Dana DeArmond
Sunday, 24 January 2010 01:28
Dana DeArmond I recently spoke with adult actress Dana DeArmond at the 2010 AEE adult convention. DeArmond, better known as the Internet’s Girlfriend, was up for multiple awards this year including Performer of the Year. A veteran performer of both mainstream and alt productions, DeArmond also proves to be a down to earth woman with great taste in indie film, namely Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Vegas Outsider: Congratulations on your nominations this year, including Performer of the Year, what was your initial reaction and thoughts of being up for the biggest industry award this year?
Dana DeArmond: It was crazy; I was over at my friend’s house and saw on Twitter that the nominations had come down. So I went online, scrolled down, and saw Best All Girl Group Scene, Most Outrageous Sex Scene, Best Threeway, Bobbi Starr and Dana DeArmond’s Insatiable Voyage nominated for Best Gonzo Release and then scrolled down to Performer of the Year and see my name there and just kept going “Holy Shit! Holy Shit! Holy Shit!” and pacing back and forth from the computer thinking “my name is really there” It was a very, what the fuck moment for me. It’s a little bit intense but it feels good to be recognized and I’m in great company; there are a lot of amazing performers nominated this year, and I’m very happy about that (giggles).
VO: Something that's always been fascinating is how open you are with your fans into your personal life, really living up to the moniker 'Internet's Girlfriend'. What made you decide to be that way with essentially strangers, when it could be easier to maintain more distance behind a made-up persona?
DD: Well, I mean it’s kind of weird; when you come into the business there are some girls who do one scene and then start running around and saying “I’m a porn star! I’m a porn star!” And I always felt like that was a little weird to me and so I was like what point do I call myself a porn star? I don’t really feel like one; I do porn for a living, I star in movies. It is porn but am I a “porn star”? And then I thought, “I’m more comfortable being the girl next door”. I think I try to humanize porn stars in a lot of ways by being so interactive with my fans, befriending people, being normal and not always “on”. I have my bad days and I’m not shy about it; and I feel that people like it in that they can see I’m not some crazy bitch up in an ivory tower. I’m just a girl and I really like what I do; so if people can recognize me for what I am, it makes me more comfortable in being called a “porn star” because it’s kind of a heavy title to have. And then when people say “oh, you don’t look like a porn star” it doesn’t burst my bubble. I get that said to me a lot and I can only respond with “what do you think a porn star looks like?” (laughs).
VO: You certainly back that up with the amount of time you spend on YouTube posting videos about events in your daily life, letting people know how you’re doing whether things are going well or a bit rough at the time.
DD: Yeah, I appear on the internet without a stitch of makeup on; I photograph myself in sweat pants. I want to be just a person who does porn. I was dating someone over the summer and somebody said something about me doing porn and he looked at me and goes “oh yeah, sometimes I forget that’s what you are” and I was like “What I do? Was that what you were going to say?” I really do enjoy what I do for a living but make no mistake I am a person and I will be as cool to you as you are to me.
VO: On a separate note, how come you haven’t received a call from Joseph Gordon-Levitt yet? Anyone who follows you knows how much you dig him and seriously he should have gotten word by now.
DD: (laughs) I don’t know, he’s so amazing. He’s probably completely tied down and having a wonderful, stable relationship with an amazing girl and deserves it. I’m not easily starstruck, I have friends in television and movies, but Joseph Gordon-Levitt has consistently been amazing throughout his entire career.
VO: Especially for these past few years now, where he’s finally getting parts that allow him to step up and show off what he’s really capable of doing.
DD: Yeah, I love it. He’s been in Brick, Stop Loss, which is a really interesting movie about soldiers being sent back to Iraq for new tours of duty after already doing their time there.
VO: And he played Cobra Commander.
