LOS ANGELES—The Nasty One is back.
Rocco Siffredi recently returned to performing full time with the same passion and intensity that has defined his extraordinary career. His retirement from appearing in adult movies lasted almost five years, challenging him in ways he didn’t previously imagine. What inspired him to take action was two-fold.
“There are two ways to see this, why I come back,” Siffredi explains. “Frustration on one side, and the other, the business is so low, so strange and so low that the only thing I felt I could do is step in front of the camera again.
“And also because I noticed that I had the power to do again.”
The Italian superstar announced he had retired from doing sex scenes at the end of 2004 at the age of 40. Still, he released numerous movies in which he starred through his longtime distributor Evil Angel in the following years that all had been shot prior to his decision to stop. He made one notable exception in 2007, reprising his lead role as Antonio in the final part of John Stagliano’s epic trilogy Fashionistas Safado: Berlin. But aside from that performance Siffredi remained behind the camera as a producer/director for his Budapest-based production company.
Then in September of last year, after much soul-searching, he came to Los Angeles to see if he still had the right stuff.
“I was a little concerned coming over here because American girls they are not a joke. When they start to fuck they want to get fucked,” Siffredi recalls. “So in September when I came it was a little strange. And then I went through Bobbi Starr, Tori Black, all the big names, and then I say, ‘It’s OK. I can keep up.’”
The 45-year-old AVN Hall of Famer knows the importance of pacing himself in his 25th year in the business.
“I just need more time in between,” he admits. “That’s the difference between five years ago and now. Or let’s say even 10 years ago and now, is that before I could do it, no problem, day after no problem. Now when I have a great, great scene, in the evening I’m like, I better go to sleep because I want to work tomorrow.”
Siffredi shot 22 scenes in LA during his September trip, performing in 12 of them. He traveled back to LA this past January after attending the AVN Awards Show in Las Vegas, shooting a handful of scenes before heading home to Hungary. He said his comeback would not have been possible without the unconditional support of his wife Rosa. Siffredi also has two sons, Lorenzo, 13, and Leonardo, 10.
“I spoke with my wife and she said it’s my problem only, it doesn’t belong to her and the boys. And she said, ‘You decide to stop, we never ask you. So if you want to go back, just go back.’ And since I come back I’ve probably had the best time since five years, since when I was stopping,” Siffredi tells AVN.
“When I step in front of the camera, finally I’m like, that’s where I belong. Not too much behind, more in front.”
Siffredi said that the Evil Angel owner Stagliano has told him that “my movies get better and better, that I’ve become an incredible director.”
“But at the same time,” Siffredi continues, “I much more see myself in front of the camera as an actor. In front of the camera is my thing. I like much more. It feels more in my position.”
And it’s in that spot that he has already set the tone for 2010 and beyond. In this exclusive January interview at the Sofitel Hotel, Siffredi discusses his desire to “re-establish” himself as a performer, the differences between European and American girls, his philosophy on shooting and even the Tiger Woods scandal.
AVN: When you spoke of “frustration” with how things were going during your retirement, what were you referring to?
RS: Yes, there was a lot of frustration. OK, in some terms I did only The Fashionistas in Berlin during those five years. I was getting used to step out of the camera, but in my movies I always did some little teasing, some little POV behind the scenes. I would never step in front of the movie [and do] hardcore. I was using mostly other European actors.
And I was getting used to that position. I could go on with this, if the [adult] business wouldn’t go that bad. So the business was going in a bad, bad, bad way and that just gave me back the opportunity to go back in front of the camera.
AVN: So you had sexual frustration. It was tough to shoot and not be in the movie?
RS: Yes, sexual frustration. It was definitely my big problem.
Another thing which makes me frustrated was to see some guys not be able to do what I want. Every director would like you to do whatever is in their mind, the way you would like to see. So if you can trust in the actors it’s the best. ...I’m not somebody who will let you fuck the girl with no emotion. I will not be turned on. I will say, ‘Oh this is boring.’
I will not be able to shoot somebody who shoots his dick. He comes out and his dick is hard, all these little things that piss me off. So that’s created me worse problems, because the world has become smaller for me of the people I can use.
So many directors they only care about dialogue. When it comes to the sex, ‘OK, you can do whatever you want. We don’t care.’ What I am interested in is the sex. And then if you can make a nice story with it, it’s great. But I want to see emotion. ... I want to see fear. I want to see excitement, many little things. I want to see the eyes going up from being surprised.
AVN: How did your webmaster Gamma factor in your comeback?
