An Interview with Dan Anderson

An Interview With Daniel Anderson: A "Skinemax" Actor Talks About His Career

The following interview is real. It was conducted on Tuesday, November 6, 2007.

I live in Southern California, the state with the biggest number of studios and where a lot of work revolves around movies and television. I come across many fascinating people with stories to tell. Being a fan of the soft-core adult film genre, and a writer for Literotica, it was a pleasure to have interviewed actor Daniel Anderson. For those of you who know of him, he's appeared in several films and series on late night cable television, namely Cinemax After Dark features (popularly known as "skin-emax" which target an adult audience. These are sexy little movies and series with plots and reoccurring characters played by attractive actors and actresses who play sex scenes in the nude but in a soft-core manner. Dan played hotel owner Cal Barrish in the MRG Entertainment productions "Sex Games Vegas/Cancun" series and guest starred on other hit Skinemax series like "Emmanuelle" and "Sex Files". He has also done various independent films, theater and television. Dan runs his own business as well as manages his own video production company. He lives in Sherman Oaks, California.

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Me: First of all, let me tell you I'm a huge fan of the industry and many readers of Literotica are as well. I'm not a paid professional journalist but I'm a writer and figured that it would be nice to conduct an interview with you. There's a demographic out there who would love to hear about your career and life. First of all where were you born?

Dan: In New Brunswick, Canada.

Me: Now did you also grow up there or did you eventually move to like New York or LA?

Dan: I was raised in New Brunswick. Later moved to Vancouver then Toronto to pursue modeling and acting and this was the best place for that sort of thing. So before my acting days I went from East Canada to West Canada then back to East Canada.

Me: I'm sure that irregardless of the soft-core erotic movies you did, acting for TV and movies require training in specialized drama schools the same way actors take acting lessons. Where did you study acting?

Dan: I took acting classes in New York City's Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theater. I trained using the Meisner Technique. Actor and coach Sanford Meisner developed a style of method acting commonly used in most schools of drama today.

Me: Have you always been into acting or did you major in another field? What were some of the jobs you've held in the past before you even made your first films?

Dan: I did the proverbial "waiting tables" in New York, but in L.A. I was a wedding & party DJ and then started my own tennis instructor business for Beverly Hills residents. But I was able to eventually make good money modeling and doing TV commercials.

Me: How did you get into erotic soft-core movies?

Dan: I was lounging in a swimming pool in my home in Hollywood at the time and a guy who lived in the same building was a casting director. He came over and told me about getting work for me in these types of films. I was told it would require "nudity, but not frontal on guys', so as long as it wasn't actually porn, and it seemed legitimate and professional on the set, I though I'd rather do that and at least make money; do some acting and get 'tape' for my demo reel.

Me: I've seen some of these soft-core "skin" flicks and I've really loved them. Weren't you in the successful "Emmanuelle" franchise? That has a bit of a history and goes way back.

Dan: The production company MRG Entertainment I did lots of work for and the same company that made the "Emmanuelle" movies also produced "Sex Files" so I was able to do both those shows. I get recognized often for appearing in these films and people point that out. These films have a huge fan base and many guys know these "skin-flick" actresses very well and think it's great that I worked with them. I don't do these films much anymore as I produce films now and only seek out roles that I find interesting. I wouldn't do a film with a lot of sex and no plot. I'd rather portray a fully developed character in a great script and I'd like for the film to have real plot and life before we even get to the sex scenes.

Me: Many adult film stars don't use their real names and are credited with what is known as their "porn name". I imagine that even soft-core erotic film stars do the same, especially because some of those actors and actresses also do hardcore. Do you have any alternate names?

Dan: When I thought of that and I didn't want to change it much so it was usually Dan Anderson, Daniel Anderson and one I came up with Dugan Hayes.

Me: Now you've actually appeared in legit TV shows that were non-erotic, correct?

Dan: Yes. My very first acting job was a walk-in role as cop/detective on an episode of "Murder She Wrote". I remember hoping to meet the star of the show, actress/singer Angela Lansbury but she was not present for production of that episode. She did show up, though, to the set to socialize with the cast and to give out baked cookies (Laughs).

Me: As for the Skinemax shows and films, they're known for showcasing beautiful girls in the nude, for the use of exotic locations, sexy music and hot sex scenes. Now of course, like sex scenes in mainstream Hollywood films, it's mostly graphic looking simulation but not the real thing right? It's fake. I always figured that it's accomplished by covering the genitals with something.

Dan: Right. It's not real. They use coverings for the girls and small nylon stockings for the men. Of course this doesn't show up on film. That's the smoke and mirrors of soft-cores sex films. Some shows today, though, like HBO's "Tell Me You Love Me", are changing their soft-core look and showing a lot more full-frontal nudity than they previously did.

Me: HBO and Showtime are getting a lot more explicit I agree. So tell me about some of the actresses you've worked with. Do you feel that in order to do a good sex scene you need to have chemistry with the actresses before hand or while preparing for these scenes?

Dan: No. There were some times when I did find the girl attractive and it was nice to work with beautiful women but it's a job and contrary to what most viewers, especially guys, think, it's not all that fun. At first it is. But after having done many of the same type of scenes, it becomes a job. Also, doing sex scenes, with directors right there telling you what they want you to do can get annoying and boring very fast. Sometimes the actresses I didn't like working with and felt they were really demanding and a litle bitchy. I won't name names but there were only a few times when I experienced that. I remember doing an episode of "Sex Files" that was entitled "The Perfect Man". I played a Professor who taught sexy students how to create their sexy, ideal mates. Then they figure that I was desirable and ideal and they cloned me. It was like that movie "Multiplicity" and as a result I had to do like 13 sex scenes because there were suppose to be many of me running around. It was exhausting (big laugh).

