LOS ANGELES—Tim Dax is getting a lot of press. The body-builder with very prominent tattoos is one of the actors who had the dubious distinction of being cast in Innocence Of Muslims, the now infamous anti-Islam "trailer" that was posted to YouTube, talked about incessantly in the media, and subsequently became the spark leading to anti-American riots in several Muslim countries that have yet to burn out. Dax, who says he was "duped" into appearing in the movie, has some mainstream credits, but he is also being frequently referred to as a gay porn actor. That label, though good in a headline, may be a bit of a stretch.
Time wrote about Dax yesterday, describing him thusly: "The actor is a bodybuilder with what seems to be an ancient helmet tattooed on his head, an armored appurtenance around his neck and stars over his nipples. That would suggest a rather constricted range of roles. He’s managed an appearance on CSI as well as modest roles in minor horror flicks like I Spill Your Guts and Mr. Bricks, and — under a different name but the same tattoos — one immodest solo in a gay adult film."
According to the blog Joe.My.God., "Dax, who describes himself as 'straight, but with a twist,' appeared in Titan Media's 2008 release Folsom Undercover. He's also been photographed for Michael Alago's popular Rough Gods."
But while there is a page for Dax's mainstream credits on imdb.com, there is no listing for Dax on iafd.com, at least not under that name. None of the actors listed by Titan as appearing in Folsom Undercover seem to be Dax. But that still doesn't mean he was not in the movie, so we sent an email to Titan asking them to clarify if he was or was not. We did not hear back by post time, though.
Of course, it hardly matters whether Dax did or didn't appear in a gay porn flick, though it does seem kind of ironic if he did and then also appeared in Innocence Of Muslims. Ironic, that is, in the sense that religious intolerance seems to infuse every aspect of this situation, including the political spin it's enjoying at the hands of pundits and politicians alike.
For Dax's part, he sent Joe the blogger an email explaining how he got involved. "I can tell you I auditioned for a movie called Desert Storm that was about Ancient Warriors,' he said. "My character was called Sampson on the paper with a few lines I got each day upon arriving on set. We never saw a full script or any lines after the day we shot them. Many questions were asked regarding absurdity of lines and situations. Sam the producer who I believed to be, but not certain as Egyptian. His reply would always to work with what we were given as he wrote the script. The clip that I saw part of today for the first time is questionable as to being my voice. The voice over work is dubious at best. a week and a half of work, 75 bucks a day & lunch. ; ) Can't tell you anymore than that other than I'm am very much NOT anti muslim. one world one love. Tim."
Doesn't sound like he was getting paid scale by the cheap ass ... filmmaker.
UPDATE
Looks like Dax isn't the only participant in the movie with a porn past. Gawker reports that the director, Alan Roberts, was "the creative vision behind softcore porn classics like The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood."
And the Los Angeles Times reported late Friday, "A Nexis public records search indicates that an Alan Roberts of Santa Monica is an alias for a 65-year-old man named Robert Alan Brownell of Canyon Lake in Riverside County. In 2002, records show, Brownell registered the business names Alan Roberts Entertainment and Digital Movie Studios, both of Santa Monica."
Photo: Tim Dax, courtesy of imdb.com.