RS: The Gamma situation only happened one year ago. But one year ago was not me coming back, it was just me moving to them. After six months they were running my site (roccosiffredi.com) and they say, ‘Rocco it would be incredible if sometimes you could do little scenes, not too much, something.’”
And to me it doesn’t make sense to come back with little scenes, either you are back or you are not. So for them, big smile when they see me totally back they are the most happy guys in the world. ... For me I was little concerned about my wife that she would be upset. But since my wife she said, ‘just do whatever makes you happy. If you want to go back in front, if that’s what you like, just don’t worry about me.’ And that’s given me the big strength to go back in front of the camera.
The reason why I’m here in America is I want to come back on a high level. I don’t want to come back on a medium level. I want to come back like, ‘Where are the big stars here? Let me go to work with those girls.’
AVN: Today you performed with Alexis Texas and Jenny Hendrix in a scene for John Stagliano. How did that go?
RS: I was working with Alexis in September, last time with Toni [Ribas]. In September I saw the potential how good was this girl. Today, when I didn’t work with Toni, she was unbelievable. I really think Alexis, she is a naturally born porn star. She knows how to position herself. She is so erotic, incredible.
... There is many, many girls here that I don’t know. I need to re-establish myself as an actor.
AVN: Please tell us about your first big title of the year.
RS: It’s called Tori, Tarra and Bobbi Loves Rocco. You can say I steal the title from Vivid, because every girl who I meet in America, all of them, every one say why we don’t make this, like ‘Alexis Texas Loves Rocco.’ So everybody loves this title. So that was originally a Vivid title. I made like 10 of them [with Vivid], even with Jenna Jameson. So I decided to use this title for me, for my production and it’s a beautiful movie. I really think it’s a beautiful production. It is from scenes shot in September in America [with Tori Black and Bobbi Starr] and one month before I started shooting in Budapest with Tarra White.
Then I made another movie which was called Rocco’s Power Slave, which is probably my favorite for the whole year. ... In the Power Slave I did a scene with Lorelei Lee and she was really, really like a true understanding of Rocco’s sexuality. A true person. The scene was unbelievable.
When I have original, authentic girls I will do No. 2. It’s not going to be like Animal Trainer, with 10 or 15 [a year] it will be maybe one or two every year. So it will be really authentic. Then I made a movie called Rocco’s Bitch Party…In Bitch Party, all the scenes where you see is Europe. That’s my studio. But it seems to be 10 different places because I have so many different locations.
AVN: Why do you find it is good to mix American and European girls in your movies?
RS: For the moment, it’s the best. Most of the European girls, they don’t speak English. It’s so difficult to pull out their personality. I love to show always why she’s fucking.
It can be funny, it can be any reason but you need to have some personality. It’s not just a pretty girl and a dick and start to fuck. I want to know something about more. It could be also a fake personality. It’s important that something’s happening.
So in Europe whatever you spend on time to show the personality, in America you already shot the whole scene, that’s the main difference. But some European girls are incredibly good looking so you have to get them in the movie….you have to get to the right combination…not that the American girls are not that pretty, but some of them have incredible personalities so you shoot them just for this.
I’m a very real person, and on the camera I am the same. I cannot play a character. And when it comes to the sex I want to believe in what I’m doing. When it comes to the sex I can’t get by on just being so professional. I want to feel the person.
AVN: How does your production and release schedule for this year look?
RS: At the moment I’m six months ahead but some of the scenes were shot one year ago. One and a half year ago I start HD, so all my scenes are actually pretty new. This year 2010 will be definitely my best year since I stopped working because I’m back in every movie working and also because my production value has increased. I have probably the biggest studio in the world at the moment. In Budapest I built the biggest studio probably in Europe for sure, 300,000 meters square, multiple locations and also a tropical side. In Budapest a tropical side is difficult. So we have a tropical situation with the lake. It is beautiful. I decided to do this big structure to increase my quality.
It was lots of money, more than four million with lighting equipment, cameras and all what you need. And my idea is to start producing sometimes for TV.
AVN: What kind of programs do you want to produce?
RS: I’m going to start producing Rocco-style, lifestyle which is me and my family and my work together. It’s going to be like 15 hours of material for the TV. It’s just around me, my life. You can be father, two boys, wife, and at the same time be an [adult producer and performer]. How can you divide these two things? So this is the first job producing in March. And I offer to bring bigger producers to me to produce ‘Rocco’s Academy’ which is going to be like learning the 10 basic rules to be in this business.
And the rules we will take one week to shoot each rule.
