Page 91 - AVN August 2020

“I don’t believe in any of the
roadblocks or labels.”
Many of Ward’s fans had never signed up for a porn site before she became an exclusive contract
star for Deeper.com in November 2019 with only about a dozen studio credits on her resume; in
March of 2020, she reached an agreement to extend her deal with VMG into 2022.
Kayden Kross suggests that Ward brings a combination of acting talent, screen presence and
versatility that unlocks doors for their creative collaborations.
“My absolute favorite character to write is the predatory woman,” Kross says. “There are very few
people who play that role well. Maitland plays it better than anyone. Her abilities as an actress allow
me to try bolder characters that would otherwise fall flat if played by a less experienced actress, and
she is so unique physically that there’s something that feels precious about seeing her on screen.
“After we filmed Drive, I remember seeing her promote some other project she’d done and my
first thought was, ‘I don’t want everyone to have her.’”
Ward’s first outing for Vixen Media Group—with 2019 AVN Best Male Newcomer Jason Luv last
August—set the tone for her future with the company.
In the scene titled “Unprofessional,” she plays an aggressive real estate agent who closes the deal
with her celebrity client Luv by devouring him in a spectacular condo overlooking downtown LA. If
there was an award for talking dirty that day she might have gotten that one, too. Soon it became
one of the most viewed scenes of the year for VMG.
Once the lockdown ends Ward and Kross want to build on their momentum. Without revealing
details, Ward will be starring in a major feature for Deeper as well as a cosplay-themed project.
“What [Kayden] is writing for the feature this year is going to stretch my acting and my artistic
work more than ever in my life,” Ward says. “Porn has given me—and Deeper has given me—my
acting chops back again. Because in the mainstream nobody would ever give me something so
dark and twisted. It was always like I was more comedic because of Boy Meets World and because
I can do comedy.”
Based on Deeper’s rapid success—it won Best New Production Banner in January and already
is one of the most sought-after bookings in porn—Ward says she feels a “sense of responsibility.”
“I want this brand to really be the height of what porn and mainstream can be and have it
intertwined,” Ward concludes. “I don’t believe in any of the roadblocks or labels. It doesn’t need to
be mainstream or porn. It can just be entertainment and art.”
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