At their best, the men of porn rarely linger in one's memory. Like an excellent waiter or an immaculate assassin, a top-notch poon farmer works his specialized craft without ever getting in the way. He may wield his tireless flesh plow with animalistic abandon to a starlet's every orifice, but he will never - well, o.k. sometimes - step on the lovely lady's toes, professionally speaking that is. That's because those swordsmen who truly understand their place in the adult scheme of things realize that it's all about the women. With this issue, we're honoring these rarely-feted gentlemen, focusing on the individual qualities that make each (currently active) performer special. It's an irreverent, historically valuable reference guide that breaks the players down among eleven crucial categories. See whose name appears multiple times, decide if you agree with our choices, or think about who has been left out, which may not be an easy task, as these are the men we love to forget.
LEADING MEN
In adult video, leading men are the closest thing the genre has to that business on "the other side of the hill," - Hollywood. While few males who perform hardcore on-camera enter the business with any training as actors, the leading men usually have managed to acquire some acting skills, either by attending mainstream acting classes or by befriending and learning from mainstream performers and directors - or simply by paying attention to what's happening around them on the set.
"When I left [adult] in '96," said Steven St. Croix, "that's when I did serious scene study with a New York teacher, Stephanie Feury, the daughter of the famous Peggy Feury. She taught a lot of today's A-list actors. It was a really good foundation for me."
"I never took an acting class in my life," admitted Randy Spears, who most directors acknowledge as one of the top men in the draft. "It came natural. I started doing plays in high school, musicals and things like that, and I just kind of enjoyed slipping into other people, you know, their clothes and their lives, just becoming other people."
The ability to "slip into other people" is the quality storyline directors look for.
"I look for range," director/writer Cash Markman stated. "Whether he can play a variety of characters; whether he can play comedy as well as drama, but more importantly than that, whether he can give you multiple layers to a character. I can tell Randy [Spears], 'Okay; you're playing a womanizing son of a bitch but you're lovable,' and he can do that ... Not a lot of actors can."
But looking at the list below, one can see trouble on the horizon.
"One of the problems for directors like me is that we use the same guys over and over, but we have to," Markman said. "Just a little while ago, we were all saying, 'God, what are we going to do when Randy or Herschel [Savage] retires?' Where do you turn?"
Another important consideration is ability with dialog.
"It definitely takes its toll after a while," noted actor/director/writer Brad Armstrong, "and if you've got pages and pages to learn every second day, you really have to have your acting chops and your memory chops working for you."
- Mark Kernes
BIG GUNS
There are only so many professions in which being called "a big dick" is a compliment, and porn is one of them. The long dong was defined by John Holmes, whose intimidatingly large penis set the standard. While few men in or out of porn, can live up to the standards of Holmes, there are those who fill the stereotype very well. Still, there are some studs in the business who are keeping up the tradition with their exceptionally big guns.
One great advantage of porn guys with big guns is that it allows them to open up for the camera more easily. Still, size isn't everything.
"A large part of my success has been based on my size," says Lexington Steele, known as the owner of one of the biggest cocks in porn. "But more important than my size is my ability to show to the camera what I'm doing, rather than what I'm working with, and that my performances are known for their intensity and quality. If I were to say how successful I'd be without my size, it'd be impossible for me to say.
"The most highly regarded American performer of amongst males performers in business is TT Boy, and he's not known for a large penis," Steele added, "he's known for his ability to execute, and execution has nothing to do with size."
- Acme Andersson
LOAD WARRIORS
Gia Jordan once said that when she receives a big cumshot on her kisser that, "that means he likes me more." While that may or may not be the case, in any event, the finishing sequence has become an integral part of the porno scene. It is the porn standard for the guy's orgasm to signal the end of a scene, and the more copious and messy it is, arguably, the more memorable the scene.
