# Where do all these porn actors come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 4, 2010, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135 "2010-08-04T12:30:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/41 "2010-08-05T00:49:07Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > But how do the guys break into the business? Surely there must be a waiting list somewhere? šŸ˜ƒ One of the main French porn directors used to have a blog, talking about the business (among other things) and yeah, he said he got a \*lot \*of hopeful applications that he never answered to. Basically, he was OK with a gal coming in to audition with her boyfriend, but beyond that, no new guys allowed. He had a handful of reliable lumberjacks on speed dial to provide all the wood he needed, and that was that. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/42 "2010-08-05T01:06:28Z")
An old (somewhat relevant) joke: Man: You are the most beautiful woman Iā€™ve ever seen in my life. Will you have sex with me for $1 million dollars? Woman: Sure! Man: How about $50? Woman: What kind of woman do you think I am? Man: Weā€™ve already established what kind of woman you are, now weā€™re just haggling the price. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/43 "2010-08-05T01:43:36Z")
For the gay industry the porn actors are usually found. Bars, clubs, and even sites like Manhunt and A4A all actively seek out guys and ask them if they want to do porn. Iā€™ve known a few people who do gay porn, itā€™s not particularly lucrative. The pay is about $400/scene. The lure is if youā€™re escorting you can easily double your price, if you can say ā€œIā€™ve been in porn.ā€ Also you have greater access to private parties and then you can escort to rich people. And finally, and this appears to be the big reason. Itā€™s full of drugs. Easy access to drugs and sex with hot people is the lure. [Atkol](http://atkol.com/forums.asp) has a great forum for discussion of gay porn ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/44 "2010-08-05T01:56:09Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > > [@gaffa](#): > > > > Various documentaries about the porn industry make it perfectly clear that the women applying to the talent agencies know exactly what the are doing. They do have to be very familiar with the industry and know what type of video each producer makes, so they donā€™t wind up in a situation they canā€™t handle. > > What about the newbies getting screwed figuratively? As in, not getting a good contract? Are the agencies legitimately working for the actorsā€™ behalf or simply acting as the studios procurers of new talent? I understand that in the case of Private (one of the biggest adult entertainment companies in the world: their corporate site is [prvt.com](http://prvt.com)) the majority of the contracts are direct; some are via agencies, but in most cases an agent or other go-between will get finderā€™s fees. As of this posting, the only job opening they have appears to be for a Marketing Intern; like the majority of their positions, itā€™s based in Barcelona (which is not a suburb of LA). ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/45 "2010-08-05T08:37:55Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > This is a fun topic (no, wait, the sentence isnā€™t over yet) to do one of those blue-sky math approximations on, the kind that firms such as Microsoft or Google like to give to prospective hires. > > Porn is a worldwide business, but to make the numbers smaller and easier to work with, letā€™s stick to just the U.S. > > Women can enter porn at age 18. How big a pool is that? Well, in 1992 there were 4,084,000 births in the U.S. It was rising from a low 20 years earlier, but for rounding lets say that 4,000,000 turn 18 every year and that half, 2,000,000, are female. > > How many females are willing to do porn? I donā€™t know and Iā€™ve never seen any studies on the subject. Letā€™s be conservative and say that only 1 in 100 will. Thatā€™s 20,000. > > Porn is also based on appearance. Although there are fetish porn videos for almost every taste, most porn uses women who are slim and attractive. There is far more porn on the internet than in the video industry and the standards there vary more. Letā€™s say that only that top 25% in beauty are right for the industry. Thatā€™s 5,000. > > So every year 5,000 U.S. females turn 18 and are candidates for the porn industry. Thatā€™s cumulative, though. Not every women enters porn at 18. Many drop out quickly but many stay in the industry or return when the need money. Letā€™s take it out 20 years, since women of 38 are still prevalent in porn. > > So our total pool of U.S. women willing to do porn is 100,000. > > Thatā€™s really a lot. Even granted that many donā€™t do porn or are never asked or leave the industry, the fact that they can do large number of shoots during a year means that finding women for 100,000 shoots is reasonable. > > You then have to add all the women not born in the U.S. who come here and wind up doing porn at some time in their lives. And then add to that all the