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Porn Star Stormy Daniels Talks Feature Dancing and Getting Odd Requests from Fans

You probably know porn star Stormy Daniels from her quick scene in Steve Carell's The 40-Year-Old Virgin as Andy's fantasy fodder. She also has a handful of mainstream credits, mostly playing herself or some fictionalized version of herself.

She was also featured on HBO's behind-the-scenes series Pornucopia a few years back, filming the interstellar-porn comedy Space Nuts.

Or, you probably know her from more than 100 of her porn credits, you dirty, dirty sinner.

Since entering the business in the early '00s, Daniels has become one of the most high-profile, mainstream-friendly actresses in the industry, starring in hundreds of films and amassing a dedicated fan following.

With Wicked Pictures, she has also written, directed and starred in more than 30 features. The Baton Rouge-born Daniels is easily one of the busiest women in the porn business, behind and in front of the camera.

This weekend Daniels is in Houston, first feature dancing at Babe's Cabaret off Hillcroft, and on Saturday night she hosts an early Halloween party at Concert Pub North. Daniels calls the Dallas area home, when she is not jetting all over the country dancing and making films.

She talked to me in advance of her Houston appearances about traveling, dancing, weird requests from fans and that syphilis scare that caused a work stoppage in the dirty-movie industry a few months back.

Art Attack: What is feature dancing like? Any cool stories? Any creeper stories?

Stormy Daniels: Well, my first love is feature dancing. Unlike most other porn stars who started dancing after doing movies, I was a showgirl first. I had already been a touring feature for two years before I made my first adult movie. Feature dancing is great because it is grassroots marketing at its finest. I get to travel all over and actually talk to fans.

It is also a great source of income, I'm not gonna lie. The money is great, and I really enjoy it. I have spoken to other girls who despise it, though. Traveling, airports, hotels, it just is not for everyone. I thrive on it. It makes me feel like a rock star. I have lots of great and funny stories from on the road. Seriously, some would blow your mind. I'll save them for the book I'm gonna write, though.

AA: What kind of input do you get from fans about your films while at the clubs? Do they try to pitch ideas? SD: Since I write and direct all my movies, I love to get their input. Fans try to pitch script ideas, but 99 percent of them are not good. I take input about performers they want to see me use or film scenes with. I've even worn specific things in a movie because a fan requested it -- stockings, corsets -- as well.

AA: What's the strangest thing a fan has wanted, aside from the usual male go-to fantasies like maids, mechanics, housewives and the random law enforcement official?

SD: I get a lot of foot play and smoking requests for my movies. I'm not a smoker, but finally gave in and made my character have a cigarette in one of my newest movies, Perfect Partner. I think it was obvious that I don't really smoke. I think it looks funny.

The really unusual requests come in the clubs when I'm feature dancing. Some are too icky for you to post, but I did have a guy give me $1,000 to pop balloons. Let's just say he was really into it.

AA: What is the best city to dance in? You know, besides Houston, of course.

SD: The best cities to dance in are the small towns. They really appreciate having a star come to the club. Miami, New York and Vegas are filled with beautiful dancers. I've done best in the small places, though. Baltimore, Atlanta and Tampa are pretty awesome as well.

AA: There was that recent work stoppage in the porn world. How did that affect you and your colleagues? Did more performers become more cautious? From reading some chatter on Twitter, many actresses were worried about finances, too. SD: The syphilis issue caused production to be halted for a few weeks. This pushed back some of my productions, which made for a scheduling nightmare, but I'm lucky that I am under contract with Wicked so it didn't drastically impact my pay, like most other performers. The industry has now added a 14-day syphilis test to our routine testing.

AA: Twitter and Instagram have grown to be a big part of the porn industry, with performers being able to keep fans in the loop of new products, appearances and the like. Who do you think fans should be following?

SD: Anyone not following Ash Hollywood is really missing out. Dana DeArmond is pretty freaking awesome as well. Alektra Blue posts really hot photos. So yummy.

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Craig Hlavaty
Contact: Craig Hlavaty