One man, in particular, became world famous for his freakish loads that keep going and going until there is nothing left for the unsuspecting starlet to do but laugh awkwardly at how he just drenched her with a bucket of jizz. Of course, the Load Warrior who needs no introduction is Peter North, who is the Load Master. His marvelous pops are practically incomparable, and he figures to be the standard bearer in this critical department for at least a few more generations.
There are various theories and formulas out there regarding how one can achieve bigger loads - diet and supplements seem to be the theme. There's also the age-old practice of abstaining from sex and jerking off for a few days before your scene to build up a good pop. But maybe it's just genetic. While North is the undisputed heavyweight champion of spew, there are a few contenders out there who can also unload explosive pops. Rodney Moore and Brandon Iron can pop off fireworks with regularity, and so can Jon Dough (with his trademark twin geysers), Manuel Ferrara and Brian Surewood. Newcomer Kris Slater and trusted veteran Arnold Schwarzenpecker are also consistent gushers.
Iron revealed his pop secret exclusively for this article. He told AVN he eats one banana "slightly overripe," plain yogurt, and takes a zinc tablet and multi-vitamin daily to increase the volume of his shots. "And drink lots of water," he said.
Iron added, "I think the girl feels like she's earned her reward, and it's a job well done. Big load equals big smile. She feels like she brought that out of you."
- Dan Miller
THE WRECKING CREW
Though we refer to them affectionately as the "Wrecking Crew," affection has nothing to do with the way these relentless warriors attack the various orifices of their female co-stars. You've seen them in action, jackhammer prong bosses laboring away with wild abandon, their honest sweat dripping down onto the raw flesh of delirious porn babes as they toil away, putting some of the most practiced vaginas in the business to the supreme road test.
This month, we salute the men who are capable of doing what most of us never could. We salute their stamina, their drive, their pure, adrenalized concentration. Yet it's not simple Johnson rigidity that has endeared the Wrecking Crew to the fans. These studs have the bravery to rise above tiresome issues like warmth, caring and - God forbid - tenderness that can plague hardcore onscreen boning. These hardy schtup soldiers never cease to remind us of the fact that we're watching PORN, not some kind of watered down Merchant Ivory, love-making drivel.
When they fuck, they don't fuck around. They give no quarter. They run their all-out, semen-strafing missions on enemy pussy until it admits defeat, surrenders and comes over to their side. Call it Stockholm Syndrome, call it undiluted maleness, call it animal talent, call it whatever. All we know is, it works on the fairer sex, who never fail to bow down to the Wrecking Crew's unremitting commitment to excellence in the field of fucking.
Michael Stefano, a prime exponent of the art of years standing, explains his personal approach.
"I'm not into hurting anybody," cautions Stefano. "I'm just passionate, and I enjoy what I do. I'm into strong sex, but it's not just about me. I want to bring the best out of the girl, and it takes the guy to bring it out. They know that I'm in control, so they let me do my thing, but they're enjoying it also."
- Peter Stokes
THE EUROSTUDS
In Hollywood movies, the European male has usually been typed as a suave, hand-kissing romantic. Some of that carries over into porn. Yet European studs also have a reputation for reliability, durability and strength.
That kiss on the hand is often accompanied by a slap on the butt, right before the dick plunges into an orifice.
If there's a single man who defines this category it's Rocco Siffredi. Both rough and romantic, Rocco wrote the book on Eurostuds. Even now that he's retired from performing, he remains the King.
"Absolutely, without pretension: I haven't seen anybody like me," he recently told AVN. It's very unlikely that any of his colleagues would disagree.
Like Rocco, Germany's Steve Holmes - AVN's 2004 Male Foreign Performer - is strong but attentive to women. For him, good camera sex is like good camera dancing. "You have to lead the girl like a dancer," he says, "and if you're good, you make the girl shine. It's like Fred Astaire."
Europe's porn actors are as diverse as the continent itself. The warmer blooded countries, perhaps not surprisingly, have yielded substantial crops.
