Cashing In: Hungry Hunks Relish Opportunity to ‘Eat the Rich’

The feeling was mutual.

“Wild Game showed me how much Jayden could communicate without forcing anything. He has a very natural screen presence. The camera loves to watch him, but he doesn’t appear to be asking for attention. That combination doesn’t come along often,” admires Rush. “He also has an emotional openness that can make a scene feel dangerous. You believe that something is genuinely happening to him internally, even when the world around him is extremely constructed.”

One year later, lightening strikes again as they reunite for another round of magic that is certain to be a contender come awards time.

“For Eat the Rich, I needed someone who could hold the audience inside the insanity rather than add to it. Jayden had that quality,” says the Co-Chief Content Officer & Chief Creative Marketing Officer at Falcon | NakedSword. “He’s thoughtful, professional, and much quieter than the intensity of his work might suggest.”

He also came prepared and paid attention to everyone around him.

“There is no sense of entitlement,” Rush adds. “What I especially appreciate is his willingness to trust me while still having a strong sense of himself. The best collaborations happen when performers feel safe enough to take risks and confident enough to communicate what they need. Jayden brings that to a set.”

The project debuted last week, bringing with it three more Wild Game alums. Frequent Rush collaborators Derek Kage and Paul Wagner joined Marcos in that infamous triple penetration scene amid a beautiful Northern California redwood forest last year. Miles Fallon also returns. Joining them are industry vet Johnny Donovan, rising superstar River North, and newcomers Ryan Orion and Luca Zae.

“Ben had said that he really took a liking to my acting and immediately thought of me for his next big production,” Marcos recalls. “I was a little shocked since I don’t personally think of myself as a talented actor, but also thrilled because I love working with people who put their all into a movie, and Ben is that kind of person.”

Marcos plays the lead, a down-on-his-luck escort out to turn the tables on the men who condemn desire—yet privately revel in it. Along with his “henchmen” Miles, Ryan and Luca, they bribe closeted, power-hungry hypocrites into donating to LGBTQ+ causes.

“Being cast as a lead can be pretty nerve-racking at times. But it tells me I’m doing something right, and gets me excited. I love stepping into the shoes of new characters,” Marcos says, adding he loved diving into the cunning nature of his role.

“But in that challenge, I found a lot of fun. I don’t like it when characters are easy to build because that kills creativity. Channeling that deviousness was new for me, but came from a place of desire. You have to convince yourself these guys are scumbags and put your goals above all else. It’s a game of chess in which you have to put all feelings on a shelf and be the smartest guy in the room.”

The meatier role allowed Rush to push the performer even more creatively than in Wild Game, an opportunity he relished.

“It’s extraordinary work. Jayden gives the film vulnerability and intelligence without ever showing that he’s ‘acting.’ He listens, and he reacts. He lets the audience see thoughts forming rather than just waiting for his next line,” Rush says. “That restraint makes the more intense moments land much harder. He can shift from guarded to exposed, or from uncertain to completely present, with very little external effort.”

Marcos felt the responsibility of the character, and used it to his advantage.

“It’s very important to have productions like this. On one hand, it’s porn. Some are here for just the fucking. But on the other, it’s due to that kind of approach that many people don’t take us seriously. Acting in heavy features takes that view on the industry and flips it on its head,” he says.

“People definitely look at you as an entertainer, what you do, the roles you play, and tie that to your character—to who you are as a real person and what you believe. So, I think your role is to make sure that when you decide to do something, you do it right. And keep in mind that in doing it, you can be altering or cultivating others’ opinions on yourself, communities, and/or certain acts. Be wise and be aware of your potential influence.”

In the same light, Marcos says, his job is to entertain, not give personal opinions.

“Your role, my role, is to balance the scales of entertaining and understanding that that’s what this is, with the morals of the real world at your back. I suppose it allows those associated to express themselves in their own desired ways and to feel comfortable doing so. It gives freedom.”

Ben’s Men

Marcos may be a Rush muse on the rise. On Eat the Rich, he was joined by a pair of performers who already know how it feels: Kage and Wagner.

The director shares that Marcos’ scenes with Wagner are especially effective because they have tension on several levels at once—sexual, psychological and political. “Jayden trusted the material and allowed us to challenge him. I’m very proud of what he delivered.”

The film’s statement opening paired the two, with Wagner playing a sleazy politician. Their flip is punctuated by undeniable chemistry and a creative use for a “Family Values” award.

“It’s always a lot of fun to play a role that feels different from who I am in real life. I channeled some of the same energy I brought to my character in Wild Game,” Wagner says. “He was a bit sinister and corrupt as well, so I brought that dark, calculated edge and just channeled it into this new role.”

Wagner is a frequent Rush favorite. In addition to appearing in last year’s Bred & Breakfast: Push It Inn, he won a GayVN Award for Best Supporting Actor in Raging Stallion’s Overdrive.

“A huge part of it comes down to our personal dynamic. Ben and I just click. We share the same sarcastic, slightly dry sense of humor, and we stay in touch as actual friends between shoots. On top of that, he writes amazing roles for me that really give me the opportunity to flex my creative side,” Wagner says.

“I have a blast every time we work together. I’ve been in this industry for a while now; most of my award recognition has come directly from the work he’s given me the opportunity to participate in. When you have that level of fun, trust and creative success, saying ‘yes’ becomes a given. I'll always answer the call for a Ben Rush project.”

