The Porn Star Turned Movie Star

The adult actress gone mainstream discusses sex, Godard and her own directorial debut.

It’s suddenly common knowledge that Jean-Luc Godard is your favorite filmmaker, and you almost used Anna Karina as your nom de guerre. When did you start watching art and foreign films?

When I was about 13, and then really heavily when I was 14 or 15. My most influential theater teacher, one of his things was telling the class, “Listen, you should be watching one film per week, minimum” to learn the craft of film, and to study other actors as well. I’d ask him for lists of different films to watch, and I would go home every week and try to watch one. Usually, I would watch two or three.

What hooked you on Godard?

It’s Godard. You either get it or you don’t, you know? [laughs] He is definitely one of those people, like a David Bowie, who has always challenged himself and the way things are done. He’s constantly evolving, breaking rules, creating new ones, and breaking those rules. I think there are very few people, in my generation at least, that are that passionate about what they do. I really admire that.

So we should expect arty influences in your XXX directorial debut?

Definitely. One of the reasons I got in this industry was because I saw a creative void. I don’t think that I have to get on a set and say to myself, “This is porn. This is how it’s shot. This is all that sells.” I don’t believe that there’s only one formula that people want to buy and see. Especially right now, with the amount of free porn that’s out there, why would somebody go buy a scene that they can get for free? You have to add those missing elements, and make it something that the audience will want to watch from beginning to end.

Which other auteurs would you like to work with?

There’s plenty. I know this is funny, but John Carpenter. I adore him. [laughs] David Lynch. David Gordon Green. Catherine Breillat. The list goes on. I hate this question because I always feel like I leave somebody out.

Breillat reminds me: I heard that on your very first adult film shoot, you asked Rocco Siffredi to punch you in the stomach, and yet you’re quick to point out your sensitivity to feminism. Some might see this as a conflict, no?

Actually, that was sorely taken out of context. That actually didn’t happen. What I have to say about that is, even if I did ask [Siffredi] to do that and he did it, what’s to say that I don’t get pleasure out of that? I’ve never done that on camera, but if it was something that turned me on, I asked him to do it and we had a safe word, what’s degrading to one person might be very pleasurable to another. There are so many aspects of human sexuality that we’re afraid to talk about, because people still don’t understand it. It’s not just black and white, you know?

Are inroads being made to challenge America’s buttoned-up conservatism towards sexuality?

Definitely. One of the things I enjoy is being able to encourage people to not be afraid of their sexuality and their fantasies, because we all have them. It’s quite evident that people are really interested in sex but don’t want to talk about it. There was a recent study that Utah has the highest internet-porn consumption rate — one of the most conservative states in America. So it’ll become more of an open subject to talk about, but I think we have to fight for expression and understanding. I hate to sound like a little kid, like “Nobody understands me!”, because there are people that understand me, and plenty of people who feel the same way. But for many, many years, we haven’t been able to validate our feelings towards sexuality because we’re made to feel guilty about it.

When you do it for a living, do you get desensitized or outright bored by sex?

The day I feel like I’m at an office job is the day I’ll quit performing in front of a camera. I try to prepare for every one of my sex scenes starting the night before, and I try to find new and creative ways to make each scene different and unique.

Do porn stars naturally have creepy fans?

Actually, I have a really great fan base. I think I’m luckier than most celebrities. Pick any actor: They’re walking down the street in Hollywood, and a fan will bum-rush in, try to take their picture and ask for their autograph. In my case, people are intimidated. They don’t necessarily know what to do or say, so I usually just get the double-take. Every once in a while, somebody will say, “Oh, I really like your work.” I was at a store the other night with my fiancée, and someone was like, “Sasha rocks!” That was it, because people don’t know how to say what they want to say, for the simple fact that I do have sex on camera.

You seem to be a social-networking fiend with lots of followers. How have Facebook and Twitter changed your life, and more importantly, why haven’t you accepted my friend request?

I haven’t been on Facebook in so long, honestly. My Twitter just cycles through, but I should go on there, and I’ll do that for you. [laughs] I think they’re great tools because it allows an instant communication with my fans, but in the same vein, sometimes it can be a bad thing. Information just comes and goes so quickly, or it can be misconstrued. I can be a very sarcastic person, and sometimes people take every word I say literally.

“The Girlfriend Experience” opens in limited release on May 22nd.

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