non-U.S. porn from a base of women that is ten-times larger. Globally, you have the potential for 1,000,000 porn shoots a year, just of youngish women of above-average attractiveness. > > Since nudity is less frowned upon than porn, and modeling is less frowned upon than nudity, you can multiply these numbers by some x factor to get the total number of women in attractiveness professions. > > Iā€™d love to know how close to reality these numbers are, but I think that for a first-order approximation they make sense. The population is really big and the industry is smaller than it appears due to the reuse of actresses and videos across many sites. > > Comments? Interesting calculations. I would like to see some more reliable estimate of how large a percentage of women are willing to do porn. 1 %? I canā€™t even figure out if I find that figure much too high or much too low.. An aside: Is it possible to figure out how many persons that can be found engaged in sexual activities online presently? I.e. the sum total of professionals & amateurs, people in videos & photos, etc. who have done porn that can somehow be found online. Must be a large number, but I really have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/46 "2010-08-05T09:45:59Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > > [@robert\_andrews](#): > > > > I think itā€™s more like this: > > > > 1. Move to CA to become a famous actress > > 2. Work a waitress job while trying to get acting roles > > 3. Start working porn because you canā€™t get conventional acting roles > > 4. ??? > > 5. Profit! > > Step 4, obviously, is ā€œLearn to take it on the chin.ā€ Is that some new fetish Iā€™m not aware of? ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/47 "2010-08-05T09:49:32Z")
> [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](#): > > > [@KneadToKnow](#): > > > > Step 4, obviously, is ā€œLearn to take it on the chin.ā€ > > Is that some new fetish Iā€™m not aware of? Itā€™s like ā€œtea-baggingā€, but for those with bigger testicles. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/48 "2010-08-05T12:19:34Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Itā€™s like ā€œtea-baggingā€, but for those with bigger testicles. Hey letā€™s keep politics out of this and quit insulting the tea-baggers for their lack of significant testes! ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/49 "2010-08-05T12:22:02Z")
EVERYTHING on the Dope comes back around to politics in the end. Fnaaar, fnaaar, I just said ā€œin the endā€ā€¦ in a porn thread! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/50 "2010-08-05T16:46:53Z")
Quoth **gaffa** : > [@](#): > > The various ED drugs have utterly changed that, for the worse. Pre-Viagra, there were only a handful of reliable ā€œWoodsmenā€ like Ron Jeremy who were in hundreds or even thousands of titles. They had to be able to get and remain excited. > > But post-Viagra, the stakes are much lower. Personally, I think it has resulted in a trend to violence and misogyny. Viagra brought us vicious creeps like ā€œMax Hardcoreā€. Yā€™know, on thinking about it, I really canā€™t see it. OK, maybe Max Hardcore specifically is a vicious creep who happens to only be able to keep it up because of drugs, but I canā€™t see how the phenomenon in general can be blamed on Viagra. Before Viagra, the pool of men who could do porn was restricted to the reliable ā€œwoodsmenā€, as you call them, which would mean that if one particular guy who could get it up happened to be a jerk, youā€™d have a harder time replacing him. But nowadays, if a guy is a creep, the hardness of his dick isnā€™t a redeeming factor any more, and you can just replace him with a mensch with a little blue pill. If demeaning porn is more common now, the only explanation I can see is that thereā€™s now, for some reason, greater demand for it. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/51 "2010-08-05T16:55:39Z")
> [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](#): > > > [@KneadToKnow](#): > > > > Step 4, obviously, is ā€œLearn to take it on the chin.ā€ > > Is that some new fetish Iā€™m not aware of? Probably not, but in case: [Facial (sex act)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_(sex_act)) In spoiler box for 2-click rule. ---
**Author:** ![ivn1188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@ivn1188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivn1188)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/52 "2010-08-05T17:06:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > \If demeaning porn is more common now, the only explanation I can see is that thereā€™s now, for some reason, greater demand for it. I would suggest that the demand has always been there, but only now with less obscenity enforcement and cheaper production and distribution costs is the industry able to cater to more specific tastes on a large scale. