Belladonna Cast in Horror Picture 'Stripped'

HOLLYWOOD—Adult movie icon Belladonna has signed on to star in her first non-adult motion picture, a horror film called Stripped being helmed by first-time director John Wildman and produced by, among others, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre producer Jeffrey Allard. 

In a press release from the project's production company, Wildworks Productions, Wildman described Belladonna as a "dream choice" for the role of Ginger, a newcomer to the household of sadistic women who make up the movie's band of antagonists.

"She has an innate openness and warmth that you can't help but be drawn to," Wildman said of Bella. "It will be a thrill to introduce her to a whole new audience and re-introduce her to Belladonna's legion of loyal fans."

Belladonna told AVN she was hesitant about the project when the producers first approached her, but at the urging of husband/business partner Aiden, she read the script, and "by the end, I couldn't stop reading it. It was one of those that just sucks you in, and I couldn't get enough of it. I read the whole thing in a couple of hours, and I was just like, 'I want to be a part of this.'"

Though her character and the other central women are strip club dancers, Bella asserted, "Don't worry, it's not like Zombie Strippers! You go into it thinking, 'Oh, OK, strippers ... this is gonna be so typical.' But then once you get like halfway into the story, I was like, 'Oh my fucking god. This is gnarly.'"

Bella said she was excited about stepping foot into the mainstream realm, "because it's just another creative outlet. I feel like when you've done something for so long, it becomes so easy and it's like you could do it with your eyes closed, and acting, I'm so nervous about it still. I get all nervous like I used to when I first started shooting porn, and that makes you feel like, 'Oh my god, this is fresh and exciting,' and that's a feeling I always love to have. This is challenging and nerve-wracking and exciting all at the same time. So I hope to learn a lot from it, honestly, and maybe get other projects out of it by meeting people."

Though she's never studied acting in any formal sense, Bella said the acting work she's done in adult has taught her a few things about the craft. "I've learned over the years to really just learn your lines, and then you can go crazy with the part," she explained. "You don't have to worry about anything else but trying to just make it feel as real as possible and pretend that that's who you are. I feel like I put myself in these role-playing situations where I become that person. And I'm the type of person that even with porn, as long as I know what I need to do, I can show up and completely sink myself into it. So if I can somehow make my acting as good as my sex scenes, then I'll be a lucky person!"

Stripped is slated to begin shooting in July in Dallas, though production may get pushed back to October, Bella said, depending on pre-production elements being completed on time. Other members of the cast include Tiffany Shepis (Night of the Demons, Tromeo and Juliet), Farah White (Bandslam, Miss Congeniality), Samrat Chakrabarti (Finding Graceland, Kissing Cousins) and Michael Guarnera (Bruce Almighty, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle).