LOS ANGELES—Gamma Films contract performer Seth Gamble entered the 2023 awards season with fifteen AVN Awards nominations, a personal best for the celebrated actor, director, and writer now in his seventeenth year in adult entertainment. At the 40th annual AVN Awards, Gamble emerged with wins for Male Performer of the Year and Best Leading Actor. The latter award recognized his performance as Travis Carmichael in Casey Calvert’s Going Up from Lust Cinema and marked his fourth AVN Best Actor win.
During his acceptance speech for Male Performer of the Year, Gamble thanked Gamma, Wicked Pictures, his wife Kenzie Taylor, and his friend and mentor, four-time AVN Director of the Year and Wicked head of production Axel Braun. He emphasized that he is "so grateful" to be part of the adult film community and said winning Male Performer of the Year was "a dream." He acknowledged the hard work of “every single male performer—we work our asses off every single year,” and added, "I want to thank every girl in this room that I got to work with. My job is to bring out the best scene possible for all of you and I’m fortunate to have your trust and I don’t take it for granted.”
Gamble also expressed his gratitude to the many filmmakers with whom he’d collaborated, including Bree Mills, Kayden Kross, James Avalon, Casey Calvert, and of course, Braun.
Acknowledging such a diverse group of directors was fitting, as Gamble's influence was perhaps nowhere more evident than in the AVN Awards’ top movie category—the Grand Reel. Of the ten titles nominated, Gamble starred in five—including Going Up, for which he earned Best Leading Actor, Spideypool XXX: An Axel Braun Parody (Wicked Comix), in which he reprised his award-winning portrayal of Deadpool, James Avalon’s NightMoves award-winning Dark Is The Night (Wicked Noir), Drift (Deeper), and Stars: The Jane Wilde Story (Adult Time).
In addition to starring in the five nominees, Gamble created a sixth—Deranged (Vols. 1 & 2), his debut narrative feature for Wicked Pictures. The psychological thriller was also nominated for Outstanding Directing – Individual Work (Gamble), Best Screenplay (Gamble), Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer White), and Best Leading Actress, the latter in recognition of Kenzie Taylor's performance. In further validation of Gamble's filmmaking prowess, his visual anthology Money earned a Best Gonzo/Cinemacore Movie or Limited Series nomination, as well as a Best Solo/Tease Performance nod for Vanna Bardot.
Reflecting further on his high-profile body of work, Gamble confided, “I’m so grateful to Casey Calvert for the opportunity to be a part of Going Up, which was such an amazing project; she trusted my instincts implicitly which makes winning Best Leading Actor for it an even more meaningful honor. And I thank Axel Braun for giving me my fourth chance to dig into Deadpool. Spideypool XXX is by far the funniest movie I’ve ever done. I relished giving the character wilder dimensions than ever and getting to mentor Tyler Cruise, who did such a fantastic job as Spider-Man. Working with James Avalon on Dark Is the Night was just incredible, as we both love film noir; I’m so happy he won Best Screenplay for it. The experience of doing Drift with Kayden Kross is one I’ll never forget, she’s so precise in what she wants and inspires everyone to give their best. And I’m so thankful to Bree Mills and Jane Wilde for Stars: The Jane Wilde Story—a movie near and dear to my heart. Jane poured her heart into it, and I am so proud of her.”
In the 2023 AVN Awards season, Gamble's presence in the past year was not only recognized with the Male Performer of the Year trophy, but a multitude of additional nominations: Best Actor - Featurette ("The Nanny Incident," Pure Taboo), Best Double-Penetration Sex Scene ("Maddy May's Mayhem Sc. 2: DVP & DAP," Gamma/Evil Angel; Maddy May, Mick Blue, and Gamble), Best Foursome/Orgy Scene ("Climax 2 – Scene 4," Dorcel; Emma Hix, Gianna Dior, Kit Mercer, Robby Echo, and Gamble), Best Gangbang Scene ("Rebel Rhyder: Triple Anal & Airtight, Outrageous Anal 2," Gamma/Evil Angel; Rebel Rhyder, John Strong, and Gamble), and two Best Male/Female Sex Scene nominations ("Dream Girl," Pure Taboo; with Kenna James, and "Going Up – Episode 1," Lust Cinema; with Anna Claire Clouds).
“Every male performer in the business who came before me and was gracious enough to help me along the way, you know who you are and your guidance was priceless,” Gamble added. “And I’m grateful to all the women I’ve worked with. I thank them for trusting me and being the amazingly powerful women they are.
“This has been the greatest year of my career, and I sincerely want to thank the entire team at AVN for recognizing my work,” said Gamble. “Receiving Male Performer of the Year is, in and of itself, an honor, but to add Best Leading Actor as well is truly humbling, and I’d like to thank everyone, from the talent and the crews to the support staff and the studios. I’m going to bring honor to the AVN Male Performer of the Year with everything I do."
