Porn Star Interview: Tuck Johnson

BY VINCENT LAMBERT

Tuck Johnson is sitting on the top deck of the Regal Empress cruise ship taking in a stunning view of the sea. The 26-year-old newcomer is a featured performer on the inaugural Pillage & Plunder Cruise, where he will dance before a live audience and film scenes for the Catalina release Voyager. Settling in for a chat before disembarking to spend the day in Key West, Florida, Johnson looks tanned and comfortable in shorts and a tank top.

How did you end up here as a porn star on a porn cruise?
Well, I came out to L.A. to be an actor and a model.
Where are you from?
I grew up in Thousand Oaks, California, outside L.A. where the clean air is.
And how did you get into movies?
I met this one guy, and we had a business situation where he could use my credit and my car and I could stay at his place for free. I was gonna be an extra, and I thought I could pay my expenses, but I was only getting $40 a day, so I needed money. Extra work doesn’t pay the bills. He was an escort, and he went to Numbers in L.A. And I told him I would go too. And he didn’t know, but I was getting offers and asking for $500. Then I was talking to my sister about getting a job at Paramount as a security guard and getting $13 an hour. And she said, “I babysit the children of someone who works there.” And then it dragged on, getting the application, and then I didn’t get it. The funny thing is I still wonder if I had waited maybe I could have gotten that job instead of doing porn, but it didn’t happen so…I needed money and I looked in Frontiers magazine and I saw Johnny Johnston’s, my agent, ad.
And are you enjoying it?
I don’t mind doing porn, because I try to be very mature, but for my soul it is hard. The sex gets hard.
Are you a religious person?
I’m very spiritual but not religious, if that makes sense. I believe as long as I’m a kind person, it doesn’t matter if I go heaven or not. It doesn’t matter because if God doesn’t want me for being kind, then I don’t want to be there.
So you talked to Johnny Johnston?
I called him up and went down there, and then got pictures and it went from there.
What was the first movie?
Lost Exit. It was directed by Billy Wyatt. I like the end where I mysteriously disappear.
Were you nervous about that first movie?
I was a little nervous at first.
Was it a tough decision to do it or not?
No, because right when I decided to do it, I did it. I had already thought about it.
Did you think about your family?
Well, my parents are divorced. I thought about my mom. She’ll be the last person to know.
Do you identity as gay or straight?
Actually, I’m bi. I don’t like saying that because gay people hate me ’cause I’m part straight and straight people hate me ’cause I’m part gay, but I’m attracted to both. I’m sexually attracted to women, but I want to find love with men. I can get horny with men. I know how to do it. But now with this work, I can get sex, but I’m looking for love. It’s hard with all the stuff about sexually transmitted diseases.
Did you have girlfriends?
I had girlfriends, but that is one of the reasons I like gay people but I hate fags. I put gay people into two categories: the good gay people are the nice people I like hanging out with, and the fags are the ones who only try to use people and are snooty.
And which have you met more of?
I’ve met more faggy people because of this industry. The good gay people are calm and are at their houses. And a lot of gay people, you don’t even know they’re gay because they act normal. They act straight. So, you never know.
Does your family know about your work?
No, not about porn. They think I’m acting and modeling.
Is it hard to keep it a secret?
It is and it isn’t. I’m a good actor.
Tell us about growing up. When did you first discover sex?
I guess I never knew the word “homosexuality.” When I was in fifth grade, there was this blond guy and there was something about him that I was attracted to. The funny thing is, I said something about finding him attractive and all the kids said, “Oh, my God, are you gay?” And then, that was that. The whole subject stopped right there. That was the first thing I remember. It’s hard to remember how I felt. I found him attractive. There were girls I was attracted to too.
When did you first have sex?
When I was 15, there was a girl I was friends with. We talked about sex and just did it.
What about with guys?
I thought about guys, but being gay is hard.
Why?
Because it’s not really a normal thing. You can’t really have friends. You never know if they want to be friends or just want your body. I’d love to be friends with everyone, but if I don’t want to have sex, then they get mad.
What was your first clue that you might like guys?
There was a newsstand that came to Thousand Oaks, and they had gay magazines out in the open. I looked at one and that made me think more about guys. And then I went to a club with a friend in West Hollywood. She didn’t know I liked guys. Then I saw the magazine, and it all came together. I was open to it.
Did you jerk off a lot as a kid?
When I was 20, I’d be in the library jerking off. In the restroom. (Laughs)
Did you watch a lot of porn?
I didn’t do anything gay until I was 23 years old. The first porno, I don’t remember. I did jack off to those magazines with guys when I was 20.
So how did you meet the first guy you were with?
I went to Micky’s or Rage in West Hollywood and a guy came up to me, and I had a friend and we went to his place and had a threeway. That was the first time. He was teaching me to suck dick.
How did you like it?
It was kind of weird. And he told me not to use my teeth. I was mostly scared. Unless I get horny or make myself horny, I still get nervous and shake when I’m with a guy. I don’t always enjoy it. In magazines, handsome guys turn me on, but I get nervous. That’s why I’m looking for love.
Have you had any relationships?
I’ve never had a boyfriend, I guess because I’m looking for the perfect guy.
And what is the perfect guy?
Someone who has a kind heart and is normal. Someone who doesn’t take drugs. I don’t smoke, drink or take drugs. I don’t even drink coffee. I believe health is beauty. I’m very life conscious. Don’t buy me flowers! (Laughs)
Have you had more sex onscreen than off?
Yes. I’m trying to find a guy that I’m in love with and attracted to.
So, how many movies have you done?
About 10, I think.
Any favorites?
Lost Exit. Actually, that is the only one I’ve seen. I like that I mysteriously disappear, because that is the type of person I try to be. I see all the evil in the world, and I try to do something better. I try to be a next-generation person.
Any favorite people you’ve worked with?
I like [director] Jim Steel because he’s been really nice to me.
Do you have a specific type of guy that you like?
I like the pure look, not all the muscle and such.
Are you a top or a bottom?
I prefer being a top because people usually don’t know how to fuck. (Laughs) So I’d rather top.
Do you ever watch your own movies?
I don’t really. I do watch porn, but not me. I do it to see myself better.
Is there anything special you’d like to do onscreen?
I’d like to realistically experience something that happened. I like college jocks. That is the kind of guy I want to fall in love with. And if I could have sex with a straight guy in a football uniform or in his truck, that would turn me on.
How would you define your image?
Very athletic. Very strong. Like that image from Lost Exit—that I am strong, but I am also mysterious.
What do you see for the future? Will you stay in the industry?
My plan is to do this and make as much money as possible. I want to go to school and become a mechanical engineer. And because of how I feel about sex, it’s not really a job I can tell my mom about, so it’s probably not something I can stay with.
Do you ever think about the repercussions of doing porn?
I don’t think I’ll have a problem with that, except if I want to be an actor or a model, which I would love to do—more of a model because I like those kind of people. I’m afraid that some news jerk might tell everyone I was in porn and ruin it. I don’t care if people know, but I don’t want someone telling everyone and hurting me.
How do you feel knowing that people are jerking off to your image?
I don’t really have a problem with it. It’s just a job. I go there and try to do my job better and hopefully get a raise. It doesn’t phase me. I guess the only problem with the porn industry is if I am looking for love and [my potential lover] is not in the porn industry and what he thinks of that. That’s what I really want. I want to fall in love and wake up in the morning and look in his eyes and say, “I love you.”

Reprinted from Manshots magazine (2000)