France has contributed Manuel Ferrara, David Perry, Jean-Yves LeCastel, Ian Scott (don't be fooled by Anglo-sounding names). From Italy comes not only Siffredi but Denis Marti and Remigio Zampa. Spain has made its mark with Nacho Vidal, Toni Ribas, Max Cortes and the palindromic Ramon Nomar. Many of these are performer-producers.
Less celebrated but no less essential are trench toilers like Robert Rosenberg, George Uhl, Leslie Taylor, Choky Ice. Many of them live in Budapest or Prague, constantly on call for the hordes of American producers who go there to shoot.
There is racial diversity, too. Prominent actors of African descent include France's Joachim Kessef and Germany's Franco Roccaforte, a South American who is surely the only porn stud on any continent who has an M.D. attached to his real name. When Franco's on a set there's always a doctor in the house.
Not that one would be called. As director Patrick Collins has observed, "It's rare that you ever find a European guy that can't perform."
- Jared Rutter
RENAISSANCE MEN
In the world of porn, what makes a Renaissance Man? It's not simply natural endowment, physical state or - don't laugh - thespian abilities. These prodigious workers are artists, mavericks, innovators, rebels. They achieve initial success in what comes most naturally to them, yet when the time comes to move off-screen (as sooner or later it must), these determined movers branch into all manner of sex biz careers, some that even the Learning Annex has yet to offer: agent, producer, director, film score composer among others. Some even help with catering. Thus, we salute the chameleons of porn, the men who, like the United States Marines, improvise, adapt and never surrender.
- Tim Connelly
TATTOOED LOVE GODS
Envision ink flowing from pen to paper, it's soft bleeding edges forming a perfect union with the fibrous canvas - a marriage of pictures and words to the surface upon which they have been forever etched so that they may be savored indefinitely. Now, imagine what lengths one might go to in order to make that creation ever so much more personal - imagine that same eternal message scrawled upon living flesh, painstakingly punched through layer after layer of skin. Each needle puncture depositing drops of pigment into the dermal layer, where it becomes a permanent piece of the person it adorns. For one to perform such an extreme act, some might imagine insanity to be compulsory, or if not insanity, then at least a very unhealthy desire for punishment. On the contrary, the only true prerequisite is an indelible passion for self-expression. And who better to illustrate passion, of the sexual variety at any rate, than a man who fucks for a living? The inked denizens of lust are able to offer much more than just flickers of eye candy on the screen. Their bodies serve to remind the viewer that the people on the screen are real, flesh and blood. And if anyone would care to study the porno trail of ink, the one commonality they would find is an interesting story.
- Heather Glenn
FRESH MEN
Even the most venerable porn studs had to start somewhere. Even the great Ron Jeremy was once a neophyte, stumbling wide-eyed onto a set with the woodiest of youthful intentions. But not just anybody can become a member of the freshman class; it takes a number of qualifications. Good looks, acting skills and even hygiene can take a back seat to a freakishly large penis and/or a gorgeous girlfriend who is willing to fuck for money on camera, and who insists on you as her partner. Ultimately, a guy who is loved by girls, camera, producers and crew alike will be allowed to matriculate, perhaps someday reaching the lofty levels of sex biz seniordom. The following freshmen are on their way.
- Tim Connelly
WORKING STIFFS
These are the Porn Everymen, the tried and true grunts of adult who labor in the Chatsworth trenches year in and year out with little or no recognition. No press, no box covers, no names above the title, no contracts, no nominations, no awards (well, OK, maybe one or two here and there). Hell, these guys are lucky even to get mentioned in the credits. Yeah, lots of other dudes would kill for such a gig, but is a little acknowledgment too much to ask for? Yet the truth of the matter is that the industry simply could not get on with its daily business without these beasts of adult burden, who rack up hundreds, and in a few rarified cases more than a 1,000 titles - mad props to Jay Ashley, Dave Hardman, Steve Hatcher, Rick Masters, Dick Nasty and Kyle Stone - shrugging off the pressures of performing, thanklessly getting it up and off time and time (and time) again. In a way, these guys are very much the back, well, bone of the business. All hail the Working Stiffs.
