Tommy Gunn is wearing an eyepatch.
It’s not an homage to the classic "Pirates" porn parody franchise, in which Gunn takes on the Johnny Depp role.
The eyepatch is a temporary measure to help him deal with a nerve palsy that came out of nowhere several years ago and affects his vision from time to time.
Gunn needs his vision. As one of the adult industry’s longest-serving male stars, he still has plenty to look forward to. There’s been renewed attention around Gunn since he shared his story in the recent documentary "Fans Only: The Human Side of Porn," now available on Amazon.
Gunn met director Joel Van der Molen last year at Jules Jordan’s booth at an industry convention, where they struck up a conversation. Van der Molen introduced himself as a documentary filmmaker who had just released a project on Prime Video titled "Gypsy Billionaire."
In showbiz, they say, luck and timing are everything. As it happened, Gunn was already working on a documentary project — but wasn’t having much luck with it.
"I was already in that headspace, but I was ready to be involved in something else," Gunn tells XBIZ. who
He invited Van der Molen to pal around with him over the next few days, and gave the director an "all-access" porn biz experience.
"We went to dinner and he noticed the kind of reaction I was getting there," Gunn recalls. "I couldn’t go 10 feet without some fan wanting my picture or an autograph or something, which is wonderful and very endearing. I’ll always take time for anybody who wants that stuff."
For his part, Van der Molen decided he'd found his next documentary subject.
"He said he wanted to make a movie about me," says Gunn. "I told him I appreciated the sentiment, but I’d rather be part of a documentary as a liaison to the business. I’d rather share the spotlight with everybody."
Gunn's offer to be Van der Molen's guide to the industry was an opportunity too good for the director to turn down, as he knew the extraordinary access he’d be afforded.
"I wanted to introduce Joel to the great people in this business and show him the brighter side of the industry," Gunn says. "I made him promise me that it would be the kind of enlightening documentary that shows the uplifting, human side of the business. Because more often than not, we get terrible depictions of what the industry is like. Every other documentary I’ve seen casts the industry in a negative light."
Van der Molen committed to presenting a nuanced, even-handed view, and Gunn agreed to share his story.
Breaking In, and Coming Up
Ironically, that story begins with the former XMAs Male Performer of the Year growing up as a shy kid too scared to talk to girls.
"I was awkward and not very confident," he admits. "I was the smallest kid in my class — a late bloomer."
Even years later, as an adult, when he had put on muscle and was dancing in an all-male exotic review, Gunn remained somewhat shy.
Getting on stage for the very first time was definitely eye-opening," he laughs. "See, us men were raised that if you go to a strip club and don’t behave, you get thrown into the back alley. But women get more of a pass to let their hair down. They could carry on, cut loose and get away with a lot. I’ll tell you that much! But I had an amazing time dancing and seeing them have a good time."
Gunn was introduced to the industry by noted performer and director Brad Armstrong, whom he met in 2000 after a woman Gunn knew encouraged him to try and break into the porn biz. Armstrong explained to Gunn just what that would entail.
"He was a male dancer, so we kind of related based on that, and he was gracious enough to break it all down for me and put his name on the line," Gunn says. "He gave me my first big introduction to the industry. It’d be like if Steven Spielberg met some random actor and said, ‘Hey, you’ve got a good look. If you ever want to act, here’s my card.'"
Grateful for Armstrong’s help, Gunn resolved not to waste the opportunity.
"I had a responsibility not to tarnish his name," he notes. "I couldn’t be some kind of reckless cowboy who kicks the door down and goes, 'Here I am. I’m so cool.' I couldn’t do that. I had to show up and carve out a reliable and responsible career for myself and benefit from his help and tutelage."
Gunn proceeded to sharpen his skills on sets where the directors knew he was new and were supportive, helping him to establish himself.
"I was blessed in that respect," he affirms. "But it can be a thankless job in some ways. People aren’t there to see us. The girls are the rose and we’re just the vase. So it’s a responsibility that we have as guys to make them look the best we can."
While some guys make it look easy, Gunn adds, the job can be difficult.
"There’s a lot of pressure for a guy," he observes.
"You’ve got the girl on set, and she’s already been through hair and makeup. You’ve got the director and the camera guy and the crew, and the lights all set up, and they’re all there hoping that the guy is going to be able to rise to the occasion. Sure, you can take a supplement or something, but if your mind’s not there, it’s not going to happen. It’s a mental thing as much as a physical one. I was just lucky to learn the hang of it early in my career."