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/53 "2010-08-05T17:09:19Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > > [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](#): > > > > Is that some new fetish Iā€™m not aware of? > > Probably not, but in case: > > [Facial (sex act)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_(sex_act)) > > In spoiler box for 2-click rule. Actually a common circumstance when a man uses a womanā€™s breasts to form a faux orifice. Check out Lisa Lampenelliā€™s acts for details on this procedure. ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/54 "2010-08-05T17:18:58Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > > [@postcards](#): > > > > [Who is currently in jail.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Hardcore) > > I found it funny that his real last name is ā€œLittle.ā€ And I found it funny that one of his prosecutions resulted in a hung jury. šŸ˜› ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/55 "2010-08-05T22:09:29Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Quoth **gaffa** : > > > [@](#): > > > > The various ED drugs have utterly changed that, for the worse. Pre-Viagra, there were only a handful of reliable ā€œWoodsmenā€ like Ron Jeremy who were in hundreds or even thousands of titles. They had to be able to get and remain excited. > > > > But post-Viagra, the stakes are much lower. Personally, I think it has resulted in a trend to violence and misogyny. Viagra brought us vicious creeps like ā€œMax Hardcoreā€. > > Yā€™know, on thinking about it, I really canā€™t see it. OK, maybe Max Hardcore specifically is a vicious creep who happens to only be able to keep it up because of drugs, but I canā€™t see how the phenomenon in general can be blamed on Viagra. Before Viagra, the pool of men who could do porn was restricted to the reliable ā€œwoodsmenā€, as you call them, which would mean that if one particular guy who could get it up happened to be a jerk, youā€™d have a harder time replacing him. But nowadays, if a guy is a creep, the hardness of his dick isnā€™t a redeeming factor any more, and you can just replace him with a mensch with a little blue pill. If demeaning porn is more common now, the only explanation I can see is that thereā€™s now, for some reason, greater demand for it. Call me a romantic, but before Viagra it was more likely the male actor had to be _attracted_ to the women. The majority of the industry has taken a turn for the worse with spitting, slapping and choking. In my opinion a lot of these guys seem to actively hate women, but the ED drug allows them to get past that. There was a very small group of men in the ā€œGolden Ageā€ - Ron Jeremy, John C. Holmes, John Leslie, Herschel Savage, Eric Edwards and a few others. Cocaine turned Holmes into a giant asshole, but that tends to be itā€™s general effect. Most of the ones Iā€™ve met, and their on-screen persona were as reasonably nice guys. Maybe there is not connection and the whole industry became vicious and misogynistic for other reasons, but it does appear to make it easier for vicious misogynists to make porn. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/56 "2010-08-06T15:31:53Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > EVERYTHING on the Dope comes back around to politics in the end. I blame Bush. (hehe) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/57 "2010-08-06T17:23:34Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > [Check out Lisa Lampenelliā€™s acts for details on this procedure. Iā€™m familiar with Lisa Lampenelliā€™s standup, but I prefer Christy Canyonā€™s details. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/58 "2010-08-06T17:49:09Z")
As to the **Map** manā€™s estimates, I think itā€™s important to factor in all the amateur porn thatā€™s produced today. Every site Iā€™ve ever seen has amateur porn as a component, and many of the sites that highlight one type of sexual act or another also appear to be using amateurs in many shoots (as it were). If there are 100,000 women who are willing to be paid to do porn, how many more would do it with a boyfriend/husband/girlfriend/etc. for the thrill of being on the internet? 25,000? 50,000? more? It doesnā€™t change the order of magnitude but it must be figured in, Iā€™d say. ---
**Author:** ![fkbugaboo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/35a633/32.png) [@fkbugaboo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fkbugaboo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/59 "2019-05-18T15:44:14Z")
With the mention of loose morals, I cannot help but wonder what the difference is between porn and prostitution. Generally, if one person accepts cash in exchange for sexual acts or services, it is called prostitution and is, with very few exceptions, illegal in the United States. However, if you place a video crew in the room and you are paid to have sex with others in front of a camera, then it is ā€œartā€ protected by the First Amendment. The moral of this story is that prostitution is only legal when we all get to watch. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/60 "2019-05-18T15:52:43Z")
Yes, weā€™ve all seen [Jim Jeffries](https://twitter.com/jefferiesshow/status/981359449863540741?lang=en)ā€™ stand-up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135.md?page=4)