At 26 years of age, Sasha Grey has accomplished a lot. And we’re not just talking about being a former pornographic actress or cinching titles and awards while she was at it. Sasha Grey is one of those who’ve succeeded in seamlessly transitioning over to being a mainstream actress, model, author, and now artiste. Heck, she’s the star of all stars.
Sasha Grey earned her name in mainstream media because she was one of the only porn stars who were willing to enter the world of hardcore porn at a young age. And even with what little experience she had, she quickly became the talk of the porn business and within a year, she became the recipient of awards for “Best Three Way Sex Scene” and “Best Group Scene” at the AVN Adult Movie Awards (2007).
That very same year, she was also nominated “Best New Starlet”. At her prime, she was one of Hollywood’s highest-earning adult-movie stars until she abruptly quit at 21 years of age.
But that wasn’t the end of her, not just yet.
Sasha shifted her focus to mainstreaming acting and made her feature film debut as the lead in Steven Soderbergh’s “The Girlfriend Experience”. She lso appeared in independent films such as “I Melt With You” and “Open Windows”, and played a semi-fictionalised version of herself in the seventh season of the HBO television series, “Entourage”. She has also appeared in independent films, such as “I Melt With You” and “Open Windows”. All in the same breath, Sasha was writing erotic fiction as well as playing in an industrial music band called Telecine.
More recently, she was onboard Asia’s largest music festival at sea aka “It’s The Ship“, where she played 2 sets – one at the main deck, and another for a private invite-only William Grant & Sons Party. Oh, we dare add that she’s probably one of the very few reasons why 99.9% of the testosterone-charged men turned up for the cruise festival too 😉
Lucky us, we got to speak to her during a group media interview prior to her sets. Here’s what went down:
We hear that you once read books for children. What types of books would you recommend to us and to people to read, and why?
Ah, let’s see. I think..I’ll have to say, The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood. I’ve really always been enamoured by pre-war Berlin. And this dancer and artist named Anita Burbur. I was speaking to a costume designer and stylist a few years ago who recommended this particular book to me because it sort of took place during that time and era. He thought it would inspire me to read more and discover more about Anita so I really liked that. It sort of shows our modern society before it was destroyed and how free people were. I really liked that people were so uninhibited and it was accepted, you know, it wasn’t condemned or looked down upon to be an individual. I wish we could go back to that time but it feels like we just regressed. Another book would have to be Wetlands by Charlotte Roche, a German writer. I think it’s one of the most grotesque but hilarious books I’ve read in a long time. It’s such a quick read, it’s so bizarre. Her internal monologues are so masculine because we’re not used to hearing a woman’s voice in this way. And that’s why I really liked it because it’s to me it felt like, “Omg these are the things that I think to myself but I would never say out loud!” but she puts those things on paper. I think it’s funny in that way because she kinda shows us that we’re all weirdos on the inside.
How did you find yourself in love with this career and who’s your influence? What made you choose this alternative career of yours and maybe your future career plans?
I’ve been DJing for about 3-and-a-half to 4 years and it sort of started because I was in an experimental band. People started booking me to DJ and I was like, “Okay, that’s sort of strange but I’ll figure it out.” I collected vinyls and started playing at home a bit, and I spoke to my friends who DJ and there were like, “No, no, don’t bring your vinyls anywhere, everything is digital now, leave those at home.” So I just bought a good mixer and started practising that way! In the beginning, I made some mistakes because I was playing music that I thought people that enjoyed my band would like. And then I learned a lot in a short period of time, and I’ve seen that my audience is much broader than the audience that just liked the band. It was inspiring to see that, “Wow, people actually give a shit!” and now, I’m still sort of discovering where I want to take music – I don’t want to forget my roots with experimental music at all. I’d like to collaborate with a few friends who make ambient music and experimental music. I have those side projects and then I have projects with other DJs and producers – I have a remix coming out with Goshfather & Jinco that I’m super excited about. I hope people like it.
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How did you plan your set on It’s The Ship, considering the fact that we’re on a cruise ship. Is a more intimate set or are you just going to decide on the fly?
Luckily enough, I was able to walk around last night and sort of “feel it out”. It feels like a festival so I think I’m gonna gear my set towards that, more of the festival sets I’ve been playing lately. But when I play the second set, I’ll be able to do something completely different. I’ll probably play deep house at the private event.
Can you bring us through a journey and describe a typical day in the life of Sasha Grey?
No day is typical, man! I’m on this tour through Asia and Australia. In the past week and a half I’ve been through Manila and Hong Kong, and now I’m here on a ship in the middle of Malaysia and Singapore. So no, no day is typical. When I’m actually at home in my house, which is rare these days, I’m like walking my dog or on my computer answering e-mails, and trying to catch a movie when I can.
How is it like being on the other side of the dance floor, behind the DJ console?
It’s fun, I prefer it. I totally prefer it! Also because growing up I was very, very introverted so the idea of going out to a club or to a place like this, that would’ve frightened the shit out of me. I was more of a house party kid, you know, like, “Let’s make the party here!” And so, I enjoy it. I think it’s a lot of fun because I like to see people get excited and that gets me excited.
What has been the best advice anyone has given you for your career?
Hmm, depends on what stage (laughs). I think I’ve had in many different ways and levels, various different people have told me that the minute you get bored or something or don’t enjoy something, stop doing it. And that’s a very difficult idea to absorb especially when you’re so young and when things are moving so fast, and there are so many people around you encouraging you or trying to bring you down conversely. I think that’s something that I always try to think about like, what is the future and how can I make it better and more interesting.
Special thanks to our awesome friends from Livescape Asia for arranging this!
For more information on It’s The Ship, visit its Facebook page. Alternatively, you could also hit up Livescape Asia’s Facebook page for updates. Sasha Grey is on Facebook and Twitter too, but you already know that 😉