And the guys will just be there for learning. Some people already wrote incorrectly that ‘Rocco is trying to find the new Rocco.’ No, it’s not like this. You cannot build somebody in 10 weeks. It’s impossible. But it’s fun for the viewer to see my point of view on this business. What to do, what not to do, how to get in front of the camera. Techniques. How to position yourself without being fake. How to show the camera that you are fucking the girl, that you are showing everything and at the same time the people will not notice that you are doing it for the camera, how to be real.
But at the same time your brain divides in a few parts. One part is for the director, one part is for the girl, how to be on the set. Like when you arrive, everybody’s ready and you say, ‘Oh sorry, I have to take a shower. I’m not clean.’ All those little things which I’ve seen.
And now we got to the worst part. Today is worse than ever because today, thanks to all the new techniques, Viagra, injections, everybody can be porn star right. Everybody now more so than ever. So those guys need to know. It’s not just because they have a hard dick they know what to do. It’s not about this. It’s about passion, it’s about showing. It’s about …the girls. And you cannot so easily get some girls to try anal. Some girls they get their asshole broken, stitched back and they cannot use any more. Because the guys they don’t understand it’s not something that you just stick in, boom and you break everything.
AVN: What is your studio called?
RS: The studio is called Rosa. It’s dedicated to my wife because I think everything that I have it’s thanks to her. To have Rosa gives me what a real-life man has. I had lots of women, lots of sex, good money. But it was missing the side of family, wife. I’m a parent so, she give me the other side of a man which was missing. I have this balance in my brain all because of her. If you have in life a good woman who helps you, you grow incredible. She gives you strength. If you have some girl who is breaking your balls, who is complaining about everything you do, who’s creating problem, how can you go forward?
So she has been so much supporting me. You know if you interview her, she would tell you the problem with Rocco is he’s searching for himself in another person. Of course she’s my wife. She knows the business. ... There are people who are very good at what they do, but not many people have the passion for it. Some people are very good in front of the camera but they don’t give more than what you ask them.
AVN: Can you tell us about your new Nasty line this year?
RS: I’m going to release a new line called Rocco’s Nasty Girls, because ‘nasty’ is the word that every fan thinks is Rocco. Boys and girls say, it’s funny, ‘you are nasty, you are nasty.’ Because that’s my word when I fuck so always people say ‘you are nasty, you are nasty.’ Nasty to me means you are fucking very hard. I don’t know so much English so I always use that word. So wherever I go, England, Italy, France. People ask me to please say, ‘you are nasty.’
AVN: When you reflect on doing this for the past 25 years, what is it that keeps you going?
RS: It reflects that my father is part of me. It’s kind of hormones. My father is 85 and my father doesn’t do porno but pussy is always on his brain, so I use that for my business.
I think my younger brothers are more or less the same. My younger brothers all they do is think about pussy all day long. There is some kind of priority in life. I did last five years to repress that. Did I tell you what happened to me the first year when I stopped working?
I tell you a funny story now, which makes really sense the way I see life. The first year I stopped I probably fucked more than 1,000 hookers on the street because I was so crazy.
I shoot the girls and then I can’t fuck them. It wasn’t [that I was] missing the pussy. My wife she’s so pretty. It was missing the variety of it, what I had before I stopped.
... So when you go back home, you love your wife, you fuck your wife. It’s like you eat, but you’re still hungry. You can’t eat always the same. So I had those problems, one year after, getting a little better, a little better.
When I hear about the golf guy, Tiger. I’m like man, how you can be so famous and of course you’re fucking so many girls. It’s normal this poor guy. It’s normal, man, you will do it. I’m so sad for him because everybody’s making like, ‘Oh he should go up there and say he’s sorry to the world.’ What the fuck is this? Say sorry to the world. It’s his private life. He may have to say sorry to his wife, not to the world. I don’t understand this, controlling the sex of people.
AVN: What would you want your fans to know about you that they don’t already?
RS: I think that real fans, they know who Rocco is by seeing the way he works and what he deliver. I think the people know who I am. At least I try not to deliver fake thing. I think the real fans, they know what they will find, they trust. Of course not everybody likes Rocco style. But people who really like sex they understand what’s the difference. I don’t understand why people criticize without seeing.
I can’t perform any more like five, six hours like I used to. Two hours, which is enough to deliver a good scene. If you are real, I can. ... And for the people who needs to know more about Rocco... At the second Rocco is no longer able to deliver good stuff he will say goodbye. At this point I will not tell you when Rocco is going to retire. I will not do the same mistake two times. Whenever I feel for any reason retire, I will just retire and I will not tell anybody. Because the fact that telling after 40, after 20 years that I will retire I think it was good idea, but it wasn’t. The only thing that is for sure is that you always get a good job from me.
