SexHerald: How was your recent trip to the Venus Fair Sex Show in Berlin?

Jessica Drake: Wow! Berlin was amazing. It was my third year there, and this year we were able to stay at a much better area at a much nicer hotel. I really feel I got to see a lot more of the city than I usually do. That convention is amazing. It’s like a circus there. There’s so much going on. And it’s probably the biggest adult convention I’ve ever been to.

SH: How do the European fans differ from American fans?

Drake: I think European fans are just used to slightly different things than what we’re used to. It’s so much more liberal over there. You can get away with so much more. But, I also think they are very interested in the features side of the business. Over here, we do some really beautiful movies that are very story driven. They’re very beautiful still with really good sex. I think over the past few years, we’ve definitely sparked some interest over in the European markets. Wicked’s definitely branching out over there, and I saw a big shift in interest.

The first year I went there, some people knew who I was and a lot of people knew who Wicked was. The second year that I was there a lot of people knew who I was, and a lot of people knew who Wicked was. And this year, every time I went onto the little platform that we were on to go and sign, a crowd just immediately gathered and everybody started screaming, “Jessica, Jessica!” It was really cool. I think also fans here in America know that they do have the opportunity to meet adult stars whether it’s in Vegas at the AVN show or they come out to Erotica LA, and they can also see their favorite stars if they feature dance. I think guys in Europe don’t have that option. So when we are over there, it’s that much of a bigger deal. It’s so rare that they get to meet us.

SH: Movie-wise, you’ve been in a lot of big Wicked movies this past year from Mobsters Ball, Delilah, co-directing Coming Home, and now The Craving? Do you have a favorite among them?

Drake: I would have to say visually, and for its art direction and for the sheer fantasy of it, I would have to say The Craving. But I would also say that I think Coming Home is the best movie that Brad Armstrong has ever done. I was really glad to be a part of that. I watched the behind the scenes for Coming Home last night, and I was just remembering how tough that movie was to shoot, and how great it came together, and how proud of it I am.

SH: It’s a great film, but your best performance I believe was in Delilah.

Drake: A lot of people are saying that, and after I won best actress for Manhunters, and then in 2005 I won best actress for Fluff & Fold, I really would love to win one more acting award before I’m all done with this. I watched Delilah before it was even done being cut, and I thought, “Wow, that’s really a stretch for me,” because I’m usually pretty nice. [Laughs] Pretty sweet in real life unless you catch me on a bad day. When I saw my performance in Delilah, I thought, “Wow, what a bitch!” [Laughs]

SH: I know that you like to research the roles you play. How did you research and prepare for Delilah?

Drake: That was kind of hard. I watched Fatal Attraction. I watched a couple of movies that were a little bit more geared to maybe crazy, bitchy women. I drew a little bit from all of that. I also took some acting classes and I learned that when you play a part, if you’re not to do it too over the top, it’s really tough to find the happy ground here, but you draw on every either positive or negative experience you’ve had in your life. So, a lot of what came out in Delilah was a lot of anger and a lot of frustration that I feel as a woman I have never been able to let go of. So, that was kind of like a creative outlet for me to get rid of all my bad energy. [Laughs] I know there were a couple of days I definitely took it home with me. But it’s hard when you act that part all day for four, five, six, seven, eight days. It carries over a little because you go home and you’re still snapping at people, and you’re giving them that evil look. [Laughs] It’s a like a perpetual PMS state. [Laughs]

I just really like acting. It’s one of my favorite things about this business, is the ability to step into another role and to be another person. It’s really fun. I think a lot of people are like that. It’s like a higher form of dress up, and you get to explore different parts of yourself.

SH: Why do you research your roles so thoroughly?

Drake: A long time ago I was doing a movie for Brad Armstrong called The Collector. I found out that the more personally involved in a movie I was, the better I liked the outcome. I like feeling involved more creatively, and that has never been more evident than it was when we shot Curse Eternal. I got on the Internet, I did a bunch of research, and coincidentally, the King Tut exhibit was at the museum here in LA. I took a look at that as well, because it is a movie about a mummy. I was an archeologist and I wanted to research that as well. I just think that being that much more prepared makes me assume the character a lot better. I’m super flexible. I was sure of that when I did Delilah and I was able to play such a bitch. But before that, it’s knowing how to sound educated when I did Curse Eternal. Like I never once looked at the footage from Curse and thought, “Oh, I sound like I’m reading.” Or, “I don’t know what I’m talking about.” I really believed myself.

And with Manhunters, I became I certified fugitive recovery agent. I took a course, granted it was online, but still I did all the work on it. And I had to take a test and take a big exam at the end. So I’m a certified FRA, and I’m also certified in strategies of surveillance. I learned a lot. That was even helpful when Brad was writing the movie, and I was able to say, “This is the word you would use in this instance.” And if you’re making up stuff in order to go and track down a fugitive, you would call that pretexting. So there’s accuracy in terms. I got it from him. He really does a lot of the same things.

