James Deen On Making It in Hollywood

James Deen Image by Getty Images

By Anne Cohen August 2, 2013

Between James Deen’s mainstream debut alongside Lindsay Lohan in the indie-noir film “The Canyons” and the upcoming biopic “Lovelace” (based on “Deep Throat” star Linda Lovelace) it seems everyone’s talking about porn.

Plenty of porn stars have tried to shed their taboo image for a more squeaky-clean Hollywood career. But in an interview with Vulture, James Deen reveals that he doesn’t think now’s the time for him to make the jump.

“I’m the assist, so I could be the most famous person in the world and it wouldn’t matter that much,” the Jewish X-rated star told Vulture’s Kyle Buchanan. “Let’s look at sex tapes: Colin Farrell is a good-looking guy, a big celebrity, you’d think his sex tape would do really well. Octomom’s porno sold better than Colin Farrell’s. And it’s just because guys in adult film are the assist, not the star. So, you have this situation where I can be famous all day long, but if I can’t show up and deliver a good scene, no one’s gonna hire me.”

Also, he loves his day job.

“My job’s not a real job,” he added in the interview. “I mean, it’s a real job in the sense that you have to show up on time, you can’t come drunk, you have to do a good job, be professional, and stuff. But it’s not a real job in the sense that my day at work is still a pretty good day. So, you know, it’s not the kind of thing that I have any desire to take time off from.”

For more, check out the full interview here.

Anne Cohen was the Forward’s deputy digital media editor. When she’s not looking for the secret Jewish history of Voodoo in New Orleans, or making lists about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she writes for The Assimilator. She graduated from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism with an M.S. magazine concentration in 2012.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO