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ATLANTA -- As movie combos go, this one beats anything offered at the concession stand: The Rock and Johnny Knoxville.

The popular wrestler-turned-actor and the former stuntman-provocateur share the screen in "Walking Tall," a new film inspired by the 1973 hit about legendary Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser. The Rock plays a Special Forces veteran who returns to his Washington state hometown and cleans up corruption and drug dealing with a big stick after being elected sheriff. Knoxville plays his recovered-drug-addict best friend, who becomes his deputy.

The burning question of the day, naturally, is whether or not Knoxville ever tried to pick up The Rock's stick.

"Isn't this a family newspaper? My goodness," says Knoxville, evoking the fallout caused by Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" at the Super Bowl halftime show. "Wow. You can't say anything on the radio or in newspapers. Yesterday I said 'sitting erect in the chair.' I said, 'Can I say "erect"?' You just don't know what you can say these days.

"I did touch his stick, yes, I did, and that's all I'm gonna say. That's all I need to say."

"Walking Tall," now playing in theaters, pauses briefly for a romantic interlude (between The Rock and actress Ashley Scott), but primarily it's about a man beating the stuffing out of the people who are ruining his town.

"I don't know if it's such a big message film," says Knoxville in an interview at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Buckhead while making a publicity stop in Atlanta. "I think it's just a big Hollywood popcorn revenge-action film. You're supposed to go and have fun."

The South-Young High School graduate (better known to old friends in Tennessee as P.J. Clapp ) had a great time shooting the film with The Rock in Vancouver.

"We got along really good," says Knoxville. "This is, like, no B.S. He's just a good guy with a good sense of humor seems like a guy you grew up with who just happens to be incredibly famous and incredibly rich."

The Rock's admirable qualities show in the way he treats his fans, his co-star says.

"If there's kids around, he'll sign (autographs) to the last kid," says Knoxville , who was unable to join The Rock for a March 16 benefit screening at West Town Mall. "I asked him to meet my family, and I had, like, 25 people there, and he met everybody and was genuinely nice to everybody."

And, of course, the seven-time World Wrestling Entertainment champion is fairly easy on the eye, something that Knoxville acknowledges.

"Guys can see it," he says. "We know why women like him."

Knoxville himself is a good-looking guy, but he tries to divert people's attention from that fact by making his short brown hair stand on end, wearing thrift-store couture and pledging allegiance to the tube-socks-and-sneakers look. Today he has on his "I Love Country Music" T-shirt, which makes perfect sense for the star of the upcoming "Grand Theft Parsons."

Based on one of the greatest music-world tales of the 1970s, the film recounts the story of country-rock icon Gram Parsons' death and the efforts by his friend and road manager, Phil Kaufman (played by Knoxville ), to fulfill Parsons' wish as to the disposal of his body. "Grand Theft Parsons" will have its Tennessee debut on Saturday, May 1, at the Nashville Independent Film Festival. Festival tickets go on sale Monday and may be purchased online at www.ticketweb.com or by calling 800-965-4827.

"I'm a big Gram Parsons fan, for sure," Knoxville says. He's also a fan of director John Waters, for whom he worked in the upcoming "A Dirty Shame" with Tracey Ullman, Chris Isaak, Selma Blair and Mink Stole, and the Farrelly brothers, who executive-produced "The Ringer," in which he plays a man who enters the Special Olympics illicitly in hopes of winning money to pay off his uncle's debts.

"The film on the surface might sound mean-spirited, but it's not at all," says the creator of the now-defunct MTV prank-fest "Jackass." "It's actually a sweet film. All the mean stuff happens to me."

Knoxville 's acting schedule kept him working nonstop for much of 2003, but he's taken a little time off recently. He celebrated his 33rd birthday last month and is warily feeling good about his future.

"Thirty-three's a tough year," he says. "I think that was (John) Belushi, ... (Chris) Farley, Jesus ... -- they all had bad years at 33. It's like 27 -- 27 was a year a lot of people (died): (Jim) Morrison, (Janis) Joplin, (Jimi) Hendrix, (Kurt) Cobain, maybe Robert Johnson. Twenty-seven and 33 are years you want to get by."

He already has work lined up to keep him out of trouble -- a small role in "Lords of Dogtown," inspired by the acclaimed documentary about California skateboarders in the 1970s, and the starring role in a comedy he's producing about turf wars between hot-dog vendors.

He credits acting coach Cameron Thor with helping him hone his skills as an actor.

"Each time out you just get a little more comfortable in front of the camera and learn to be a little more natural," he says. "I don't know if it's something you really cognize at the time, but it just kind of washes over you as you're doing it.

"I'm feeling good about where I'm at right now."

© 2004, Knoxville News Sentinel
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