On the surface, Joey Mills might seem like one of gay porn’s quentessential bad boys. He plays a snarky scamp seducing stepdads as a Men.com exclusive and leans into villainy on the Daddy TV reality show “X-Rated: NYC." And yet, despite being a highly recognizable face in the industry, he comes across as grounded, affable and self-aware in a way you might not expect.
Since entering the adult industry in 2016, Mills has been widely recognized as a top twink performer, though he does not fully embrace that label.
I never sought out porn for the acting. I'm usually just myself as a cop, maintenance man or whatever job they give me.
"I'll get eaten alive if I try to call myself a twink at this age," he jokes. "I do like to call myself 'The World's Favorite Expired Twink,' though."
Originally a small-town boy from just outside St. Louis, Missouri, Mills has maintained a steady presence in the spotlight, consistently ranking among the most searched gay performers, earning award nominations and building a prolific portfolio across both studio productions and creator platforms.
For someone with that level of notoriety and a larger-than-life onscreen persona, you might expect a bit of diva energy. Instead, he is grounded, approachable and quietly self-aware, with a sharp, sarcastic edge.
His path into the industry was not part of a long-term plan. His first job, in fact, was far more ordinary.
"I was a server, not a driver," he quips of his early days as a pizza boy. "I got into the industry at 18, when you could still find applications on a website's landing page. I filled one out, and they had me on the phone within a few hours."
From there, Mills' boyish looks and natural on-camera presence helped him quickly climb the ranks, from a Helix.com model to one of Men.com's longest-running exclusives.
Playing Himself, Perfectly
Ten years deep into his career, Mills' longevity is rooted in something deceptively simple: he's perfected the art of being himself.
"I never sought out porn for the acting," he affirms. "I'm usually just myself as a cop, maintenance man or whatever job they give me. I play up my reactions and emotions, but it's still pretty much how I would react in real-life situations."
Mills approaches even his most extreme scenes with a mix of curiosity and humor, leaning into the work's unpredictability rather than taking it too seriously.
"I enjoy the process of being able to mess around and laugh on set," he says.
That mindset carries into moments that are as physically demanding as they are unconventional.
"I shot a scene with Pierce Paris where he stuck his balls in my ass," he says. "I also had to run, jump and land on his dick. We tried to do it in real life, too, but that didn't work. I have such a thing for balls. I don't even look at the dicks anymore — it's just the balls."
He adds, laughing, "I've had someone deeper than 'balls deep' in me."
That same sense of ease carries into his personal life, where relationships unfold within the unique realities of the industry.
"My favorite scene partners for studio scenes would have to be Angel Rivera, Leo Levine and William Seed," Mills says.
His connection with Rivera, in particular, extends beyond the screen.
"We grew into the industry together. We went from early struggles with studios to making good money and building our OnlyFans together. We are still hooking up, which is kind of messy," he adds with a laugh.
For Mills, dating within the industry offers a level of understanding that is difficult to replicate elsewhere.
"Dating another performer is probably the best way to date," he admits. "They understand how everything works behind the scenes. The best part is being able to share experiences like award shows."
That shared history plays a role in making those relationships work, because outside of adult, things can be more complicated.
"Dating outside of the industry is difficult," he says. "A lot of it comes from the amount of traveling I do and jealousy, because people don't understand how everything operates."
Beyond the Screen
Mills' personality has translated seamlessly into reality television, where he again leans into a more exaggerated version of himself.
"I'm friends with the guy who owns Daddy TV," he says. "He called me and said he was doing a reality show with a bunch of porn stars and needed someone to be the villain. I said, 'Absolutely.'"
On "X-Rated: NYC," Mills fully embraces that role, delivering sharp one-liners and stirring up drama alongside performers like Boomer Banks, Max Konnor and Dante Colle.
"We shoot the show across seven days," he explains. "I love the process of filming and seeing everything come together. Working with the crew and other talent is always a highlight."
The show exists somewhere between reality and performance – a balance Mills is quick to acknowledge.
"We drop the veil a little bit," he says. "We are playing things up for the camera. I'm not late to everything the way they present me."
In one recent instance, the truth was far less dramatic than the storyline suggested.
"My management fired an editor, and he changed the passwords to everything," he says. "I had to go to X to get my account back."
That awareness of perception extends beyond reality television and into how Mills views his career more broadly. Among his proudest moments are print opportunities that have taken him outside the traditional boundaries of adult.
"I was featured in Dazed and Paper magazines, and a photo of me even appeared in a Vogue article," he says.
Still, he keeps things in perspective.
"Vogue only half counts," he admits. "The article focused on the photographer, and I wasn’t credited."
This honesty also shapes his view of the industry, where he sees collaboration as a smart way to tackle financial challenges.
"The biggest change I would like to see is more studios allowing content sharing," he says. "A lot of studios are struggling, and models have realized what they can make on OnlyFans. Studios allowing creators to share content on subscription sites would help everyone."
Expanding Beyond the Screen
Though Mills has already checked off many of his original career goals, a few ambitions remain.
"I've always said it's a goal to have my moans sampled in a song somehow," he says.
Even now, the work continues to push him physically.
"I just shot a scene for Men.com that was 'Never Have I Ever' position-wise," he says. "I did a lot of backbends and wheelbarrows. I left feeling like I had done a six-hour Pilates class."
Like many performers who entered the industry before the creator economy fully took shape, Mills experienced a major shift as subscription platforms gained traction.
"The biggest change in my life has been financial, especially after my first three years in the industry when subscription sites really started to take off," he says.
Rather than treating that success as something to spend, Mills approached it with a long-term mindset and instead purchased a home. What began as a financial decision quickly evolved into a labor of love.
"Something most people wouldn't know about me is that I'm very handy when it comes to renovations," he says. "I really enjoy building and designing things."
That interest turned his home into an ongoing project. Mills took on the work himself, transforming a property that was far from move-in ready into something entirely his own.
"My house was the smartest thing I did with my money," he says. "I bought it when it was not exactly livable, and I renovated it. Everything has been done — the floors, the walls were skim-coated, the roof redone. All the bathrooms were replaced, and the kitchen was gutted and remodeled."
He approached the process with both practicality and precision, balancing cost-saving decisions with a clear creative vision.
"I did it myself to save the money, but there were also things I wanted done in a very specific way," he says, adding with a laugh, "It was hard to explain my little gay vision to 60-year-old construction men."
Outside of work, Mills gravitates toward a more relaxed pace, particularly when it involves water.
"I like to spend a lot of my time traveling during the winter and spending as much of the summer by the water as possible," he says. "Anything from wakeboarding to float trips — if it involves water, I'm there."
Float trips, one of his favorite pastimes, are exactly what they sound like.
"You go to a river access point and just float for five to 10 miles, for as long as you want to be on the water or as drunk as you want to get," he says.
For all the personas he plays on screen — from mischievous troublemaker to full-fledged villain — the reality is far more grounded.
"There are good things to be a demon twink about, and there are not good things," Mills concludes. "It's all about time and place."
