October 3, 2007 | Porn Stars

Collin O'Neal: The hardest working man in porn

BG Exclusive interview!
There are many people in the industry we would love to interview but Collin O'Neal tops the list. Experienced both in front of the camera and behind the scenes, and with a reputation of being as sweet as he is sexy, we knew we had to corner him for a friendly prodding. (Minds out of the gutters, people!)  

Besides, who could possibly be better at offering insight into the industry we all love so much? He's been in several successful videos, including "Skuff Down," and "the Show." He has produced his own line of adult movies, showcasing hot men from around the world. He has his own super hot website, CollinOneal.com. There's little this man hasn't done!

Of course, we could prattle on ad infinitum, but why don't we let Collin talk for himself. From being arrested in the Dominican Republic to his views on bareback porn to his Chinese fan, see what Colin has to say after the jump...  

BananaGuide: Who is Collin O'Neal?

Collin O'Neal: Collin is a slightly extroverted extension of who I really am in my personal life. There are definitely situations where Collin has to remind himself that he is Collin and not be so shy

Reading through past interviews you've given, you mention being quite shy. How did you get started in a business where you need to be the center of attention?

Yes, in person I am very shy. I have a profile on a gay social website with part of my screen name being “shy” and people are either very curious or lash out at me with sarcastic remarks. I struggled very long and hard (no pun intended) with the idea of doing porn. I had to get over some major issues and being shy was definitely one of them. Everyone knows by now that my ex-boyfriend Arpad Miklos kinda financially strained us by not taking a job when I moved him to Miami to be with me so he proposed porn since he had done it before and I really resisted. Even on the plane ride to San Francisco I was still thinking of pulling out. I recently thanked Arpad for kinda pushing me into porn.

Do you remember your first time on the set -- what was that like?

I was very surprised about how comfortable I was on the set. Steven Scarborough was the director and he was very gentle and accommodating to me in addition to having my boyfriend Arpad with me and this hot little muscle Russian bottom. There were some parts of the scene I could not watch, but once we got into the sex I was fine… it was comfortable and not as weird, nasty or degrading as I thought it would be.

What has kept you in the business? Still as shy as you were before you started?

There are three reasons for my continued venture into porn. First, and foremost, is my desire to make a different kind of porn and combine my love of travel and men from around the world. The second reason is that I felt betrayed by my first career choice. I was involved in international politics and the Bush Administration was just impossible to deal with. The third reason is that I loved to travel too much and even though I worked for a University that had generous vacation and personal time, 5 weeks was not enough for me. I wanted to determine my work hours, vacation time, and general freedom from an office and a boss. FYI- I work MUCH harder now, but I LOVE what I do.

What brings you the most enjoyment from your job?

Treating models with respect and generosity. I love to take American models overseas and I love to take my local models to nice dinners and show them a lifestyle that they are not usually accustomed to. Oh, and hearing great feedback on your products from random people, reviewers, and then winning awards and having Kathy Griffin use your sound bite about Middle Eastern politics just really makes me feel extremely proud of my life and work.

What could you do without?

About 30% of the flying I do. I travel the world looking for hot ethnic men and this takes a toll on me, but then I still book personal vacations that include international air travel.

Who was your favorite co-star and why?

Well, I hand picked all of my co stars so I liked almost all of them. I am partial to a recent scene partner: Dakota Rivers. You can see him on my website very soon.

Dakota Rivers

In front of the camera, or behind the scenes -- what do you enjoy most? Why?

I enjoy watching the chemistry between my models. Lack of model chemistry is one major reason I started my own porn company. There is nothing more exciting than to watch two guys have sex like they would as boyfriends or as if they had just met and had an extreme attraction to each other.

You travel -- a lot! -- do you find much difference in the men you meet around the world? Favorite men?

There is a ton of difference between men from around the world. I can definitely let you all know that gay men are not the same around the world, but they share some of the same values. There are two points that I like to analyze about gay men when I go to a country. The first point is their political/social views. For example, I go to many countries that are not very friendly towards the US and I try to figure out if the political views of the country trickle down to the general population and then to gay men. In most countries gay men are usually more progressive in their knowledge of world politics, but I have been shocked by some “progressive” gay men. Serbia and Syria are two countries that even some gay men have been influenced by their governments respectively.

