Page 53 - AVN April 2013

Feat_LEX.4.13 3/20/13 12:18 PM Page 53
Obviously this represents a big step in your career. A deal with Evil Angel is huge. How did this come about?
Essentially [director] Kevin Moore and myself have done some stuff together over the last few years, and as he has
emerged as a director and producer for Evil Angel and for other companies, he thought it was a good idea. Along with
a close friend of his, Adam Grayson from Evil, they have a company together and they thought it would be a good
idea for us to come together and form a company between the three of us and go forward on projects. Kevin and
myself will direct, and it just made perfect sense. They had the Evil Angel platform.
I’m pretty consistent with strong performances, but having a videographer who’s exceptionally talented—you put
that with an exceptional male performer and you get a very good product. … The stuff I’ve done with Jules Jordan has
been great, and so with those ingredients it made a lot of sense.
For me, I’ve always felt that there’s an upper echelon of studios. So my studio [Mercenary Pictures], having been a
small boutique studio, didn’t breach that rarefied air. But luckily, as an independent performer I’ve been able to expose
myself to everyone. If you look at the male performers who have been associated with Evil Angel, I think I fall readily
in line with them.
The thing as well is that there’s a caliber of production that’s requisite for any Evil Angel release and I’m able to
deliver that and Kevin is able to capture that and edit it—he’s a great editor as well—so we’ll have a high-quality
product. So I still maintain all my other associations, but this is a special one.
What about the power of the Evil Angel brand?
The cachet of Evil is second to none. I’ll definitely be exposed on a distribution level to areas that I probably had
not had any insertion. Over the years I have distinguished myself as a director and producer, but you also have to
realize there’s a next level and perhaps you may be unable to make it to that next level without associations, and so I’ve
been very lucky to have been associated with powerful and talented people throughout my 15-year career. As long as I
don’
t drop the ball on my end, we come up with a good product.
And all the great directors they have too.
Evil is known for having great directors, many of whom have been or currently are performers—Rocco Siffredi,
Nacho Vidal, Joey Silvera, Manuel Ferrara—when people talk of the most lauded performers and directors, for the
most part, they fall under the Evil Angel umbrella. Becoming a part of that is a big deal.
Over the years I’ve patterned myself after Rocco Siffredi and he’s always been my particular hero. Cultivating a
career that’s tried to mirror what he’s done as a performer has allowed me to distinguish myself domestically. There are
a lot of good guys out there but I think that the true measure of excellence is tenure. And there are very few men who
can count themselves among the greatest performers for over a decade.
The fan base of Evil is huge so the people that were not exposed to me by way of Mercenary will now be exposed to
me through Evil Angel. So it’s a great situation, especially as I get closer to the end of my performance career it’s
almost like it allows me a rebirth in some ways. In terms of performing I always gave 100 percent but now I’m
contributing toward something greater than myself. … There’s a big difference between being a boutique studio and
then aligning yourself with a juggernaut.
How are your Evil Angel movies going to be branded?
It’s going to be Lexington Steele Productions distributed as an Evil Angel product, like all the other arrangements
they have. I think what you’re looking at is going to be a paradigm shift within interracial gonzo. … People have
associated my name with Lex the Impaler, and that’s something I look forward to continuing to do with Jules while
also continuing the Mercenary name. This forces me to step my game up. The last few years, playing by my own
rules, producing my own stuff—now I have to live up to a standard that predated my existence in the industry. I’m
with a team of people that do not drop the ball.
It’s fun to challenge yourself. When Kevin and I sit down and put together a cast list, now we have the wherewithal
to shoot the top female talent in terms of financial ability. But the main thing is when you cast a movie with Chanel
Preston, Asa Akira, Alexis Ford, Jada Stevens and other top names, I also have to bring my A-game. The stakes are
higher.
And what about working for John Stagliano? Ultimately he has to give you the stamp of approval.
I’ve always held Stag in the greatest regard and to know that in the end we have a standard that’s been set by him.
So while I think I might have done a good job, I have to meet his standard. Everyone at that studio is operating at the
highest level of this multibillion-dollar industry. It’s going to force me to tighten my bootstraps and say, “Let’s rock ’n’
roll!”
One of the reasons I’ve always loved Stagliano is because not only did he create gonzo as we know it today but as a
producer and director the guy is second to none. Look at Voracious, look at The Fashionistas, the Las Vegas dance show
too. He
’
s a renaissance man. The man has been involved in things outside of sex. Given the opportunity to perform in
the second season of Voracious is coming up, which is fantastic, because I can show people another side of me and that
I can act.
The Real Steele In his first release through
Evil Angel, Lex Turns Evil , performer/director
Lexington Steele assembled an A-list cast that
includes Alexis Ford (opposite), Asa Akira (top)
and Brooklyn Lee (bottom).
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