Porn actors have spoken up about what it’s actually like to perform on camera, including their reasons for getting into the business, how much money they make, and even what it smells like on a porn set.
On Wednesday night, the most recent episode of the critically acclaimed ABC series “You Can’t Ask That” aired, in which various sorts of porn actors discussed their risqué professions.
One of the trade secrets disclosed is that porn sets frequently smell like coconut oil and that the people you least want to know about your job—such your parents—are frequently the ones who figure it out first.
Hall of famer Angela White, who has been dubbed Australia’s best porn export after finding success in the US, was among the interviews.
Viewers also get to know homosexual porn actor Woody Fox, as well as porn stars Arianny Koda, Morgana Muses, Robbie Oz, Rubi Valentine, Marissa Minx, and Nikki Stern from the 1980s, who left the industry to work as a librarian.
When asked what it’s like to have sex on camera for the first time, the interviewees’ reactions varied.
Sydney-based Woody Fox noted, “My first shot was scary.”
LA-based When White, then 18 years old and about to get her high school diploma, boarded an aircraft bound for America, she began filming her first scene.
It was my first time traveling abroad, so it was a little frightening. She remarked, “I was an inquisitive youngster who was constantly attracted by porn.”
‘Now when I’m f***ing on camera it’s much easier than an interview like this,’ she joked.
White has made big money from her career – but she is the exception with many in the industry having side gigs or also working behind-the-scenes to earn a living.
The interviewees reveal most actors will only be paid a few hundred dollars for a scene, but trans-performers can draw considerably higher fees in the thousands.
They reveal it’s also hard work for actors on a porn set with tiring days stretching well past eight hours, a film crew setting and resetting shots, and a director yelling to change positions every few minutes.
And with a bunch of people crammed into small space, the aroma can get a little on the nose.
‘If it’s a summer day and the air-con isn’t running it smells like sweat,’ White said.
‘A professional set smells like just a clean sanitary space… but it can get stinky pretty fast,’ Fox admits.
‘It always smells like coconut oil, that’s the lube that’s used in porn,’ Koda adds.
Morgana Muses said she was stuck in an unhappy marriage and was considering suicide but instead hired an escort which ‘changed her life’.
She then went on to make an award-winning adult film with the same escort. That was her break in the industry – though she admits her films haven’t been big money spinners.
A common theme among all of the interviewees, however, was curiosity.
‘I reckon everyone has some part in them that’s curious like ‘I wonder if I could have done porn,’ Robbie said.
When asked what their parents thought of their career or if they even knew, they also seemed to agree that family and friends will find out.
Fox said it’s always the one person you would least want to discover you work in porn is exactly the person who’s going to catch on.
‘My dad flipped when he found out… he freaked out,’ Fox laughed.
He added he has a gay brother who he hopes hasn’t unsuspectingly clicked on one of his videos.
‘I hope a curious friend or family member hasn’t Googled me,’ White adds.
Rubi Valentine said her family and friends just were concerned about her safety.
When asked about the ethics of porn, White said that reputable companies treat and pay their actors very well and that these are what actors should be looking to work with.
‘We have consented to all of the acts on screen and we can call cut at any moment,’ she explains.
On a wider level, there is debate over whether the availability of porn courtesy of the world wide web normalises sexist attitudes or creates unrealistic expectations of bodies and performance.
But for the people interviewed who make the films, rather than a last resort after a series of poor decisions or a desperate attempt to make money, they all seem to like what they do.
‘They say do something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life,’ White said.q