UNITED KINGDOM—His theatrical colleagues are aghast at the decision by an up-and-coming Scottish stage actor to explore a career in adult entertainment, a move that has already gotten him scotched from an upcoming gig playing Prince Charming.
According to the Daily Mail, "Craig Chalmers, 30, made his name after appearing in the hit BBC show Any Dream Will Do which searched for a new lead to star in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
"He has since established himself as a talented performer and was due to play Prince Charming in Cinderella at the Alhambra Theatre in Dunfermline, Scotland, But the star, from Edinburgh, was axed after bosses were tipped off that he had starred in X-rated movies.
Other papers are reporting that in addition to the lost theatre work, the married actor may also have jeopardized television gigs, but none of it seems to have fazed Chalmers, who the Edinburgh Evening News describes as "defiant."
“I’m not ashamed of it," he said of his fledging porn career under the nom du porn, Ryan Ryder. "I’m being well paid and I’m comfortable with doing it. I can confirm though that I won’t be performing in [pantomime] this year in Dunfermline which is a shame as I was looking forward to it.
“The plan was to wrap my panto career up after this Christmas and concentrate on my new career. However there has been an unintended crossover and I’m well aware that there is a clear conflict of interest. It’s a bit of bad timing and it’s unfortunate but it was completely unintended.
“I understand that a lot of people are going to judge me badly for it but at the end of the day both my friends and family are fully aware of my career and they support my decision.”
Reaction from the mainstream is less understanding. The News reports that an industry insider said Chalmers had just committed career suicide, telling the paper, “For someone who has already built up a following and who has a made a fairly good career for himself as an entertainer on TV and in theatres, this move is effectively suicide for his mainstream career."
The source added, "It is very difficult if not impossible for someone to move back into the mainstream once they have established themselves in the adult entertainment industry. It’s a real shame as he had talent and it’s hard to see where he will go from here.”
That dire assessment may not be shared, however, by Sasha Grey and James Deen, both wildly successful American adult performers who have made found notable work in the mainstream—though the latter, unlike the former, says he has no intention of giving up porn for mainstream.
Interestingly, the source mentioned by the News also raised the "children" issue to explain why Chalmers had to be dropped from upcoming gig, saying, “There was no other option but to drop him. You can’t have children coming to see a production like ours where it’s widely known that he’s actually also appeared in adult movies. That’s just bonkers and clearly wouldn’t work.”
The owner of the Alhambra Theatre agreed wholeheartedly, and took Chalmers to task for his decision-making., owner of the Alhambra Theatre and producer of the panto, said he had acted immediately to remove Craig from the production once information about his past came to light.
“I am extremely disappointed that Craig did not see fit to make us aware of his change of career path, as obviously it is in no way compatible with our work to create true family friendly panto here at the Alhambra,” said. Bill Fletcher. “We had hoped to put together a nucleus of panto performers for years to come and Craig was a good fit for that with his following from Joseph, and he had experience in panto roles.
“When the news emerged about this however we told him quite categorically that his position here was untenable and his only option was to resign his role as Prince Charming," he added.
Not to worry. With Chalmers good looks, there will probably be plenty of Prince Charming roles awaiting him in his new industry.
Chalmers, aka Ryan Ryder, is represented in the U.K. and Europe by adult talent agency, JEM Talent. His profile can be seen here.
