Johnny Knoxville is on a bumpy road to recovery in his heartwarming new film.
IN Sweet Dreamsthe actor shows off his dramatic chops as Morris, who “struggles to come to terms with the wreckage of his life,” according to the synopsis.
In the first trailer, which debuts exclusively with PEOPLE, Knoxville can be seen on a “wild and unusual second chance journey” alongside actors Mo Amer, Theo Von, GaTa, Jay Mohr, Bobby Lee, Kate Upton and more.
When his rehab facility, the Sweet Dreams Recovery Center, goes up for auction, Knoxville’s character “reluctantly agrees to coach their misfit softball team of recovering addicts to win prize money and prove that anyone, despite their past, can achieve well. ”
Johnny Knoxville May Have Accidentally Spoiled ‘White Lotus’ Season 3 Location
Johnny Knoxville in “Sweet Dreams”.
The most important
Sweet Dreams comes from Paramount Pictures and writer-director-producer Lija Sarki, who “feels every bit of everything that happens on set,” Knoxville, 53, tells PEOPLE. Film director behind 2019 Peanut Butter Falcon “he’s very in tune with the actors,” he says.
That’s no easy task when the set is populated by an ensemble as ridiculous as this one, Knoxville adds.
“The cast was full of comedians, so things are kept pretty light,” he said Fool recalls the alum. “Bobby Lee always said funny s—. Mo Amer is obviously bloody funny and extremely talented.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2)/johnny-knoxville-sweet-dreams06-03112024-3db162e2e0c346458cf6e0eb4a1b15fc.jpg)
“Sweet Dreams”.
The most important
The trailer offers a glimpse of the dubious softball skills of that wacky cast, many of whom play recovering addicts — and who they are in real life.
“One of the great things about this movie is that a lot of the cast and a lot of the crew are recovering addicts,” says Knoxville. “They fought the dragon, brought it under control and now live their lives.”
Doing so “is not easy”, he adds. “It might be the least easy thing you ever do. But if you fight, you can get your life back.”
He continues: “That is also the message in the film. My character fights the dragon to get his life and daughter back. Many of the cast and crew of this film are living proof that it can happen.”
Johnny Knoxville says son Rocko, 12, has his ‘donkey’ gene: ‘I have to take care’ of him
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2)/johnny-knoxville-sweet-dreams08-03112024-1d6c1cd610b749988ab9b35780749bba.jpg)
“Sweet Dreams”.
The most important
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Knoxville’s oldest of three children was on set Sweet Dreams also as a crew member. “In the scenes where I would listen to my daughter’s message on the phone, she would read the message out loud in real time,” he tells PEOPLE.
“I broke down every time,” Knoxville says. “There’s no acting, just a father crying at the sound of his daughter’s voice as she reads him a heartbreaking message.”
Sweet Dreams it’s in theaters on April 12th and digitally on April 16th.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education