Now for the juice. The second point I look at is how sexually different men are. In some countries such as the Dominican Republic, Syria and Lebanon men try their best to hide their homosexuality and their asses are usually off limits even for light play. The men that stand out the most for me are Serbians for their height and thick bone structure, Lebanese and Syrians for their strikingly masculine facial features, Dominicans for their long thick beautiful cocks, Nicaraguans for their fat cocks, Hungarians for having a disproportionate amount of men with gorgeous perfect cocks, and Brazilians for having a passion for sex.

If you could shoot on location somewhere that you haven't yet been able where would it be? Why?

Malta is on my mind. I recently went to Malta and was astounded by the sexiness of the men and the country is just an amazing setting for a porn film.

What is it that you bring to the table? How are Collin O'Neal's shoots unique?

In this day and age of porn competition is extremely tough. The customer base is looking for something different and the day of gloss is losing ground very quickly. When I started my business I had to ask myself this exact question or I knew I would fail. I bring to the table a mix of amateur and professional porn by using harsher lighting, unique camera angles and matching models that have chemistry with each other.

My shoots are unique because I shoot on location always. I refuse to shoot something in my home town of Miami Beach and call it “Dominican Republic” you know. I take risks to get some hot locations such as when I filmed in a bombed out building just outside Beirut, a canyon near a heavily militarized Jordanian resort city, a mountain lodge in rural Serbia and a dark underground part of London. I have this style of porn shooting I coined “renegade porn” where I put both my models and myself in slight danger to get great shots. However, if I feel any bit of danger then it is time to pull up the pants and run…and that has happened a few times. Recently my crew was arrested in the Dominican Republic (a $180 bribe gets you released in the DR) and a bunch of my models, my crew and me were held by Lebanese secret service for 2 hours.

What do you hope people get out of the porn you make?

I hope people take away from my porn a renewed excitement for porn. As you can tell I use many models that have never been seen before and I insist my models are attracted to each other so in a good 98% of my porn you see sensual interactions between the models. I also want people to continue to be educated through porn about sexual practices so I just cannot justify bareback porn.

There is a lot of controversy surrounding barebacking. Why do you feel as strongly as you do about it?

I believe the porn industry is part of sex education for young gays. I know many people involved in the bareback industry argue against the “monkey see monkey do” concept, but I defiantly do not. People even argue about the fact people do not go out and kill when they see a violent movie, but look at our world today! I was in Lebanon last year during the war and saw death and destruction and just look what is happening in Iraq, Afghanistan and Darfur to mention a few. People see and people do. People see violence and then re-enact violence. So, when young gays see people having bareback sex they go and try it. When bareback companies are advertised on storefronts and are the first movies you see when you go into the porn shop basically you will pick it up and then want to try it. HIV may be more manageable these days (the side effects of the drugs have yet to be completely known) but isn’t our goal to eradicate HIV? I guess herpes, hepatitis, and syphilis have been eradicated, right? Now, unsafe sex is not something that we as an industry should promote.

As well, with the recent passing of Danny Roddick and some of the troubles faced by other men in the industry, what responsibility do studios have, if any, to take care of their actors?

This is going to sound rough maybe, but models are employees just like in any other profession. I think in the porn industry studios have more concern over their contracted employees (models) than any other industry though. When I worked for the major studios I heard talk about a model’s drug use or such in a very concerned matter. Personally, I have seen my models blow through money like crazy and then call me begging for more money…yes, I have caved in. I think studios should show concern and definitely voice their concerns one on one with the model. However, when a model leaves the set or company property the model is ultimately responsible for his own destiny….it is very unfortunate, but I also think the problems that some porn models have had lately, especially problems that result in death, are not unusual in this day and age among both straights and gays.

On a lighter topic, have you experienced any strange reactions from people who thought they knew you? Fans?

The strangest reaction I have had is shyness. I have people look and then write me on bigmuscle or MySpace and tell me that they saw me somewhere. Just recently I was at a store in San Juan and some hot muscular Latin was looking at me and then later a friend of mine called me and told me that this guy told him he saw me and was all excited (too bad he did not get excited in person and come talk to me!). The strangest meeting with a fan was in China. A Chinese guy found me on bigmuscle and constantly wrote me so when I went to China I let him know, but he lives in a city that was not on my itinerary. Ironically though, my travel agent booked me a ticket from Lhasa to Beijing via Chengdu (the city he lives in). He came out to the airport to see me and was just beside himself that Collin O’Neal was in Chengdu and brought me gifts of underwear, socks and candies.

What is your next project?

My next film out will be Santo Domingo then Edinburgh and early next year will be a movie that will compare with my Lebanon: Serbia!

• Collin O'Neal's website [collinoneal.com]