BY VINCENT LAMBERT
There’s one question that everyone asks when you say that you’ve met porn superstar Tom Katt: Was he hairy or smooth? It seems that after five years in the movie business, this muscle-bound screen stud still manages to keep his audience guessing. But on a recent stop in New York for an appearance at the Eros Theatre, Katt made it clear that when it comes to speaking his mind, there is no guessing involved.
The 26-year-old actor got his start in the porn business in 1991 when he met and was offered a job by the owner of Fox Studios (which briefly renamed him Thom Payne). “I jumped in with both feet,” Katt says. “You hear stories about people getting suckered into it or all that shit, but it was never anything like that for me. I figured, what the hell? I’m young—someday I’ll be old and saggy. You only live once. I don't view this as being something wrong and terrible. I feel no guilt for anything I've done, even though certain sectors of society might want to push that feeling on me and my peers in this business.”
Born and raised in Georgia, Katt grew up in an Italian/French household. “But it wasn’t hard-core,” he laughs. “You wouldn't go to my house and see it as a scene out of The Godfather or anything. We weren’t that bad.” Besides the 20 films he’s appeared in, including Abduction 2:The Conflict (Falcon) and Total Corruption 2 (HIS), Katt has also pursued a career as a bodybuilder. When he’s not working as a personal trainer, he spends most of his time preparing for his next competition. In November, he will head to Italy to vie for the amateur Mr. Universe title. “I have a competitive streak in me,” Katt says. “I just can’t get rid of it.”
However, working in gay skin flicks hasn’t exactly been helpful to his bodybuilding career. Katt, never one to mince words, turns serious. “Let’s face it, this is the closed-minded U.S.A. What a lot of people do behind closed doors—which is no different from what I do on film—they’ll crucify me for. It’s very hypocritical. On the amateur level, in this country, it hasn’t hurt me. Professionally, I don't think it’s possible to compete here, so I’ll go to Europe. This isn't the only country that has bodybuilding.”
And if he had to choose between a life of powerlifting or powerfucking for the camera? “I enjoy both careers,” Katt says, “but let’s face it—the sun rises and sets a lot quicker in porno. I don't think I’m too much of an old has-been yet, but I don't want to push it to the point where I’m old and tired and everyone is sick of me.”
Although Katt says that he’s bisexual, his work sometimes proves problematic when it comes to the romance department. “It’s impossible to be in a relationship in this business,” he says. “It’s like, ‘I love you, honey, but I’m gonna go get fucked in a movie, see ya later—kiss.’ I wouldn’t want someone to do that to me, and I wouldn’t do it to someone else. I’d like to be in a steady relationship, who wouldn't? I hope it’ll happen eventually.”
In the meantime, Katt keeps a low profile and takes his celebrity in stride. He still lives in Georgia and stays close to his family. “I don't go to them and say, ‘Hey, Pops, check out my new movie.’ I've shown them some magazines I was in. People around me know. I don't make a point of flaunting it. I don't make a point of hiding it either. If they know, they know; if they don't, they don't. If they have a problem with it, they can kiss my ass.”
As he preps for his next bodybuilding competition, Katt has been touring as a dancer and fielding movie offers, including a possible teaming with Ryan Idol and Ken Ryker. “I’m nowhere near the point of being jaded,” he says. “I’m still having a great time.”
As he looks down at his baby-smooth chest, Katt laughs, “Yeah, a gang of thugs tackled me and shaved me!”
Got it, guys? Smooth.
Reprinted from HX magazine (1996)
