# Why is it that anyone who appeared in a porn film is a porn STAR? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 4, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-anyone-who-appeared-in-a-porn-film-is-a-porn-star/566383 "2011-01-04T16:30:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-anyone-who-appeared-in-a-porn-film-is-a-porn-star/566383/1 "2011-01-04T16:30:13Z")
oops ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-anyone-who-appeared-in-a-porn-film-is-a-porn-star/566383/2 "2011-01-04T16:42:46Z")
It’s a dirty four-letter word, my friend. Spelled H-Y-P-E. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-anyone-who-appeared-in-a-porn-film-is-a-porn-star/566383/3 "2011-01-04T17:12:15Z")
They are not, there are tens of thousands of girls who’ve done porn who are not porn stars. They are just girls who’ve done porn. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-anyone-who-appeared-in-a-porn-film-is-a-porn-star/566383/4 "2011-01-04T17:27:04Z")
They are taking it in every orifice for money. That usually implies a couple of bad life choices. If they want to be called “stars” I won’t tell them otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-anyone-who-appeared-in-a-porn-film-is-a-porn-star/566383/5 "2011-01-04T17:27:38Z")
Are there any porn character actors? ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-anyone-who-appeared-in-a-porn-film-is-a-porn-star/566383/6 "2011-01-04T17:40:01Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Are there any porn character actors? Yes, they’re called dudes. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-anyone-who-appeared-in-a-porn-film-is-a-porn-star/566383/7 "2011-01-04T17:44:16Z")
It’s a news media thing. “Porn star” always sounds more sensational than “porn model” or “performer.” Now the phrase “porn star” has become such a normal designation for any and all performers in the adult film industry that the “star” part has lost any luster or significance. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-anyone-who-appeared-in-a-porn-film-is-a-porn-star/566383/8 "2011-01-04T18:24:48Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Are there any porn character actors? In the “Golden Age” of porn, there were a number of actresses who created characters that they used in multiple movies that were significant draws: [Juliet “Aunt Peg” Anderson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aunt_Peg), [Desireé Cousteau](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desire%C3%A9_Cousteau) and [Carol Connors](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Connors_%28pornographic_actress%29)’ character “Candy”. One could include [Annie Sprinkle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Sprinkle) ion this group as well. None of these women were known as great beauties, but all created memorable characters that were compelling even outside of their sex scenes. ---
**Author:** ![SpartanDC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@SpartanDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpartanDC)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-anyone-who-appeared-in-a-porn-film-is-a-porn-star/566383/9 "2011-01-04T18:48:43Z")
This was recently addressed in a column by Bill Simmons, [ESPN.com](http://ESPN.com)’s “Sports Guy,” in response to a reader question: [QUOTE=Bill Simmons] **Q: Why is it that everyone in porn is called a “porn star”? Is Laurence Fishburne’s daughter a top grossing star, or one of the best in her field? Probably not, but she gets to be called “porn star.” It’d be like calling Jed Lowrie “baseball star Jed Lowrie” or calling some guy that’s been in some movie a “movie star.” Until she makes something special, she’s just “in porn” to me. – David, Santa Rosa, Calif.** SG: It’s because we feel weird calling someone a “porn actor” or “porn actress” because this insinuates that they can act. It’s like how [ESPN.com](http://ESPN.com) runs a box on the weekends with everyone’s NFL picks that has links for “EXPERTS” and then “SIMMONS.” I’m not an expert just like Fishburne’s daughter isn’t an actress. Really, we should use the words “porn performer” or “adult film performer” but it’s more fun to say “porn star.” [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-anyone-who-appeared-in-a-porn-film-is-a-porn-star/566383/10 "2011-01-04T19:15:28Z")
Following up my own post, Anderson didn’t enter porn until she was 39, and Salon called her [“…the Joan Blondell of porn”](http://dir.salon.com/story/sex/feature/2002/04/13/juliet/print.html). ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-anyone-who-appeared-in-a-porn-film-is-a-porn-star/566383/11 "2011-01-04T19:24:33Z")
I think of it like grade inflation at universities. The same way fewer people get low grades like Cs or even Bs, no one’s a porn actress anymore. They’re all stars. ---
**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-anyone-who-appeared-in-a-porn-film-is-a-porn-star/566383/12 "2011-01-04T19:36:57Z")
It might not mean star as in “really famous”. If they were the lead, or one of the leads, in even one project then they are technically a star. I’ve ‘starred’ in two (non-porn) films, but no one has heard of me. It’s still fun - and technically accurate - to call myself a ‘star’. But that aside, I think “Larry Smithers, Porn Extra” could be a great comedy. Thanks, thwartme ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-anyone-who-appeared-in-a-porn-film-is-a-porn-star/566383/13 "2011-01-04T20:08:16Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Are there any porn character actors? I remember reading about a guy who had carved out an interesting side career as a non-nude supporting character in porn – for instance, he might play the guy who owns the pizza joint where the hunky stud known for his “special deliveries” works. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-anyone-who-appeared-in-a-porn-film-is-a-porn-star/566383/14 "2011-01-04T20:14:34Z")
It’s the equivalent of being a movie star or a television star. It doesn’t mean that you’re more famous than your peers in the business. It means that everyone in show business is a star in comparison to people who aren’t in show business. A fifth rate performer in porno movies is still going to be seen by thousands of people - that’s more fame than the average person will ever have. ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-anyone-who-appeared-in-a-porn-film-is-a-porn-star/566383/15 "2011-01-04T20:38:19Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It means that everyone in show business is a star in comparison to people who aren’t in show business. A fifth rate performer in porno movies is still going to be seen by thousands of people - that’s more fame than the average person will ever have. Bingo. I keep referring to my former high school friend as a “film star”, even though he’s been in only a handful of indie films. But that’s more than I’ll ever star in, most likely. ---
**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:** [January 5, 2011, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-anyone-who-appeared-in-a-porn-film-is-a-porn-star/566383/16 "2011-01-05T00:17:02Z")
It’s like the Champion Cliff Divers in Mexico. They’re all champions, even the guys on the rocks. With porn, you’re either a Porn Star, or a dead Porn Star. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-anyone-who-appeared-in-a-porn-film-is-a-porn-star/566383/17 "2011-01-05T01:12:00Z")
> [@SpartanDC](#): > > This was recently addressed in a column by Bill Simmons, [ESPN.com](http://ESPN.com)’s “Sports Guy,” in response to a reader question: Why didn’t I think of that. Of course Simmons would have answered such an important question. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-anyone-who-appeared-in-a-porn-film-is-a-porn-star/566383/18 "2011-01-05T01:38:37Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Are there any porn character actors? There used to be quite a lot. Mostly men, but not exclusively. Now that plots aren’t part of porn much anymore, they’re not so common. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-that-anyone-who-appeared-in-a-porn-film-is-a-porn-star/566383/19 "2011-01-05T01:44:53Z")
The term Porn Superstar gets 69,700 hits on Google (searching the term in quotes). So, Porn Superstar seems a well established term. The existence of a term that notes a well known top-billed performer who has starred in many projects as distinctly accomplished and esteemed allows for the use of the term porn star to denote the performer with simply average career accomplishments.