“I overindulged” but “I could always get out of it” (Exclusive)

In his new film “Sweet Dreams,” the “Jackass” star plays a man who leaves rehab and then coaches a softball team made up of recovering drug addicts.

Johnny Knoxville was exposed to drug and alcohol abuse throughout his life. He is now drawing on these experiences in a new project.

The ‘Jackass’ alum stars in the film Sweet dreams as Morris, a man forced into rehab who then coaches a softball team made up of recovering drug addicts. He says his past experiences with drugs and alcohol put him “right next to” the addiction struggles faced by his family and friends.

The actor tells PEOPLE that he “abused certain periods of my life” but considers himself lucky to be able to “always get through it.”

“Some people can’t,” Knoxville says. “I understand the fears that come with like, ‘What am I going to do if I have to give up this thing that I protect more than anything, the one thing that rules my life?’ Because that’s your whole identity in that moment- there.”

Related: Johnny Knoxville Proudly Poses After Letting His Daughter Do Her Makeup: ‘I Look Pretty Hot’

Knoxville explains her early exposure to addiction. “My father was an alcoholic,” he says. “A lot of my friends are recovering.”

One of these friends is Donkey star Steve-O, who credits Knoxville with helping him get sober in 2008.

“It’s very nice of Steve-O to acknowledge (his sobriety) to me,” Knoxville said. “But I will say that all the credit goes to Steve-O, you know. Maybe me and a few other guys were the catalyst for him to take that step, the first step, but he’s the one who finally wanted it and made it happen. And that’s real courage.”

During an appearance on a December 7, 2023 episode of Steve-O’s podcast, Steve-O’s Wild Race!, both men briefly recalled troubling moments from their past substance use. Knoxville said they used to inhale “video tape cleaner” together and got tattoos matching the specific brand they used during that time.

Steve-O also recalled other addictive behaviors, such as when Knoxville sent Donkey crew members to find “airplane model glue” because he wanted to use it as an inhalant.

But those days are long behind Steve-O and Knoxville, who supports his friend’s journey to recovery.

“People think, ‘Oh, life’s not going to be fun anymore,'” Knoxville says of the misconception around sobriety. “But then your life begins once you get sober, and I think it’s more fun. From what I’ve seen with people, they have the time of their lives.”

He adds: “It’s still a very difficult thing to do. But it’s possible.”

Related: Johnny Knoxville Coaches a Softball Team Made Up of Recovering Drug Addicts Sweet Dreams Trailer (Exclusive)

The star’s beliefs about addiction recovery and second chances are directly related to Sweet Dreams. The emphasis on sobriety appealed to Knoxville, who said, “Morris is trying to get his life and his daughter back, you know – I connected to a lot of that stuff.” (Knoxville has three children.)

Overall, the star hopes the film will shed a positive light on the other side of an individual’s healing journey. He acknowledges that many shows and films “kind of stay on the side of addiction and despair.

“But it doesn’t have to be hopeless. You can make your own luck, you can get your life back.”

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