- Mike Ramone
LEGENDS
Scores of guys have stepped in front of a video camera in the buff, banged a girl under hot lights for 20 minutes, managed to unload a popshot and picked up their checks over the years. But not many have sustained longevity as professional studs. For starters, the job is much harder than it looks to casual observers. Secondly, it takes years to build a reputation for reliability and genuine mental toughness in order to hold off the stiff competition and continue to get those call times on a weekly basis. And according to Randy Spears, "a real sick mind" doesn't hurt either.
"I tell you what, it definitely takes a high libido," he said. "As far as the staying power end of things goes, you need to know when to pace yourself, and when to take a break and clear your head and stay in touch with the real world. I go fishing in Canada for that."
Spears, a veteran of 16 years and over 2,000 scenes, says in order to last in Porn Valley, a guy must "be adaptable as well, because the business changes."
Just ask Steven St. Croix, a 13-year vet who said recently that the business has changed "almost 180 degrees" since he started.
"The business has exploded tremendously, so there are many new companies and new faces behind the scenes," he said.
Spears said the successful guy has to "kind of be a chameleon."
Or he must possess a powerful on-screen persona, such as the most recognizable porn star on the planet, Ron Jeremy, and Italian superstar Rocco Siffredi. Peter North earned legend status for his pops, and TT Boy has been turning girls out for over a decade. Herschel Savage earned recognition as one of adult's top actor/performers, while battle-tested guys like Randy West, Ed Powers and Don Fernando remain on the jizz circuit. But Spears says even though he could probably go another five years, that this likely would be his final season in front of the camera.
"I don't want to be the Muhammad Ali of porno, where everybody still loves the guy, but he's a little punch drunk," he joked.
- Dan Miller
SUITCASE STUDS
(Behind Every Woman Is a Good Man aka Boyfriend/Husband/Sole Hardcore Boy-Girl Partner/Manager/Feature Dance Circuit Roadie/ Gofer/President of Fan Club/Producer and Director of Personalized Videos/Webmaster/ /Psychologist/Pimp/Father Figure/Bad Influence/Slash) Ready to Fuck Her.)
Ah, love. Sometimes, it's holding her hand when she's having his offspring - sometimes, it's making sure she has enough enemas and douches for the week. The guys who love the girls who fuck on camera are one thing, but the guys who fuck that treasured one on camera are something else entirely.
When Jenna Jameson stood up and accepted her AVN Awards this year for her performances with hubby Justin Sterling in Vivid's The Masseuse, she expressed her gratitude for her guy being good in the sack, and hey, what self-respecting porn chick really wouldn't want what a female porn star with an on-camera real life partner has? (Hell, what woman in general wouldn't?) These guys love the women that they are with, they support them, help them out with their careers, carry their valises occasionally and fuck them and fuck them well in front of the cameras. He knows what she loves, and he loves her and he shows her to the world in the best possible light. They give a special strength, love and validation to the women in their lives that's pretty rare.
Sometimes these guys bang other chicks for cash, but it never quite hits the same notes that it does when they are with their woman. There's something special about watching a real-life couple bang. Sparks of some sort fly nearly every time, and you couldn't prevent that if you tried. There's a history between the two, and a passion and a fire and a crazed confirmation of how short and beautiful life really is when they touch each other. It's true sex in some senses - it's not the boy and girl for hire meeting in a rental mansion's living room and exchanging AIM tests before their anal scene. It's love or lust or some other dysfunctional but still a comfortable thing that keeps them together, and they show it to the people via the DVD player with an honesty that is rare in this world of ours.
- Heidi Pike-Johnson