Wagner notes it was at this year’s GayVN Awards when Rush mentioned he was working on the script for this project—and told the performer he had a specific role in mind for him.

“I love to be involved with a project that is current, relevant, and has something to say while still delivering the hot sex. That’s the beauty of having someone like Ben leading the project. His writing comes from an authentic place. Instead of flat stereotypes, he will give the characters actual depth, nuance and realism. When you combine all these separate components, it helps make the whole project feel that much more genuine and impactful,” Wagner says.

“It’s an important story to tell right now. It reminds us that we can't afford to be complacent. Even when you win some of the rights you’ve fought so hard for, they can easily be stripped away by the next administration. It’s easy to want to believe the government is looking out for us, but, at the end of the day, their primary focus is usually their own interests and greed.”

Wagner also loved reuniting with Kage (“one of my absolute favorites”), another one of Rush’s muses. The two have worked together on four Rush projects.

“When I think of Ben’s projects and the privilege of being included in them, it’s akin to legendary director/actor duos of Hollywood. Kazan and Brando, Scorsese and De Niro, Kurosawa and Mifune. They created some of the greatest cinema together,” Kage says. “Ben knows he can count on me to deliver one hell of a performance and take his direction to create great scenes and productions.”

Kage’s scene, released this week, casts him as a man of the cloth harboring some dark secrets.

“Playing this character was an exercise in shame and hypocrisy, while also having disconnected sex. These traits are far outside of who I am as a person. I had to play a priest who is fully aware he is promoting bigotry and hate in exchange for power and money, all while engaging in gay sex behind closed doors.”

His scene with Zae includes a creative use of a rosary, imagery bound to provoke.

“I wanted to go all in on this scene. I knew what was expected, and if we were going to go for it, then we were going to do it to the fullest. I am an atheist and have had zero positive interactions with conservative Christians and Catholics,” Kage says.

“I’ve seen only hatred, bigotry and hypocrisy—especially growing up in Alabama. Performing in such a scandalous scene felt empowering given that history. The scene is not shocking for the sake of shock value. It’s holding a mirror up to conservative Christians and telling a common story that is hidden away from the people it hurts most.”

Kage says it was important to him to be a part of a project that helped him tell that story.

“I, like millions of Americans, have been negatively impacted by conservative politicians and members of the church. Their policies and the people they vote for have tried to demonize my community and suppress our freedom of speech,” he says. “I feel vindicated performing in an adult film like this and being a successful star in this industry despite their efforts.”

Kage notes that so much is at stake, including the right to marry and life-saving healthcare for trans people. Censorship and age verification efforts are also threats to the industry,

“If we don’t speak up for ourselves, then the conservatives win,” he says. “We can take back our own narrative by being visible, telling our stories, and getting into what civil rights activist and congressman John Lewis called ‘good trouble.’ I’d say bringing attention to conservative hypocrisy through gay porn is a perfect way to invite some good trouble and take back our own narrative.”

Core Four

As if the cast wasn’t stacked enough, Rush was greedy. He wanted more…and he got it. Donovan, a well-respected industry veteran, rounds out the project’s core four leads. It was a long time coming.

“Ever since meeting Ben, I’ve known the projects he attaches himself to would have a message. I was devastated to miss out on Wild Game due to work conflicts, but when Ben came to me with the opportunity to be part of Eat the Rich a year later, I was pretty much set on it before even reading the script,” Donovan says.

“I had goosebumps when I read the rough script for the first time. I already knew which character he was considering me for, and he was by far my favorite…his story was extra intentional in a timely and newsworthy manner, and I was honored to be trusted to bring that character to this project.”

The two worked together in Raging Stallion’s The Way to a Man’s Heart last year, and met on set during the 2024 Falcon production Beat the Heat. Now they take it up a notch—and Donovan is proud of the purpose behind Eat the Rich.

“We are showing queer people that our media matters and our stories can be told, no matter how unsafe for work they might be,” he says. “It’s important that we create our own narratives in very digestible and even enjoyable ways—like fitting it into adult entertainment—so that our followers and viewers can see themselves as the heroes in these stories. We can’t let the masses vilify us as sinful hedonists while propping up their hypocritical saviors. It is our role as artists and entertainers to hold the narrative in our own queer voices.”

Like with his colleagues, that collective middle finger was an important driver for Donovan, who has two upcoming scenes in Eat the Rich as a corrupt politician.

“I’m disgusted by closeted queer men who cosplay as alt-right family men so they can turn against the LGBTQIA+ community at every step in their careers. I rejoiced in the fact that we were creating a narrative in which these men get what is coming to them. It makes you want to play the character truer to their bigotry so the audience feels that same hate for your character that you do,” he says.

“Sex work is inherently political, and the stories our opponents are telling about us are fabricated fantasies—and yet, people take them at face value. So, I think if we are going to say anything other than, ‘Hey, isn’t this hot?’ then it should be a jab at those who aim to destroy us,” he says. “Queer people right now need stories about vigilante call boys taking down a ring of corrupt powerful hypocrites. That’s hope in 2026.”

For Rush, the experience proved equally cathartic.

“I don’t believe every artist has to make overtly political work. Joy, fantasy, laughs, beauty and escape all have value,” he says. “But no work exists outside the world that produced it, and silence can be political, too—particularly when other people are aggressively trying to define who you are and whether you deserve rights.”

Photography courtesy of Ben Rush/NakedSword

For more coverage of Eat the Rich, click here.