Gunn also felt like he had a leg up on the competition thanks to his background.
"I was very body-conscious and I came from an industry — exotic dancing — where you had to take your clothes off, almost down to your birthday suit, so you had to look good," he says. "There were a handful of guys in the business who were body-conscious, but most weren’t in the kind of shape I was in. But they could perform, and they hung around because of that ability."
When Gunn was starting out, products like Viagra were still fairly new.
"It was a time when guys joked, ‘If you need to take that, you’re not a real man,'" he recalls. "Well, nobody has sex for six hours on and off, especially when the girl has to go back into makeup and get touched up every few minutes. Maybe there are some superhuman guys out there, but that’s not a natural thing."
Riding the Wave
Looking back on his career, Gunn recalls working with “so many wonderful ladies,” citing Sunny Leone, Tera Patrick, Janine Lindemulder and Dyanna Lauren as some of his favorite co-stars. He says he also enjoyed working alongside Armstrong, as well as acclaimed director Robby D.
Gunn fondly remembers 2005’s "Pirates" and its 2008 sequel, "Pirates II: Stagnetti’s Revenge," in which he reprised his role as the swashbuckling title character. He says working on the "Pirates" franchise was "a wonderful experience," and relishes the time when the adult industry felt like Hollywood in microcosm.
"There would be times when I’d be working on two or three different movies and trying to remember which lines were for which, and that was great," he reminisces. "I miss those days.
"What’s heartbreaking is realizing that I’ve got more days behind me than in front of me," Gunn reflects. "They say life is fatal, and that’s the truth. Nobody makes it out alive."
Nowadays, the industry looks very different than it did when Gunn was coming up, thanks to the rise of OnlyFans and other social media platforms. From his perspective, the internet really has changed everything.
"People don’t need to be on set anymore," he observes. "They can make money in their own home, shooting with other content creators."
Gunn says he knows he has to continue to evolve as a performer and meet the audience where they are, so he has an OnlyFans account and shoots with a handful of other OnlyFans models.
Just don’t call them "porn stars" — or Gunn either, for that matter.
"I’ve never really liked that term because I’ve never felt like a star," he shares. "These days, a content creator will come into the business and consider themselves a 'porn star' — even though they’ve yet to perform on a real set or perform their lines in costume while being directed by a real director. They’re just doing whatever people do in the privacy of their own homes. That’s okay too, but look: I know a couple of guys who throw a football around in an abandoned parking lot on the weekends, and they don’t call themselves NFL players.
"That’s why I don’t like the term," he adds.
"It sounded cheap already, and now it has been cheapened further. I just consider myself an actor in the adult industry."
While Gunn may be humble about his own status, he still meets fans who credit him with "teaching them everything they know" in the bedroom.
"I’m blessed that people recognize me in public and compliment me," he admits. "It’s humbling, after so many years in this business, when someone passes by me on the street and whispers 'legend' and gives me a thumbs up. I mean, how cool is that? It’s very rewarding if you can manage to get to that level."
What makes Gunn so memorable to his fans?
"They say they can tell when a woman is really enjoying herself with me," he offers. "That was always my goal: to be as authentic as I could.
"Sure, it’s acting, but it also depends on real chemistry. When I’m working, I consider my co-stars under my care."
Of course, there are plenty of times when Gunn still feels like the kid from a small town in New Jersey who headed West to make his fortune and got lucky.
"I’ve always had a tough time filling the shoes of what people perceived me to be," he reflects. "I felt like a sheep in wolf’s clothing: I was very shy and humble and mild-mannered, but to society, the persona that I had was a rugged, intimidating one. And I guess that’s what I look like, but I’m very open and welcoming of everyone."
Hard-Learned Lessons
Gunn has been married twice: once before he entered the business and once while he was very much in the thick of it. He says he learned a lot from both relationships.
"Whether you’re in the business or not, I feel like we all, in some capacity, struggle to be accepted," he observes. "With performers, it’s often because of what we do or the lifestyles we have. Even if you’re dating someone in the industry, there’s still the potential for jealousy, which is a basic human tendency. So you have to cultivate trust, and communication is the key to that."
