Buford Pusser, was first filmed in 1973 and starred Joe Don Baker. It spawned two sequels.

After he finishes Walking Tall, Knoxville will co-produce and star in a comedy about two hot dog vendors who battle over a prime street corner, reports Daily Variety.