Me: You were married to adult film star Kira Reed is that correct? Tell us more about her and how you met. What was it like being married and doing similar films?

Dan: We met during the making of a soft-core adult film. We didn't have a single sex scene together but we liked each other very much during the shoot. Kira Reed was one of the first soft-core actresses to delve into the website world back then, with Danni Ashe, Nikki Fritz and others, and though Kira doesn't do soft-core movies anymore, I believe she still has a website www.kiradance.com but her main occupation right now is producing a series for Playboy TV. We were married for five years and divorced in 2003. When Kira and I were together in the biz and we drew a lot of attention together, we were subjects for TV sex-related shows and websites, so we also talked 'on camera' in interviews. Being married and doing similar films was never a problem.

Me: I really liked the "Sex Games" series. There were two settings for that Cancun and Vegas. It was about a married couple -- you and the actress credited as Chloe - who ran tropical resorts and encouraged bets of a sexual nature with their guests as well as sexual exploration. What do you remember about doing that series?

Dan: It was lots of fun and it was a good show, well-written and nice to look at. They did not shoot in either Vegas or Cancun as a matter of fact. For the interior scenes in the Vegas episodes, they shot in the mansion of Italian fashion designer Bernini, a palatial estate on Sunset Boulevard. All episodes were filmed on location here in the L.A. area, except for the episode where me and Mona are walking through the tropical town where our second series "Cancun" takes place. We shot all that one day in Old San Juan Puerto Rico. For interior scenes of the Cancun series, we filmed in the inside of a tropical-looking home in Malibu.

Me: About your soft-core erotic films, do you have any favorite film that you've starred in or featured in?

Dan: I would say I really enjoyed making Body Of Influence 2 the most, as it was the closest to a real full-length erotic thriller and since I was the lead, I was in a lot of scenes. The movie wasn't so much concerned with sex which made it seem more like a real movie. Honestly, I'm not in this movie genre for the sex, I'm in it to act and do everything a working actor does, show up early, run lines work on the set, on the scene and work in unison with other professional talent and crew.

Me: Tell me why you preferred to stick to soft-core films rather than hardcore. Was there a reason behind that decision?

Dan: It never occurred to me to do hard-core, because, once again, I wasn't in this for the sex. It just happened that the only work that was being offered to me were these types of movies. If I wanted to have sex on a movie set then I would do hardcore, but that's not my desire right now.

Me: What do you like best about the industry? What do you least like about it and what would you change?

Dan: The good thing about the industry for me is the actual work that goes along with any non-sexually oriented shoot. I worked with a lot of the same production crews and actors who were all just super people. I found many of the actors and crew took their jobs seriously, but that leads me to the part of the industry that turned me off - more and more unprofessional actors and actresses started cropping up, because the producers were getting tired of actresses (and some male actors) showing up on the set and suddenly changing their minds about getting nude, or even just not showing up at all because they had a change of heart and didn't bother to contact the AD's or casting directors. So the producers had no choice but to start hiring 'hard-core' talent, because to them nudity was not an issue. But I found the quality of acting and professionalism waned because of it. The main leads were still going to real actresses who had to read and audition, but the co-starring roles were all going to hardcore girls and they live in a whole other world.

Me: What is your favorite sexual position and what do you feel is the key to a happy, lasting and fulfilling love/sex life?

Dan: If you're asking about sexual position to film - the one that's the most comfortable physically. If you asking me on a personal level, well, I like them all - variety is the spice as they say. Which leads to your final question, which gets somewhat of the same answer. The 'key' I think is to mix things up, and as your relationship gets on in years, be more in tuned to your partner's needs. It's easy to get into sex when you're in the mood. But what if you're not and your partner is, and vice versa. You have to not be so selfish and be there for what the other wants sometimes, even if you're not there at the moment. Then suddenly you find yourself into it and it was all worth it. And that works both ways! Try not to get too bogged down into a routine. Take advantage of new locations and new ideas, or even go back to basics and go out and flirt in public.

Me: Tell us more about yourself. What are your hobbies, interests, favorite music, films, books, do you like to travel?

Dan: Well, I do love movies, music and general interests like those. I'm a jock; I've always been very physically active. I do enjoy sports on TV and in live sporting events like LA Kings hockey games, Dodger baseball games and so on. I don't always have the time to read all that much but I do carry books around with me sometimes. I have a book by my bedroom nightstand. Right now I'm reading a book on Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, my vote for the next President.

Me: He's a good choice.

Dan: Yes. He's a Harvard graduate which means he's very intelligent and educated and in reading his books you learn about his ideals and how truly honest and compassionate he is. I think he would be a nice refreshing change for the Whitehouse, certainly better than what we've seen in the last eight years

Me: What are your plans for the future whether or not it involves making more films?

Dan: Well, you know, I love acting. I still want to work in the entertainment business but if it's not in the cards for me in the entertainment business, there are all sorts of ways to make a good living in Southern California. I don't think I'll truly retire because I hope to be working all the time, maybe just doing a little less of it. I want to continue enjoying life as much as I can.

Me: Ok, Dan, it's been a real pleasure and thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Good luck with all your projects.

Dan: And thank you.

Daniel Anderson, Canadian-born actor, runs his own business and is now a producer.

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For those of you who are interested, the internet website for Dan's production company, Anderson Entertainment, is www.dananderson.com. He is also featured on the Internet Movie Database where you can find his film credits under Daniel Anderson. Check out some of his videos, as some are available for purchase on Amazon.com and other stores; films like "Bare Deception", "Word of Mouth", "Secret Places", "Scandal/Sweet Revenge" , "Virtuosity" and "Body of Influence 2".