HOOK: E-zine By, For, and About Men in the Sex Industry

Los Angeles-based adult film performer and professional male companion, Matt Sizemore, has a great personal web site [link given below] where you can read about him, perhaps more than one might want to know about an adult film performer or an escort. But Matt considers himself a “frustrated writer” and his site is and has been a good outlet for him.

Sizemore Speaks, his regular column on the web, is a long and candid monthly look at what is going on his life, from his porn career, who he is dating, to what movies or dvds he has seen, and what else goes on his life.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with him by telephone and then meet in person for a face-to-face interview about his escorting, adult film careers and especially about his volunteer work on this year fifth annual Bad Boys Pool Party - Los Angles - on August 10, 2002. Bad Boys Pool Party (BBPP) is Will Clark’s annual benefit where the public can meet “hot porn stars” to benefit charity.

HOOK: You started escorting for an agency. What were the advantages of an agency over being independent?

Matt Sizemore: Mainly, it gave me confidence because I always knew there was someone – in this case, a wonderful man named Frank – waiting for me to check in and out. Or sometimes even acting as my driver/bodyguard. And, of course, you don’t have to deal with the curious and the cranks – which is ongoing when you’re an independent.

HOOK: Why did you use the names of the apostles?

MS: As an escort? I guess it was my way of working through my Catholic upbringing. And not a bad idea to name yourself after a saint when you’re having so much fun sinning – in my book, it kind of balances things out.

HOOK: Do you ever have any regrets at all about escorting?

MS: You mean outside of all the money I spend on antibacterial soap? Seriously though, I really don’t. Perhaps my biggest regret is that I’ve turned sex into work and I often times lose track of what my needs are because I’m always focused on the needs of my client. But, then again, that’s why I keep four or five hot fuck buddies on tap.

HOOK: What opportunities has escorting brought you that you might not have otherwise experienced?

MS: God - it put me into direct contact with people I never would have been able to meet working, say, in a hospital. People don't realize this, but there is a caste system in health care. The doctor is basically the sun the rest of us gravitate around. But sex is the great equalizer. Here’s a good example: when I was 22, an actor and still working with my clothes on, I couldn’t get in to see a very powerful agent. I swear, I must’ve wasted hundreds of dollars in headshots on this one guy alone, but never once did he call. Fast forward to about two years ago when – out of the blue – he called me to request my services. Because I’m a gentleman, I never did bring up the fact that I was once a struggling actor trying to see him. But let me assure you that all the money I invested in discarded head shots has been made back – several times over!

HOOK: You got into escorting full time in 1997 but didn’t do your first adult film until 2000. Why films?

MS: Porn was a way to promote myself as an escort.

HOOK: What do you think the advantages are of each?

MS: Well, the money is better in escorting. The sex isn’t being directed. I don’t want to take away from the mystique out of porn, but making it can be very tedious . . .

Well, there are companies who do not film as much or edit as the top tier companies do, but then this also shows in the finished product. Sometimes there is too much cost cutting. I sometimes wish two cameras were used instead of just one, especially when it’s a group scene being filmed. Viewers don’t realize that when it’s just one camera. They need to come back and get the face and reaction scenes after the cum shots are filmed.

HOOK: You do both: adult films and escort, is there a difference? Some adult film performers argue that they are NOT escorts but many of the clients say otherwise.

MS: The clients are right. There’s no difference. You’re not paid to be cleaning windows on camera.

HOOK: You started out wanting to be an actor. In the bio on your website, you talk about how you and your ex-wife both came to Hollywood to pursue this dream. How do you compare adult films to what you wanted to do in front of a camera?

MS: It’s different. In mainstream acting, you mainly listen and respond. In adult films you do that as well but you also PERFORM. I really appreciate more now that there is a terrific amount of hard work required. It really takes a certain athletic ability and it’s far from easy.

HOOK: Why do adult films then?

MS: There’s not a lot of money in it, true, just a lot of ego stroking. However, I got into it, originally as I said, because I thought it would promote me as an escort—and it has. What people do not realize about performing in adult films is that you have very little control. You basically sign away your rights when you put your signature on that model release form; you just collect a one-time fee. It’s only what you make of it, what you do FROM your career in adult films, that is yours and that you can have any real say over.

