Johnny Hazzard has said goodbye to gay porn and now he goes by his real name, Frankie Valenti. Valenti is a charismatic and endearing actor who starred in the gripping indie drama, Tiger Orange, which is about estranged gay brothers who were raised in a small town in California with a homophobic single father.
Valenti plays the wild younger brother Todd who’s into sex and drugs and likes to par-tay. Now he shows up broke and homeless. Older brother Chet is played by Mark Strano, who co-wrote the screenplay with his life partner and the films director, Wade Gasque. The award-winner premiered at last year’s Outfest and has garnered nothing but well-deserved praise. Valenti gives a sensitive and convincing performance and, lucky for us, he agreed to an exclusive interview for TheBlot Magazine as the movie’s DVD release looms.
Dorri Olds: Are you like Todd, into drinking and drugs?
Frankie Valenti: No, thats not me. But my first introduction to the gay community was through gay AA. At 17, it was either go into treatments or go to a juvenile detention center.
What were you in trouble for?
Truancy and possession of paraphernalia. Anyway, so I believe the reason I was using so heavily then, so often, was a symptom of something greater. Once I figured out what that was and I was able to take care of it and, for lack of a better word, fix it, I didnt have the need to self-destruct any longer.
Is it a myth that the porn community is full of drugs and alcohol abuse?
No, its true. But thats true whenever youre dealing with an industry that’s shallow and people are being fed false securities.
What do you mean false securities?
A lot of us, myself included, arent drawn to the adult entertainment industry because we have really good self-esteem. Were all searching for validation. In porn, youre given false types of validation. In some ways, its what you wanted, but after a while you begin to believe thats your only worth. Its very fleeting and shallow. The studios just want you to keep working, making movies and making them money. Theyre going to keep building you up on this false praise until you become the age when youre put out to pasture. Before you know it youre like, Wait, how did that happen? I thought I was the shit.
How old are you now?
Im 37.
Wow, you look fantastic.
Thanks. Lots of sunscreen. I moved to L.A. because it was easier to do porn, and I bought a house in Palm Springs with the money from porn. My purpose for being in L.A. was much different than everyone elses I didnt want to be an actor. I was already established as a porn actor and had no desire to do anything outside of that. But Tiger Orange literally fell out of the sky by way of an e-mail from Mark [Strano] and Wade [Gasque].
Now that youre a serious actor do you feel like porn is behind you?
Yeah. In my head, the porn has been behind me for a long time. In the last couple of years, it is actually finished on paper.
Do you think thats because as you grew older you developed self-esteem?
I think thats an accurate statement. The little boy that needed to be validated got what he needed. I filled that void. I didnt need it anymore and that attention just became a little Ill be careful with words here I dont want to say it felt bad, I dont want to say that it felt sinister, and I dont want to say that it felt predatorial, but you are being objectified. Once your perception has changed and you start seeing the attention for what it really is, it lands on you differently. It doesnt feel good.
I saw that you have a huge following on social media. Do you enjoy getting to know fans that way?
I enjoy showing people different sides of me, giving a different view of the person they think I am. None of my posts show sexually outward photos. Sometimes my shirt is off, thats just to keep visibility going. Its a marketing thing. But I dont capitalize on what people expect to see on my Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Im trying to be, well, just real. What you see on those sites is the shit Im doing every day. I enjoy showing people my family, my mom, brother, my cousins. And it was a blast showing people that I can write when I wrote for The Huffington Post.
I saw on your Facebook that you promote animal rescue! Thats so cool. Last question: Is your family supportive of your choices?
My father never heard from me that I was gay, but I imagined he would be OK with it. My mother had a hard time at first, but she has come around in a big way. My dad had passed before I got into porn. My mom had her concerns in the beginning, which were all completely valid. But after several years of meeting my bosses and staying at their homes and realizing that although this darker side exists, it wasnt what I was involved in and I was making really good money and being treated exceptionally well she was OK with my choices. Even though she was anxious to see the day where I wouldnt be doing it anymore.
Tiger Orange is being released on DVD Tuesday, July 7.
Watch the trailer: