4 Male Porn Stars Who Seem Like Awesome People

The first time I had ever really watched porn porn was on a first date. I was hanging out with a guy and he made a joke about the Pirates of the Caribbean porn parody and I was like, LOL there's no way that exists and he was like, IT DOES, and I was like SHOW ME, and he was like OK, BUT ARE YOU SURE? You guys, I was sure. He was good with computers so within a few minutes of torrent-magic (enough time for me to finish the takeout we ordered, because it didn't seem appropriate to eat during porn), we were watching greasy, toned, orange people have sex with each other. And sword fight! There were sword fights. This night was especially memorable because it was also the first time that I experienced seeing a one of the best male porn stars: Evan Stone. He's legit: 11 AVN awards, 1542 movies under his belt (heh), and the privilege of being the male on CNBC's 2011 list of "Porn's Most Popular Stars."

But looking at Stone (through my fingers, a few times), I was like like, why? How? Why?

It's clear that porn is made for and targeted at men, because this is a man's idea of a good looking man: 'roidy, with Fabio hair, and a general GI Joe aesthetic.

Cut to me reading a story about James Deen in a shockingly reputable magazine a year later. It included his picture, and I was beyond confused to see a normal looking— dare I say, attractive?—guy.

"We have to see what this guy is about," I told my boyfriend later that night, once again while eating out of a styrofoam box of takeout. (Takeout + porn=modern romance?). We only made it a few minutes into a Kink.com video that involved a lot of drooling before turning it off to have a debate about objectification (sexy). But even so, a few key elements of Deen stuck with me, and it didn't surprise me in the least when he made a mainstream movie and started getting interviewed for think pieces. Porn made him famous, but it was his articulateness, sense of humor, and plain niceness made Deen a total media darling.

Maybe Deen paved the way for other "normal" guys in porn, or maybe casting directors finally got the memo that chicks watch porn too (and we're not super into huge, orange, and greasy as a type). But whatever the reason, a series of "could be your boyfriend"-type male porn stars have steadily emerged, and they're doing awesome things in and out of porn.

Speaking for women, it's frickin' delightful.

So, despite the fact that there is no shortage of hot guys in porn, let's take a minute to appreciate the stars that seem like cool as hell humans, too. Here's a few of our favorite nice guy porn stars and some of the cool stuff they're doing:

1. James Deen

James Deen totally seems like he could be your boyfriend: funny, sweet, easy on the eyes... he's basically a more accessible, less wholesome Ryan Gosling. Deen's appearances on female-friendly shows like Just Between Us and The Girl Spot are incredibly charming, and he spits some real talk about body image—and specifically vagina esteem--that are guaranteed to melt you into a puddle of feels.

(Note: Combine the sweetness with videos where he confidently busts out some whips and chains and some serious dirty talk, and you now fully understand the good boy/bad boy appeal. But let's focus on the good for now.)

As if you needed another reason to like him, Deen's also a philanthropist. For boobs, specifically. In October, he donated half of his websites' earnings directly to breast cancer research—even going as far as to get the three nonprofits he partnered with to assure him the money would go to "research and medicine and health, as opposed to advertising and shady stuff.".

He also participated in AIDSWalkLA in September, and raised $15,000 for the cause with the rest of the Adult Performer Advocacy Committee team (APAC) (which isn't surprising, because who would say no to that face?).

Love ya, double D!

2. Keni Styles

If ever there was a way for me to succinctly describe how much and how deeply women love Keni Styles, let it be with this statement: Dodai Stewart of Jezebel has a crush on him.

This guy has more going for him than abs, tats, and a devastating British accent: he's vocal about wanting to focus more on female pleasure in his scenes, speaks out against "facials," and, oh yeah, he donates his social proceeds to charity.

But that's just one part of why people love him: he's also done a lot for the Asian community by rejecting work that hinges on stereotypes (though he has started his fair share of scenes as a "computer geek... delivery boy... karate instructor"). He also does some, um, physical mythbusting.

Jokes aside, Styles takes the title of porn's biggest Asian actor seriously, and has said that, "“On every single set and in every single scene, I know that I’m repping a whole ethnic group of men. I have the weight of them looking, feeling, and being respected sexually on my shoulders." All in a day's work.

3. Logan Pierce

A member of the new "boy next door" class of porn actors, Pierce actually does seem pretty normal. He's the star of a recent viral video on Elite Daily that pictures him hiking and blogging at home, and even sounding slightly lonely. "I'd like to have a relationship with a female outside of porn. But porn kind of offers you the best sex you'll ever have. So, what do you do?"

He takes his average-guy-in-the-totally-surreal-world-of-porn thing to his blog, Who is Logan?, which is home to stories and poems about life in and out of the industry. Of course it's the industry that provides the most interesting personal dilemmas. "You'll be so romantically linked, and once it's all over, and the director yells "Cut!", you're like uh, "Nice working with you... guess I'll catch you later."" Pierce seems to be building his reputation as a writer, though, and with pieces on Elite Daily, Total Frat Move, and Huffington Post Germany, he may have a second career in the works if he ever decides to leave porn.

4. Danny Wylde

Danny Wylde is a self described pornographer, writer, musician, and filmmaker. But perhaps most important to the internet are his writings (including an essay included in The Feminist Porn Book) and his video contributions to the Make Love Not Porn movement.

In a piece for Medium (where Danny also riffs on street harassment and general human decency), he describes the difference between "porn" sex scenes and sex-sex:

"...We were obviously into each other, we made out a lot, and we had fun. Still, I opened my hip and pulled at the side of her ass so the camera could get a better view of penetration. I leaned back when the photographer approached me from behind to allow him a “point-of-view” shot. These are things I would never do in real life. They aren’t practical and they don’t make the sex better for me or my partner.

If you compare the above scenario to the video I submitted with my real-life partner to MakeLoveNotPorn.TV, you will see some differences. I don’t open my hip. I don’t pull her ass to the side. Often, you don’t see the penetration at all. Our bodies are much closer to each other.

...From a fantasy standpoint, gangbangs look great when they’re pulled off well. It’s over-the-top sexual bravado. The pornographic equivalent of a Michael Bay film. Proof that no matter the medium, people enjoy spectacle.

Are any of these films better than the other? Objectively speaking, “No.” ....[but] part of growing up and learning should be the ability to tell the difference. Because yes, you can watch an action movie and then go out and shoot people. But it’s a terrible idea. And you should fucking know better."

Wylde also directs non-pornographic films and performs in a synthetic metal band, Chiildren.

Editor's note: Since the publication of this article, James Deen has been accused of sexual assault by several women. He has responded by saying the allegations are false.

Images: Giphy, Logan Pierce (@WhoisLogan)/Twitter, Danny Wylde (@dannywylde)/Twitter