HOOK: You’re exclusively working with Raging Stallion. How is that going?

MS: I really like the way they treat me. They are allowing me to have a say in who I’m paired with. Often companies don’t do that and it makes the shoot demanding. I’ve often been amazed at how good the finished product looks given the actual circumstances during filming. Some film productions have had really mismatched pairings and I don’t understand why they wouldn’t work on not having this happen.

HOOK: Who have you enjoyed being paired with?

MS: Well, Michael Brandon was really great. He really exceeded my expectations. He’s a great guy and, of course, he has a really great cock. When I saw him hard, I thought to myself what were you thinking with the name ‘Sizemore.’

HOOK: You said Raging Stallions gives you a choice of partners. Obviously, there are some limits, for example, performers under exclusive contract to other companies. If this was your own production, you and another adult film performer, who would you pick and why?

MS: Well, I always wanted to work with Michael Vincenzo because he was big a sexual fantasy of mine – since I first met him on the set of Titan’s Laid Up (we were in different scenes). But now I hear he’s retiring! I’d also love to work with Channel One’s Matt Summers because we’ve already gotten together once in private and it was a damn shame someone didn’t have a camera rolling.

HOOK: When we first spoke on the phone, you said you had just gotten back from stripping, something many adult performers do for extra income.

MS: I was at the Bourbon Street Pub for a week in New Orleans. This was my first and probably my last time stripping in public.

HOOK: I’m sure some fans will be disappointed. Why’s that?

MS: Well, it’s not really my venue. You’re dancing on a bar and I’m not the most coordinated person and you have to be careful you don’t kick over someone’s drink. I also have a bit of a fear of heights and almost fell off the bar twice. Some of the guys dancing were good at it, great at making eye contact, working the crowd, earning those tips. Chris Steele was a total pro, even though it was his first or second time. Jim Slade was also a natural and Aaron Tanner loved being in the spotlight.

HOOK: Was there anything you did enjoy about the experience?

MS: Oh, I had a blast. Don’t get me wrong. I really enjoyed the other guys. The staff was nice to me and I enjoyed being in New Orleans. When I got to talk to the guys who wanted to meet me, it was really great. I am really more comfortable one on one.

HOOK: Did you get to see any clients, escort at all in New Orleans?

MS: Well, my schedule was really different than it is in Los Angeles. I was dancing all night, 'til late, then we would eat and then sleep. But I did see a fair number of clients, all of whom were great. They were all very sweet, very gracious. That is one of the really great aspects about escorting. Going to someone’s home, seeing how and where they live, especially on this trip; some of the old houses and great apartments in the French Quarter, it also helped make the trip for me.

HOOK: So you enjoy the ‘meet and greets.’ Have you done many, Will Clark’s Cocktails With Stars, for example?

MS: I’ve done it twice — no three times — and really enjoyed myself each time. It’s a great opportunity for the audience to find out we’re [porn actors] real people. I also really like the energy of meeting people one-on-one. The older I get, the more I find myself more and more comfortable in intimate situations, which these are, even if there’s a crowd around you, because you are still on an individual level with the person right in front of you.

HOOK: Was that how you met Will?

MS: No, actually, it’s a funny story. I had a boyfriend when Will was just starting out in porn. This boyfriend was hired to photograph him. It was one of Will’s first shoots. He came in and we all wondered who this guy was. Will spent part of the shoot trying this whole seduction routine on me. I just laughed and told him, “Baby, you don’t need to do that to me.” As he left, my boyfriend said, “There goes a star.”

HOOK: So you’ve been involved with the Bad Boys Pool Parties (BBPP) before? The events that Will produces for charity?

MS: Actually, the 2001 event in Los Angeles last summer was the first one I went to. I wasn’t one of the featured performers, and I missed the one in Palm Springs earlier this year, so this will be my second time.

HOOK: You are going to work on the production aspects of BBPP5, how did that happen?

