PHILDELPHIA, PA — Buck Angel recently answered a few questions for XBIZ about “Mr. Angel,” a new documentary that tracks the life and times of the transgender porn star, advocate and educator, set to release on DVD Dec. 3.
Filmmaker Dan Hunt, who helmed the feature-length documentary, said that it explores Angel’s story “to understand the complexities of someone who overcame incredible obstacles,” including addiction, homelessness, suicide and opposition to his gender expression to eventually find love and acceptance.
What is the overall message of the film? What is your personal message?
I would hope the overall message is to love yourself no matter what people think of you. Self-love and care are so important and can change your life. I love who I am and try to convey that through living my life without that worry.
So many people — not just trans people — hate themselves. It is a horrible way to go through life. You can change whatever you want to. Meaning: if there is a part of your life you hate, change it! Maybe it will take a while, but ultimately you will come out ahead.
How did you become involved in the project? What inspired Dan Hunt to create the film?
Dan contacted me eight years ago to make the film. I was not interested. Then he came back again. I decided to work with him because he felt safe and assured me it was going to be a positive film, and not just focused on my porn work. That was important to me because I wanted to tell a whole story and not just have people think that all I do is porn. That tends to alienate people.
Will your fans learn anything new about your life through this film? What are some of the highlights we can expect?
For sure people will see a side of myself that they have never seen before. I am a pretty private person with my personal life; But I let Dan in. He is completely in my life — from talking to my parents and my sister to inside my private home life.
Any new projects in the pipeline you’d like to plug?
Right now I am working on the new “Sexing The Transman Vol. 4” series. This has been a big success for me: this docu-porn style has really helped to take my work to another level. It has been used in many gender studies classes and I have been asked to speak to more schools because of this. It makes me so happy to see the interest in my films from an academic view. Times are changing.
“Mr. Angel,” featuring appearances by Dan Savage, Sasha Grey, Michael Lucas, Tyra Banks and Tristan Taormino, is now available for preorder. To watch the SFW trailer on YouTube, click here.