SH: I’ve noticed in other interviews your career before Wicked is rarely mentioned. So let me ask you, before signing with Wicked how would you describe your career as?

Drake: Well here, this is an analogy that I’ve used before. Was I good actress already? Yes. Was I a strong sex performer? I really think that I was. I just think that I had the ingredients but I didn’t have someone to put those ingredients together. I don’t think I could have attained the level that I have without Wicked at all. And it doesn’t bother me that my career before Wicked is never discussed, because I don’t really think that I could have had all of this had it not been for me signing with them. And I’ve been with Wicked a little over four years. As long as I do adult, I’ll never work for another adult company. It wouldn’t make sense. Why would I leave something that’s so perfect for me. Every huge thing I’ve done, I look back over the years and I’ve done some pretty amazing things. I’ve had so many amazing opportunities. I’ve traveled all over the world. I just got back from Berlin, and next month I’m in the UK again. I’m in London. I was in London last year as well. I’ve been to Australia, New Zealand, next year it will be Norway. Just everywhere. I love to travel and I love to see new things and meet people and understand how the business works all over the world. I’ve just learned so much here.

SH: If you hadn’t signed with Wicked, would you still be in the adult business today?

Drake: I do but the only reason why I say that is because there were two other companies that were courting me right before I signed with Wicked. They were both going after me pretty seriously. I didn’t approach any of these companies. I was actually of the mindset that I would stay independent and fuck away a fair share of money. And then go ahead and do whatever came naturally to me next. I didn’t have any definite career plans. And then these other companies started approaching me and I started talking to them. I ended up talking to one of them pretty seriously, and right before I did sign with them, both Brad Armstrong and Jonathan Morgan called me and said, “Rumor has it that you’re getting ready to sign with someone. Have you?” And I said, “No, I haven’t.” They said, “Do yourself a favor, and us too, please come in and talk to us.” So I met with the owner of Wicked on a Friday afternoon, as the office was closing, and after meeting with him I realized that everything I was saying that I wanted to accomplish was everything he was offering me. It really made negotiations with the other company impossible, so I knew leaving here that Friday afternoon, there wasn’t much question in my mind. I let the weekend past by just so I could deal with it, sleep on it if you will. And that was that. It was done and my mind was made up.

SH: Do you have a favorite non-Wicked movie that you’re proud of?

Drake: You know what? I would have to say . . . I did a move for Sin City called Adrenaline. I haven’t watched it in a while but I do know that it was a pretty cool little movie, tight cast, and a very, very cool little story. It definitely stood out in my mind. A couple of movies that I did with one of the companies that was trying to sign me. But of course, I would rather mention a Wicked movie any day. [Laughs] But I can tell you that before I got into the business I saw movies like Flashpoint, Conquest, and really took a great interest in knowing that the adult industry was so much more than bad porn.

I was always very interested in sex. I was always very sexually curious, and very experimental when I was growing up. I wasn’t too young when I lost my virginity, and it’s not like I slept with a million guys. I only slept with two or three guys before I first started college but we did it everywhere. We did it six ways to Sunday. I experimented, I slept with girls, and I did everything I could. I was always really open-minded but the first adult movies I was exposed to were really crappy. I was strictly watching them for the penetration, and that was it. I found myself very aroused. Then later on down the line, when I realized you can have a movie like that, and it could be beautiful and it could be artistic, and you could see that nasty penetration which I live for, I was like, “Wow, that’s what I want to do.” I was a bit of a freak from an early age.

SH: In another interview, you’ve said that you want to understand every aspect of the business before you could call yourself a director. Why is that very important to you?

Drake: Because I think that the majority of talent that decides that they are directors have no idea what they’re doing. It’s that simple and I know that I do need to look down the line and figure out what it is I want to do when I’m not on camera anymore. I’ve been writing a lot. I’ve done maybe 10 scripts, four of which we’ve already shot. I’ve pretty much gotten that down. What I’m doing right now is I’m writing a movie for each girl that we have because I want to see if I can cater to each specific girl’s abilities.

I don’t like just writing a script and then trying to squeeze someone into the part. I like writing with people in mind because it’s so much better, I find, when I do that. I also don’t want to be the girl who looks into the monitor and says, “Oh, I don’t like the way that looks,” but I have no idea how to fix it. I want people to watch my movies and say, “Oh, I see that she has a distinct style that’s emerging.” I want my name as a director to be branded with a particular style. Not simply, “Here, look at Jessica Drake’s movie that she sort of directed.”

SH: So you’ve written a lot of scripts and have extensive experience behind the scenes. Can we now call you a director?

