One of the reasons people weren’t afraid of that movie is that I was playing a gay man. The whole point of Philadelphia was don’t be afraid. THE offer came through Curtis’ MySpace account: masturbate on camera for a gay porn film, and earn some quick and easy cash.Ĭurtis was straight, but as a struggling new graduate in fast-paced San Diego, it was a tempting idea.“Let’s address ‘Could a straight man do what I did in Philadelphia now?’” said Hanks. “They made it real comfortable,” he says. “It was just, come back here, here’s the studio, get naked. I’d never been naked in front of anybody other than me and a girlfriend. when you have three or four people with cameras, it’s pretty nerve-racking. Pretty much just like jerking off at home is what it turned out to be.”Ĭurtis was emphatic that he would not do a sex scene. But soon enough, the chance to make even more money became too enticing. “I thought about it a bit, experimented at home and was like, well that ain’t too bad, I can do that and come back with a pocketful of money, that’d be great.
“They let me top the first sex scene I did just to ease me into it. They’re not doing that much any more.”Ĭurtis’ experience may sound extreme, but it’s a common phenomenon. At least half of all male gay porn stars identify as straight, according to Charlie David, a director from Montreal, Canada, who’s made a documentary on the subject. I’m a Porn Star: Gay4Pay, which is released internationally on Tuesday, explores why straight men would have sex with other men, and why there’s such a huge market for it. Popular gay porn websites including (where Curtis works), Men.com, and all offer movies proudly featuring straight actors. “You’re seeing hypermasculine situations or sometimes professions, a construction worker and so on,” David told. “It’s not only subconscious cues, it’s promoted as this by the studios: ‘Look at these straight guy f**k!’”ĭavid became aware of the trend for heterosexuals to “go gay” for parts after he appeared in LGBT-orientated supernatural soap Dante’s Cove in 2004 and discovered he was the only “out” gay actor on set.
He realised this was increasingly reflected in both mainstream movies ( Brokeback Mountain, Dallas Buyers Club) and porn. “A lot of the main studios’ producers are straight men or women,” he said. Calling somebody gay is often used as a derogatory comment.” “It’s interesting because there’s such a stigma against LGBT people in many places. So what’s the appeal for these actors and the viewers? And can the performers really call themselves straight?Ĭurtis says the fact he began enjoying the feeling caused him confusion about his sexuality. The number one reason straight men do gay porn is cold, hard cash, says David. Gay porn stars can earn $4000 to $5000 for a just an eight-hour day’s work, or a shoot over a weekend. It’s far more than their male counterparts in straight porn can make, and more than most 20-somethings earn in a month. It’s also flexible, in more ways than just the obvious.
Stars may work one weekend a month, and spend the rest of the time socialising, going to the gym and holidaying. “In straight porn, the guys might only make a couple of hundred bucks,” says David.
The financial aspect isn’t there unless you’re a name.” “The motivations are seen as different, that they want to do it anyway.