LOS ANGELES — Seth Gamble, the 2023 AVN Male Performer of the Year nominee, filmmaker, and Gamma exclusive contract performer, is following the success of his award-nominated narrative feature debut Deranged with a new feature, Privilege.
Produced once again by four-time AVN Director of the Year and Wicked Head of Production, Axel Braun, Privilege features eight scenes from writer/director Gamble. The first segment, featuring 2023 AVN Female Performer of the Year nominee Lilly Bell and current AVN Best Male Newcomer nominee Lucky Fate, debuts today on Wicked.com.
“When I first read Seth’s incredibly elaborate script, I knew we had something exceptional here," Braun said. “I also knew that there was only one actor who could play the lead: Evan Stone. It took some convincing on my part, because Seth had only known Evan as the funny over-the-top persona he is most associated with, but I’ve had a personal relationship with him for more than 20 years and I knew that, much like most great comedians, he would be phenomenal in a dramatic role. And he was.”
“When I was casting for the role of Alexander I was having a really hard time finding the right person to play him," Gamble said. ”Axel then approached me about Evan Stone and my first thought was he is so iconically Evan Stone how can I get him to convincingly look and feel the role of Alexander. At first I wasn’t in favor of it. Axel then painted me a vivid picture and reminded me of his amazing performance in Cinderella XXX. When we got on set and I saw him with darker hair and brown eyes, I was astounded as he brought the character to life. Evan became Alexander Nash. I was blown away by his performance.”
Stone, a five-time AVN Best Actor, three-time AVN Male Performer of the Year and one-time AVN Best Supporting Actor award-winner for his stellar turn as The Riddler in Braun’s seminal 2010 parody Batman XXX, dyed his hair dark for the part and wore custom-fitted brown contact lenses, a move that was a testament to his commitment to the project.
“Seth assembled an amazing cast and Axel doesn’t miss!” said Stone. “The script is an epic adventure full of twists and turns and frolic, and it was a real…privilege to be a part of it. Being on set was so much fun that I almost forgot I was getting paid a lot of money to be there. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed it so much that I can’t wait for them to do another season of it. Unless my character dies, but you’re gonna have to watch all the episodes of season one to find out!”
A drama set in the Machiavellian world of the mega-rich, Privilege is the story of towering family patriarch Alexander Nash (Stone), who rules his family with an iron fist and a soft spot for his youngest daughter (April Olsen). He's in the middle of a huge deal that he can't let anyone sabotage, from his duplicitous ex-wife (Lexi Luna) to his gold-digging new bride (Julia Ann), who has her eye on his money...and his beloved son Liam (Nathan Bronson).
Meanwhile Nash's other son Lucas (Lucky Fate), a compulsive gambler, puts the entire family empire in jeopardy through sheer ineptitude. As Alexander's personal saga unfolds, the torrid sex lives of his family come to light in a chain of events that will expose more dirty laundry than they ever bargained for.
"In my features, I try to create stories that are more driven by character and emotion than themes," Gamble said of his latest project's genesis. "Think of trust, for example. Everyone has tacit levels of trust; in every interaction that takes place in our professional and personal lives we have boundaries that we sort of trust the other person not to breach. In a family, they're particularly gray boundaries. There's an underlying sense that your family should provide you a greater level of safety in your interactions with them. When that's violated, the fallout can be brutal. As Privilege progresses, you learn that this family's lack of trust in each other has been unspoken for years but now it’s bubbling over."
Gamble's character-oriented approach to adult storytelling is already yielding rewards; Deranged has emerged as a top contender for the 2023 awards season, garnering several nominations for the upcoming AVN Awards. "It was gratifying to see my narrative directorial debut honored with so many noms, but I am especially grateful to my wonderful wife Kenzie Taylor. Her dedication and the sheer drive she brought to the character of Charlie was inspiring. She fit the role perfectly, and I'm so happy to see her hard work recognized with a Best Acting nomination."
Of Privilege’s first scene to see release, Gamble couldn't be more pleased. "Lucky Fate was a perfect fit for his role. The character of Lucas is not just struggling with a gambling addiction, he's the black sheep of the family. Lucky's willingness to be vulnerable on camera and the subtlety of his performance really impressed me. And it's easy to see why Lilly Bell is up for Female Performer of the Year. She's an exceptional actress, beautiful, professional, and brings a great energy to the set. The scene was powerful and passionate."
“This was the first scene I got to perform extensively in character, and got to tap into the emotion of my character to fuck in that state of mind,” Fate said. “The sex was rough and full of a sort of negative passion based on the characters’ back stories. It was an awesome experience to get to perform in a role like that.”
On working with Gamble, Fate continued, “It was awesome having such an experienced actor and performer there to coach me in both the dialogue scenes as well as the sex scenes. Seth was extremely helpful in expressing how he wanted the character to be played and what mindset I had to lock into in order to achieve the right result.”
“I was honored to be cast in the lead for Privilege,” added Bell. ”It was incredible to work with such an amazing cast. My scene with Lucky Fate was great to film. It was my first time working with him and building our chemistry was a lot of fun. I hope my fans and Wicked members enjoy my role in it!”