DD: (smiles) When I saw that I thought, “this is beyond ridiculous, I hope I don’t lose respect for JGL”. But he played it so kooky and cartoony that I was like “nailed it!” It was silly. (mock critic voice) But if you like the sound of glass breaking, I do recommend GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra, there are a lot of glass-breaking sounds in that movie (giggles). And if you like explosions, there’s a little thing called Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. If you like explosions, you need to check out this guy, he’s going to be big I think. His name’s Michael Bay, he went to USC, he loves exploding things. Just a head’s up, I think he’s going to be big (laughs).
VO: As long as you've been a performer, you've been someone who has had a long association with alt-porn as well as regular mainstream productions and I'm wondering if on a certain level, there are any appreciable differences between the two for you or is it all just the same thing & doesn't really matter?
DD: It’s sort of a one day at a time thing. I never want to be typecast or pigeon-holed. Sometimes people don’t know what to do with me, because I’m not a teen, or a MILF, or a cougar or anything like that so they think “where do we put this girl?” And my response was “I’m the internet girl, I’m the Myspace girl, your alternative lifestyle girl”, and I do. I grew up in the punk rock scene on the East Coast in Florida. So I do have that but am I really that much different? I’ve tried to make my name as an all-around performer and I like to give something to every single fan. I have my fans that are into the real lesbian stuff like the work I do with Girlfriend Films and I work for them a ton. I have some amazing fans for that and a lot of female fans which I love. And then, I have my interracial fanbase that really loves my interracial work. And then I do one on one stuff, I work for Vivid, I do more of the on the fringe, artsy stuff. I just want to give everything to everyone and please people. I work for Kink a lot too, doing the submissive things because I do want to please people and be of service. Because what’s the point of making all of this porn if no one’s really interested in watching it? I really love to see people be happy with what I’ve done. So I do something for everyone and then I’ll get asked “well, what wouldn’t you do?” and my only answer is “I don’t know, what don’t you want me to do?” Being in the porn business, I also get asked “well, don’t you tired of sex? Aren’t you bored?” and I’m like “no, I know exactly what I like”. It opens my mind and broadens my horizons. I can enjoy everything in life more because of the freedom working in a controlled environment and being able to express myself sexually. It’s very liberating. I can be very socially introverted in my normal life; I don’t just run out and look for attention all the time. At home, I just hang out; I’m shy around people, I’m not sure if they’ve seen me naked on the internet or not. I simply try to be as chill as possible and get to know people slowly. People will think “you’re crazy because you’re a porn star” and I’m like “I’m not crazy”. I’m neurotic yes (laughs), mentally ill not so much.
VO: Along with that, are you interested in doing any more directing as you’ve done in the past with things like Role Modeling, which introduced people to Andy San Dimas?
DD: Yes, Andy San Dimas is my protégé. She’s doing so well, I’m really glad for her. If people have seen her I hope they go all the way back to Role Modeling, because she was so green. She’s blossomed into such a woman over the last couple of years since I met her, and I’m really happy about her success. About directing itself, it’s hard because with the way the industry and economy are going, along with people stealing porn with tube sites, it’s hard to get the funds right now. Things have changed a bit but people do ask me about making a sequel to Role Modeling all the time and I’d love to do it. It’s always very hard to decide who you want to deal with and what you want to put your name on, because I do have my definite style and persona.
VO: Moving forward, what would you like to accomplish next?
DD: Ok, this might sound hippyish, but I feel the universe simply points me in a direction and I continue along the path, seeing the opportunities that are put forth and grasping every one to see where the universe leads me. That’s what led me into porn and it’s gotten me this far, so I can’t disagree with it. I’ve never had to want for anything in my life so I’ve been very, very fortunate. So I think just floating through life aimlessly, it sounds like a bad plan, but it works for me. I’m definitely continuing in the business, I’m also nominated for XBIZ Performer of the Year too so I’m excited about that too. I feel like it’s just going to get bigger and I’m going to see just see how big I can actually get.
*To learn more about Dana DeArmond and what she’s working on, go to www.theinternetsgirlfriend.com
*Photo courtesy of Evil Angel