Drake: Yes, absolutely. The movie that I have been really attached to, that I believe is going to be my first solo, directing effort, is called Burnout. Burnout has been in the works for a long time. There are two reasons why I’ve been holding back on it. The first reason is because I originally wrote it for myself, and then I decided it might not be the greatest idea to try to direct my first movie myself and star in it as well. So now the problem lies within who to cast in the lead role. Secondly, it’s a weather movie. We’re shooting a lot of it outside and I need warmer weather so I don’t make all my people freeze in the cold.

SH: If we could shift gears a bit, is it difficult managing a relationship while you’re in the industry?

Drake: I’m really happy where I am right now. And obviously, we do have a relationship. As a general rule, and I don’t mean any disrespect, I don’t really go on record talking about it. I think that is part of the success of the relationship. But no, I don’t have a problem . . . we don’t have an issue with the industry. If anything, I really enjoy helping him create, and I think that he is—he’s in the room right now so he can hear me—but I think he is an amazing, creative filmmaker that anything I can do that helps him, and concentrate on creating is just icing on the cake. So I think we actually have one of the better relationships.

SH: And with that we won’t go any further with anything else personal.

Drake: It’s OK. I’ll talk about anything, mostly. I learned while I was married to Evan Stone for four years . . . we were so in the public eye all the time. We did so many interviews together and it got so crazy. He was one way during an interview and he was definitely another way at home. It was just very difficult to be that way and always have people around the relationship in a public arena. It was just not good for us.

SH: Do you see your performing days coming to an end anytime soon?

Drake: I figure I’m going to have sex on camera as long as I look good. I’m still so into what I’m doing, I’ve never had a problem doing this. I don’t get wasted, I certainly don’t drink and perform at the same time. I’m really very OK with myself; I don’t really see a reason to stop. I would say three or four years. Hopefully, gravity doesn’t take over two weeks from now and everything hits the floor, but I think I have another three or four years.

SH: I’ll be jerking off to your movies till then.

Drake: Hopefully. [Laughs]

SH: It’s one of your goals as a performer is to get men and women off?

Drake: Absolutely. Absolutely. When I get fan mail to that effect, I say, “Good, I’m doing my job.”

SH: Do you ever feel creeped out when guys say stuff like that? I’m asking you, not Jessica Drake the pornstar.

Drake: No. I’m pretty happy with it. I think it’s very flattering. It’s kind of a turn-on for me. It kind of strokes my ego a little bit as they’re stroking them. I’ve never been uncomfortable with it. The only level of uncomfortability that I’ve ever had is . . .  I have gotten some rather interesting, very descriptive fan mail. But even that . . . if somebody is emailing me about how much they like the fact that my doll can hold their weight in any position and they can make sweet love to it, and dress it up and they’re telling me the size shoes my doll wears, and how they like to corset and put stockings on me, well that’s still good because I’m helping that person out with their sex life, and isn’t that what I’m here for in the first place? I have to look at it good all the way around. It’s all good.

SH: After your performing days, do you still wish to remain in the adult business?

Drake: Yeah, of course. I might direct exclusively, like only direct. I’m interested . . . the more I do this foreign travel, I’m pretty interested in sales and stuff that that goes on actually in the office. That’s a million times harder than what I’m doing right now but it’s very interesting to me. I want to learn a lot more about that, too. We’ll see. That part I haven’t decided yet.

SH: What would you credit as being the reason for your long career in the business?

Drake: I would say that it’s my attitude and my willingness to make this a success combined with the proven formula of Wicked. Along the way, I’ve had several people that I would call good influences for whatever reason. They’re people that I’ve been motivated by one way or another in whichever direction. But I would say I could never have done it without being a Wicked girl. Not at all. I hosted the AVN Awards. I never thought I would do that. I remember the first time I went staring at that stage, seeing what a big deal it was. I remember the first time I presented an award and then I did it. It was the biggest rush I’ve ever had in my entire life—to stand on that stage and present somebody with an AVN Award. I was trembling but a good kind of trembling. It made me so happy.

And I’ve done a lot of live radio and live TV work. That’s something I could see myself doing long term if the offer ever came around. I would really be interested in that. But when I had the opportunity to host the AVN Awards, it was probably one of the biggest things I’ll ever do.

SH: Is there anything you’d do over again in this business? Any regrets?

Drake: If I had to do it all over again, I would not have let someone I was in a relationship with influence as many of my career decisions as I let him do. That’s obviously not the person I’m with now but the person I was with before. I never really worked for anybody that I didn’t mean to work for. I didn’t really find myself compromised as talent or exploited as talent. I only did things I was comfortable doing. I only had sex with people I wanted to have sex with. And that was before I was with Wicked, too. I decided that I would maintain a certain level of things I was comfortable with. And if something went against my grain, I didn’t do it. I never did a condomless scene. I decided I’m only going to work with condoms, that’s the way it’s going to be and I stuck to it. That would probably be the only regret that I have is just letting somebody make my business decisions for me.