Porn Stars to Feature Film Stars is it possible?

Pornography and feature films seem to be separate entities but could a porn star actually transcend to Hollywood fame? It’s happened before and it can happen again!

The sultry woman featured above is Sasha Grey. If she looks familiar then you are either quite the cinephile or have been spending a bit too much time on sites that you shouldn’t be visiting. In addition to attracting the attention of Hollywood and esteemed Director Steven Soderbergh (“The Girlfriend Experience”), she’s spent the majority of her career as the star of many hardcore pornographic films that have titles too vulgar to mention. Recently she was cast in a starring role opposite Elijah Wood in the film “Open Windows” which leads to the question, “Can a porn star actually make it in film?”

Sasha Grey isn’t the first to achieve feature film transcendence. In fact, many early actors (1970s) began their career in porn while others used it as a side job for extra money.

Before he received universal fame with his film “Rocky,” Sylvester “Sly” Stallone was the “Italian Stallion” in an X-rated film of the same title (also known as “The Party at Kitty and Stud’s”).

The film would be considered more of a soft-core pornographic film by today’s standards but in 1970 you could find this film in the same theaters you might find many John Holmes films. Stallone of course went on to bigger and much better things becoming one of Hollywood’s most prominent leading men and even earning a few Oscar nominations for Best Actor and Best Writer.

So what changed over the years? Well…much of the pornography circulating the internet today is unscripted amateur film but during the early years porn actually had a story, script, and even some credible acting. If you’re familiar with the history of porn (or have seen the film “Boogie Nights”) then you would know that the pornographic industry quickly changed by losing any sort of cinematic credibility it may have once had. Films were condensed to focus on just the “action shots” which required less talent and less overhead costs. Pornography eventually became an industry where anyone could be a star based on what they were willing to do for that fame.

While the quality of the industry diminished over time, so did the mentality of porn being a launching point for a feature film career. There were a few that slipped through the cracks, such as Traci Lords. She gained a big break in the John Waters film “Cry Baby” alongside Johnny Depp, but despite the few the porn industry still had such a bad stigma that credibility was lost.

Over the past decade we’ve become more desensitized to sex as films have progressively tried to take comedy to the next level. Films like “American Pie” which pushed boundaries in 1999 have had their crudeness challenged by films like “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” which actually had porn stars as featured cast members. The necessity to escalate the raunchiness of comedies has opened doors for porn stars for a variety of type cast roles. But even though porn stars are becoming more prevalent in today’s cinema can a porn star one day be treated as a credible actor or actress again or are those days over? Can a porn star break down the wall of stereotypes and typecasting in Hollywood? I think so.

There was a time when musicians were nothing more than typecast actors/actresses but now actors like Will Smith and Mark Wahlberg have proven themselves. The only thing that is preventing porn stars from transcending like musicians have is the bad stigma associated with pornography…which is quickly dying. Over the years Hollywood has made us laugh at sex from every angle which has in turn dampened the impact and reaction when it comes to such a taboo subject. It is only a matter of time before a former porn star becomes a Hollywood star.

Sasha Grey may be the first porn star to step into that prestigious spotlight. She’s proven herself as an actress and is on a path to gain momentum if she continues to make the right choices. Despite the bad stigma continually diminishing, pornography still affects one’s credibility. Porn stars like Sasha Grey need to make a progressive movement away from pornography much like musicians turned serious actors have done with their music.

In today’s world with films like “Nymphomaniac” and the upcoming “50 Shades of Grey” adaptation, porn stars can become film stars, just like anyone, if they truly want to pursue that career.