MS: Well, I had wanted to get back into production [on Matt’s site, he talks about a play of his produced locally and other work he has done in the entertainment industry]. I also wanted to do volunteer work again. When Will suggested this, it was a good way to do both. He really does a great job but as the event has grown, he knows he needs to delegate more and needs help putting it all together.

HOOK: You said you were getting involved with BBPP in part because you wanted to do volunteer work again. Where have you volunteered in the past ten years, and what motivated you to those particular groups or that particular kind of work?

MS: I used to work primarily in psychiatry at a major hospital, so I have a lot of compassion for the mentally ill. Also, I’ve done some volunteer work for APLA and Project Angel Food - but really not enough. I think it was taking care of a dying Matt Gunther that motivated me to be more involved in AIDS charities. This was back in 1994 - and Matt was someone I always wanted to have sex with - and one day this poor guy in a wheelchair was admitted for depression. Of course, I immediately recognized him, but was way too professional to mention I was a fan. He was with us for about two weeks. Within that time not one person came to visit. It was really, really sad, because he was glued to the pay phone out in the hall and it was painfully obvious to one and all he’d burned too many bridges. When his benefits ran out, the nurses literally dumped him out on the sidewalk. I read somewhere that he died shortly thereafter.

HOOK: What was your overall impression of last year’s BBPP, the 2001 L.A. edition?

MS: That the fans really do turn out! I arrived really late and was afraid I would be lost in the crowd. But as soon as I hit the door, three people came up and asked me for my autograph. And I’d only been doing videos for about six months back then.

HOOK: If you were in charge of BBPP, what would you have changed from that year?

MS: I can’t really say…I think the venue for this year’s bash is superior to last’s in that we have much more room – including a large space indoors to get out of the sun and have something cool to drink. I also think Will deserves a tremendous amount of credit for putting these events together, having seen firsthand now how much planning goes into a Bad Boys Pool Party. And I have to really applaud him for his past skill and effort.

HOOK: I know you have produced and acted in the past, and that you have written plays. Is there anything you are working on presently or are trying to get produced that your fans could see anytime soon?

MS: Well, I was working on a companion piece of sorts to “Girl of the Year” – my play about the Warhol Pop 60s. Problem is it’s about Hollywood in the late '60s, during the summer of the Manson murders, and I’m just having a hell of a time deciding how I want to depict this harrowing event. I do know I want it to be like the movie Carrie, which, when I saw it as a kid, made a complete ninety-degree turn mid-way through and completely threw me for a loop. I just haven’t yet found an effective way to end the lives of four very unique characters onstage without completely enraging the audience. It has to terrify and shock but not repulse.

HOOK: You said you have enjoyed most meeting people who are familiar with your work one-on-one. Is this what you found most enjoyable about your career?

MS: I’m much better with people one-on-one than performing in front of a crowd. The days when I used to perform on stage are long over. But I think the thing I found most enjoyable about the Bad Boys Pool Party was the fact that everyone was turning out for a good cause.

HOOK: How about meeting other performers, including those with whom you have not yet worked?

MS: Well, it's always interesting meeting fellow performers because they’re almost always different from their prescribed image. I’ll give you an example: I just finished a 5-day personal appearance stint down in New Orleans at the Bourbon Street Pub. Chris Steele was among the headliners and I found him to be warm, bright and completely down-to-earth – not at all like his Cops Gone Bad image. But then I always get that, too: “You’re such a nice guy!” Like what do you expect me to do? Throw you down on an exam table and fuck you the shit out of you?

HOOK: What – if anything – did Matt Sizemore really enjoy about the year 2001?

MS: I’ve enjoyed it all. By far, the people I’ve met doing gay porn are a great bunch, and don’t even compare to some of the surgeons I met in healthcare or some of the neo-Nazi production assistants I’ve had to stomach when I was slaving away in the mainstream end.

HOOK: You said you hoped to be a ‘buyer’ and not a ‘seller’ in a few years. What are your plans for Matt Sizemore and for yourself personally?

MS: My plan is to start making a living with my mind and to give my poor dick a rest! I have no qualms about being a buyer someday because that will hopefully mean I’ll have invested wisely like many of my clients. My real gift, or reason for being born on this planet, is to write. And as of yet, I haven’t truly mined that purpose for all its worth.