Q&A: Porn star James Deen talks industry, UCLA Porn Panel

James Deen first knew he wanted to be an adult entertainer when he was 6 years old and accidentally discovered an old porn magazine. When he was 18, he entered the adult film industry and has since appeared in thousands of scenes.

Deen, who has won Male Performer of the Year multiple times at the Adult Video News Awards and XBIZ Awards, will speak Wednesday at A Porn Panel sponsored by the Undergraduate Students Association Council’s Campus Events Commission and Student Wellness Commission and jamesdeen.com. Deen has performed in, directed and produced multiple adult films and recently starred in a non-porn flick, “The Canyons,” opposite Lindsay Lohan.

The Daily Bruin’s Alisha Kapur spoke with Deen about his original interest in porn, his experiences in the adult film industry and what students can expect from A Porn Panel.

Daily Bruin: What about porn captured your interest?

James Deen: I don’t know what my conscious thoughts were when I was 6 years old. I have no idea why I wanted to do porn. It could be because boobs are cool; it could be because I’m lazy, and I like the idea of being paid to have sex; it could be that I just like sex.

As long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be in the adult film industry. Even when I was in third grade … I said I wanted to be a porn star, and I got suspended because I was accused of just trying to be disruptive.

DB: Can you talk about working on “The Canyons?” Do you plan to do more non-porn movies in the future?

JD: It was a wonderful experience. I’m very happy that I did it. I was having this conversation with a friend who used to be an agent for a very large, respectable agency. So he was telling me, “Yeah, this is what you should do now.” And I explained to him, I was like, “Look, that would be great if what I wanted to do was be an actor and a movie star or something like that, but I’ve always wanted to be an adult film star.” I’ve never in my life said, “I really want to be a famous person or a big movie star or a sitcom star.” That’s never been my aspiration.

It’s something I would like to do as a hobby, and when the right project comes along. I’m not going to quit my job. (Mainstream acting is) not my dream. Being in the adult film industry is my dream.

DB: What is it like to maintain a serious relationship as an adult performer?

JD: All the basic things are the same. It’s just the interactions that are different. I’ve dated people in the adult film industry who didn’t feel comfortable with me having sex with anyone unless it was on camera at work, and I’ve dated people in the adult film industry who didn’t care at all.

The idea that people are sexually liberated or sexually open just because they are involved in the adult film industry is incorrect. Somebody’s profession might tell you a little bit about their personality. However, it’s not going to dictate their comfort levels or their boundaries.

DB: How many scenes do you do in a day?

JD: Now, just one. When I was younger, the scenes were different. I was younger, so my body was like, “Yeah, sweet, I can have sex all day every day.” All those rumors that people say that as you grow up, this will happen and your metabolism will slow down, you’ll get tired … it’s so true. I didn’t believe it until I was like 26, and I was like, “Man, I’ve got to quit smoking and maybe do a situp. I should probably pay attention to what I eat. I can’t eat Carl’s Jr. every day.”

DB: Have you had any bad experiences while working in the industry?

JD: I woke up one day back when I was like 22 and was like, “I have to go to work.” I realized it was because I was working for people I did not respect or did not like. There are people … who have passion and love and vision and they’re really talented at that. When there’s people that are just creating this factory-made porn for the sake of just trying to pump it out, that’s the kind of stuff that I don’t really want to do. I like to engage with people who believe in what they’re doing and love what they’re doing and care about their product.

DB: What can we expect from A Porn Panel at UCLA?

JD: All these things that I do, they’re focused on the same things, which is: Know how your genitals work before you use them, make sure the person you’re going to use your genitals with is knowledgeable of what you two are going to do together and make sure you know the repercussions of what can happen after using your genitals. That’s essentially what the three core things about any of these sexual health weeks and sexual health days at colleges are.

Compiled by Alisha Kapur, A&E contributor.