Twenty Questions with Superstar Performer/Director Kayden Kross

Kayden Kross Appearing at Vivid Gentlemen's Club in Houston Tonight Through Sunday!

Superstar performer/director Kayden Kross will be appearing for her first time at Vivid Gentlemen's Club in Houston, starting tonight and running through until Sunday, and if you are in the area, Kross and husband Manuel Ferrara are currently creating great porn for his production company that is distributed through Evil Angel, and they share a great podcast as well. Formerly a Digital Playground contract performer, Kayden Kross did an AVN Award winning scene in "Body Heat," and you should check it out ASAP. Here are her answers to twenty questions, answered in an email interview: 

What kind of girl were you back in high school? Who did you date and hang around with?

"I was shy. I was on the varsity tennis team, though in hindsight I probably wasn't great at the sport. I had an after school job at McDonalds and was a part of FFA. It was a pretty plain American existence. Though I did seem to be a little more daring in the dating circle than my friends. Probably because they were even more involved in FFA than I was..."

Were you a porn fan before you got into the industry? Who were your favorite porn stars/favorite porn movies?

"I was not. I never watched porn before porn. Jenna Jameson was someone I was a fan of, but really only because I'd heard of her and it made sense to want to be like her (at the time) if I was going to follow her career path."

What do you think shaped you into the performer/director that you are today?

"My favorite short stories and writers shape the work that I do behind the camera. Some of the characters evoke very strong feelings and I'd like to see that come to life on the screen. As a performer I'm probably most shaped by all of the contact I've had with Manuel Ferrara at this point. I know what he values in a performer, and I tend to do those things now."

How would you describe your creative relationship with Manuel Ferrara? Being married is one thing, but making movies and releasing his sexuality on porno newbies has to be something special…

"Manuel and I have very different approaches, but they blend perfectly. With dialogue, I've sort of learned that the key is to cut the last three lines that he thinks of out of the script and instead try to get that message across in some other way. When I care, he cares more about a project, and it ends up receiving the full attention from us both. The Casting Couch line we've been doing is a lot of fun because our taste in women is so different. Sometimes I book a girl that he would never consider and then she ends up being someone he books a few times more. Sometimes that doesn't happen though, and then he makes fun of me."

Who is your favorite female performer to shoot so far and why?

"I really loved shooting both Carter Cruise and Misha Cross. They both gave their all to the respective projects we made around them and both had a sort of slow burn on screen that was mesmerizing."

What can you share about your upcoming projects?

"I'm very very excited to be directing a star showcase for a new production company in November. I can't say yet who the performer is, but I can say that she's stellar."

What have you seen change most within your time in the industry?

"I think the type of performer who enters the industry and becomes successful has changed, but that's just a symptom of a drastically changed industry. When I came in, performers were turning down work or regularly double booking themselves just to keep up with the demand. These days most performers aren't working as much as they'd like."

What fetishes do you have that you haven’t yet shot or is there a particular kink that you want to put in a future release?

"I like psychological power play. I think if the tension is illustrated well then the result is much more dynamic than any sort of bondage."

What is one thing that you think that a lot of porn directors get wrong about the way that they create a scene?

"They overwrite their dialogue. Most of the time it feels like porn dialogue isn't so much about character interaction as it is about plainly stating the plot."

What do you enjoy most about featuring at Vivid’s Gentlemen’s Clubs?

"This is my first one! I'll let you know."

What do you think are “must-own” DVDs for fans of your work?

"The two Wide Open titles that I've done in the past year or so. In both I have a scene, but I also wrote them and co-directed them with Manuel. They are Misha Cross Wide Open and Carter Cruise Wide Open."

When will fans see you performing on camera again next?

"I just shot a scene for a new line we're doing this week, so I guess they'll see it when it releases in a couple of months."

What do you enjoy most about feature dancing as a whole?

"Feature dancing is a mini-vacation. I get to travel to a city that I otherwise wouldn't have probably found a reason to go to and the daytime is all mine to explore and be an annoying tourist. Also, the other dancers at the clubs I visit are always fun to meet. It seems like every city has a slightly different flavor of stripper."

Who are your role models in porn and how/why do they inspire you?

"I remember really looking up to Savanna Samson when I first came in. I was also completely starstruck by Jesse Jane."

What do you like to do for fun?

"Books and horses. Some things never change."

What is the best mainstream movie you have seen recently?

"There's a French film that Manuel drug me to called "The Prophet." It was very very good. And if we're counting documentaries, I just watched the King of Kong. It's like watching the movie Dodgeball unfold in real life."

How about the best porno movie? Is there someone whose movies you like to watch who is working now?

"I don't really watch other people's movies, although I should. There's only so much time in the day."

If you could give any advice to a man on how to be better at pleasuring a woman, what would it be?

"Treat the clit like a tiny dick, and remember it has twice as many nerve endings."

What celebrities would you most want on your casting couch? Give us your male and female choices.

"I think Margot Robbie is fun to look at, and lately Tom Hardy has been absolutely fascinating to me."

Is there anything you want to say to your fans here at Fleshbot?

"Thanks for reading, fans! Buy my Fleshlight. It's super fun."

All of the images here appear courtesy of Kross.