Steve-O made his name as the craziest of the "Jackass" crazies, unafraid to sacrifice life and limb in the pursuit of daredevil glory. Along the way he made countless inebriated appearances in public and had many brushes with the law, including charges for assault and possession of cocaine. He finally spiraled into a drug and alcohol bender that landed him in a psychiatric hospital.

Now Steve-O is sober and intent on presenting a refurbished image to the world. Earlier this year he appeared on the ABC reality series, "Dancing with the Stars" and his hour-long documentary, "Steve-O: Demise and Rise," is set to air on MTV on May 3.

His "Jackass" co-star Johnny Knoxville couldn't be happier about the turnaround. "He's in so much a better place now and I'm really proud of him," Knoxville told MTV News while promoting his Tribeca Film Festival doc, "The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia."

"Demise and Rise" is an uncompromising look into Steve-O's life at its most disturbing. There's footage of him snorting cocaine, drinking bong water, huffing aerosol cans and chugging whiskey. "I lost control of my life," explains Steve-O during the program. "And thanks to some very close friends, I decided to do something about it."

"He documented everything," Knoxville said. "His whole downward spiral — completely documented. His whole life up until that point was all about getting as much footage as possible. And he got it."

Knoxville and Steve-O have been close since the late '90s, and the one friend had a front-row seat for the other friend's descent into near-fatal addiction. "Me and all his other friends — the 'Jackass' guys — have been there the entire time," Knoxville said. "We were there before he got into show business, before he was on 'Jackass,' and we were there when he completely, absolutely spun out of control and almost lost his life. We were the group that put him in the hospital."

The last big screen "Jackass" movie hit theaters in 2006, and rumors of a third film have been circulating for years. With Steve-O on the mend, might the old crew be getting back together? "We just haven't decided," Knoxville explained. "It's not out of the question right now, but it's not something we're planning on soon. Who knows?"