I
was at a restaurant recently with some friends when two guys that I had noticed staring at me for quite a while started walking towards the table my friends and I were seated at. They both had this hesitation on their faces that I had seen many times before, the should-we-or-should-wenot-ask-her look. Guy #1: “Hi, you’re Christine Nguyen, right?” I usually just nod my head “yes”. “Oh cool! We love your movies….big fans!” Me: “Oh thanks! I appreciate the support!” Guy #2: “I bet you probably get asked this all the time, but I’ve always wondered, is it real?” This scenario happens to me all the time and those are usually the exact words that are exchanged whether it be in person, when I’m out and about, in an interview, or on a social media networking arena. So, for the umpteenth, millionth time, let me address this curiosity that burns in the nether regions of legions of late-night cable viewers. Me: (chuckle) “No, it’s all acting.” Guy #1: “Wow, it looks so real! Are you serious? It’s ALL fake? But it looks so real!” I find it quite interesting that no matter how many times I have answered this question, especially since it is usually prefaced with: “I know you probably get asked this all the time, but I just have to make sure for myself…”, people still want me to personally assure them. Or do they? Personally, I think that no matter what I say, people want to walk away with their beliefs intact. In other words, they want to believe it is real. In fact, I should want them to believe it’s real, every actor does. That’s why we do what we do! You see, I’m an actress… nothing shocking here, it is Los Angeles. However, I’ve become quite known for doing a certain genre of film and TV called softcore, also known as adult, erotic comedy, or as Ryan Reynolds’ actor character in The Changeup referred to it, lorno (light porno). Now that actually elicited a laugh out of me. For those of you who are not familiar with this type of entertainment, these are movies or TV series with light-hearted, campy plots that are basically written to get the action moving from one love scene to the next. Because many of the films and TV shows people have seen me in have quite a few love scenes, and because these scenes are played out from beginning to end, i.e., from the first kiss to the big “O”, I am mistakenly referred to as a porn star all the time and with that comes all the other big misconceptions about my life. First and foremost, I am not a porn star. In porn, the sex is real. The individuals you see onscreen are actually having sex. To be blunt, there is penetration. In softcore, we are acting. In fact, even though we look like we are butt-naked, the actors’ private parts never really touch because the male wears a covering that we call a “sock” over his unit and the female wears what we call a “patch” over her birdie. This is to prevent the actors’ skins from ever making direct contact, which usually prevents them from accidentally getting aroused during a love scene. Now if you noticed, I used the words “unit” and “birdie”.
That’s because I’m actually quite shy when it comes to talking about sex in real life. Contrary to what people might like to believe, I don’t walk around town in 8-inch Lucite stripper heals, fishnets and spray on dresses, nor do I have sex with multiple partners. The image versus the reality is night and day with me. I wear jeans, a hoodie, a ballcap and Chucks out for Taco Tuesday just like everybody else. This isn’t to say I don’t go out and have a good time, it just means my good times are not always, sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll. A movie or concert will suffice. Now why would I take on such sexy roles when my father has never touched me and when I come from a family where my parents are still happily-married and have been for over twenty years? The answer is simple, I am a working actress and these are the roles that have been offered to me and I like to work as much as I can. Speaking of parents, people often wonder what my parents think of the softcore projects that I do. I used to wonder that myself. Believe me, every time my mother would call and leave a message for me to call her back, I would always think, yep, they just found out and I am going to get an earful. Well, I wonder no more. About 2 years ago, my mother called and told me my father was having a hard time sleeping one night so he stayed up late watching TV, and lo and behold, what did he see but me kissing and getting it on with another girl. She then proceeded to want to know my sexual orientation. I told her that no, I hadn’t jumped the fence, and that, yes, I still preferred men. (And for those of you about to ask, no, not many men, just one at a time. I love monogamy.) She then wanted to make sure that the sex was not real. I assured her, just as I do everyone else, that it wasn’t and that I was just acting. Then she wanted to make sure that I wasn’t doing it just for the money. I explained to her that no, it wasn’t just for the money, but also for the experience. Because I have been given the chance to work on so many of these types of movies, I have been able to learn much about the movie industry and also about what it takes to be a good actor, usually through trial and error. These films have let me cut my teeth in the entertainment industry and I will be forever grateful because I got to learn while doing. Much better than sitting at home or in class reading or “practicing” acting. Overall the conversation with my parents was anticlimactic. There was no name-calling and no nastiness. My parents just wanted to make sure that I knew what I was doing and that there was an overall goal for what my plans were in Hollywood. They didn’t have a problem with me for what I was doing because they knew what I do onscreen does not necessarily correlate to the person I am off. Guy #2: “Well, thanks for taking a picture with us. You’re really down-to-earth and cool. We hope you make it big one day!” And, at the end of the day, that’s exactly what I am, just a normal, down-to-earth girl who happens to work in the world of make-believe, aka, Hollywood. - Christine Nguyen
Winter 2012
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