Some performers, Gunn notes, become so engrossed in their on-camera personas that it’s difficult to break through to the person they are off-camera — especially because all of the platforms these days pressure people to be "on" 24 hours a day.
"I want to show somebody my 'regular person' side," he says. "I’m just a regular guy, and I want to be able to enjoy each other for who we are, but it’s hard to find that. There are a lot more girls in this business than there are guys, so they’re constantly on the hustle — and they’re inundated by propositions from men who want to take them out and be their sugar daddy so they can convince them to quit the business."
With all these factors in play, Gunn says it’s important for performers to protect their mental health as much as their physical health.
"Everyone’s always talking about testing, but mental health gets lost in the conversation," he says. "There’s no more important relationship than the one you have with yourself. You have to be content with yourself and steal those little moments of happiness for yourself.
"We need to constantly pursue happiness and be around people who bring us joy, people who smile when they see us coming," he continues. "It’s not the destination or the journey. It’s who’s with you along the way."
Unfortunately, Gunn notes, it can be hard to protect and care for yourself when the whole world seems to be pointing the finger at you.
"Our industry is constantly forced to defend itself and fight for a better perception,” he laments. “It’s a constant battle, because the stigma is always there from society. In Hollywood, they’re still selling sex and drugs and violence, they’re just sanctimonious about it."
Standing up in the face of all that, Gunn argues, requires unity and mutual support.
"People are all trying to get to wherever they’re trying to go and achieve whatever they’re trying to achieve," he says. "But they’re just knocking each other away from getting to that goal, versus saying 'Hey, why don’t we all work together?' I want people to do well, whether they’re a friend of mine or a stranger. I aim to perpetuate love, kindness, and encouragement. I want to uplift people and make them feel good about themselves."
Looking Back, Looking Ahead
These days, Gunn and his dog, Storm, live on five acres of land in Colorado, where the black German shepherd lives his best life chasing squirrels — a far cry from his past life as a bomb-sniffing dog.
Though he tries not to concern himself overmuch with what other people think of him, Gunn recently tweeted, "I hope one day I can truly be fully understood."
"People see this guy, and I’m not that guy," he elaborates for XBIZ. "That’s why I’m grateful for the documentary: because it gave people the opportunity to see beyond my image to the real guy underneath, and other performers too."
"Fans Only: The Human Side of Porn" debuted in April.
"There are two types of reactions people usually have to the industry: intrigue or disgust," Gunn says. "It’s a shame, but it’s because of the bad rap this business has gotten. That’s why we made the documentary: to shed a more positive light on the business and show the human side of the people involved, and how wonderful and talented they are.
"We’re not saying 'You should join this world,'" Gunn explains. "We’re just saying it’s as legitimate as any other industry, and there are some really wonderful people in this business.
"These are all consenting adults, and it’s safe on set, and there are all these rules and regulations we have to follow and comply with. It’s not just a bunch of crazy people doing whatever they want."
Asked if he has any regrets, Gunn says he wishes he had started in the business sooner rather than diving in at age 36 — especially since he credits the industry with getting him sober and ultimately saving his life.
"I was in a really dark place prior to joining the industry," says Gunn.
A divorce, a life-threatening injury and the tragic suicide of a family member — whose body he discovered — had sent him on a downward spiral.
"I was heavily into drugs and a lot of bad behavior," he attests. "There were moments when I questioned whether I wanted to continue to live or not. When I discovered the business, I realized, 'Wow, this is my chance to start over. Here’s a business that I could really excel at if I put my mind to it.'
"But I certainly couldn’t do it being drunk and screwed up on drugs," he adds. "Sex is a very physical act, so I began to consider myself like an athlete. You’ve got to show up and be responsible. I kicked all my bad habits."
This led to another epiphany.
"Early on, I discovered that what was going to separate me from the rest was my rapport with my co-stars," Gunn says. "I always appreciated women and loved them and wanted to be nice to them. Without question, my rapport with women throughout the business, even to this day, is one of the keys to my success."
Gunn says he also wishes he had been a bit more educated about financial matters, as he went from being a blue-collar guy who worked at motorcycle shops during the day and danced at night to earning a solid salary as one of the industry’s top male stars.
Still, Gunn doesn’t dwell on his shortcomings. He simply accepts that he made mistakes.
"As long as we try to be better than yesterday, that’s all we can do," he concludes.
