With awards season in full swing, there’s one movie that’s one everyone’s lips: Drive. The first full-length feature to come from Kayden Kross‘ studio Deeper, Drive tells the story of a perfectionist married woman (Angela White) meeting her mysterious foil (Maitland Ward, really getting to stretch her acting chops) and who leads Angela on a journey through a surreal underground of sexual inhibition. Packed with group sex scenes, kink, bi, and trans elements, pegging, and gorgeous cinematography that heightens the movie’s visual eroticism, Drive is the perfect porno with which to end the decade. I sat down with the star of Drive, Angela White, to discuss her experience on set, Drive‘s LGBTQ+ elements, what it was like to work with rising star Maitland Ward, and more.
Nominated for 10 AVN Awards
I think that Drive is one of those too rare pornos that comes along on that just feels important. It has a compelling plot, gorgeous visuals, and is really inclusive with its LGBT elements. When you were on set, was there a sense that you all were making something special and that would resonate with so many people?
Hi Judy, thank you for taking the time for this interview and thank you for your very kind words about Drive. It is always difficult to anticipate how a movie will be received, especially one as rich and layered as Drive. It has been overwhelming to see how amazingly well the movie has been received. I know all those involved in the production felt that all the key ingredients were present for the making of a fantastic movie. There was great dedication and energy on set every day. From the script, to Kayden as the director, through the highly-talented, all-star cast, to the expert crew, set design and grip, everyone brought their vast and unique skill sets to bear on the movie, and I personally couldn’t be more proud of how the movie turned out. The inclusion of pegging, trans, and bi elements within the film and having Dante Colle, Wolf Hudson, Aubrey Kate, and Pierce Paris cast in sex roles in such a high-profile adult film was amazing, and I hope this catalyzes greater levels of inclusion moving forward.
Drive is a movie about a woman coming to terms with her own sexuality, desires, and power. As someone who seems to be so intrinsically in touch with her sexuality, how did you relate to your character?
When I moved to the U.S. in the summer of 2016 and began working for companies outside of my own production company, AGW Entertainment, one of the possibilities I was most excited about was exploring sexuality via the performance of characters that were not myself. In short, I hoped that castings in features, in contrast to all-sex productions, would allow me to approach the question of sex and sexuality as someone other than Angela White. While I have found this to have held true over the past three years, this was not precisely the case in Drive. My character in Drive is called “Angela.” Kayden wanted the character to be a version of myself and she took time during the script-writing process to explore my relationship with, and understanding of, my own sexuality. While the “Angela” in Drive has yet to experience the chaos, creativity, energy, and personal fulfillment that can come from embracing one’s own sexuality, she is nevertheless aware of how disruptive a force one’s sexuality can be. Hence, “Angela’s” determination in the first two acts of Drive to always cut short her embrace of her sexuality. I was able to relate to this personally as it is a sexual relationship and journey I first experienced as a young adult. With time and experience, my relationship with my own sexuality has evolved from one of energy and chaos, to one of bridled and focused pleasure and reward. And it is this journey that Drive, through “Angela” and her encounters with “Maitland,” succeeds in narrating and discussing.
Which scene was your favorite to perform in and why?
It was wonderful to get to extend my repertoire further and explore more of the feature side of adult movie-making. Nevertheless, my favorite “scene” to perform in was the final act of Drive. My character’s journey through the warehouse, which begins with a reverse gangbang, then traverses a series of sexual encounters with Wolf Hudson and Joanna Angel, Aubrey Kate, Dante Colle, and Pierce Paris, and culminates in a grand, ten-person orgy that sees my character experience a range of anal and double-penetration pleasure before being bound by the expert hands of Damon Pierce, was a once in a lifetime experience and one I’ll never forget. In the final act, my fans have the opportunity to see me like never before, and I hope everyone who watches Drive enjoys the final act as much as I enjoyed shooting it.
There’s some very expansive group sex scenes in Drive, and from a civilian’s perspective they seem remarkably choreographed. What kinds of challenges did the group scenes present to you as a performer, and how did you overcome them?
A lot of pre-production went into the shooting of the group scenes. Group scenes can be difficult from a casting point of view, as well as in terms of direction, cinematography, and lighting. All-in-all, the shooting of the sex scenes that make up the final act of Drive took three days to shoot, and Kayden did an amazing job overseeing the logistics of these massive scenes. While the group scenes were heavily pre-produced, with every little detail attended to, once the action started in each of the scenes and sequences, Kayden and her team let the action flow. Kayden provided the perfect amount of production and direction to ensure that both the scenes’ visuals and passion were optimized, which is an extremely difficult outcome to achieve. From a personal point of view, the most challenging element of the group scenes was being bound at the end of the orgy. While I have done rope bondage in years past, I had never been penetrated while bound and suspended. I loved it!
Porn so often wants to categorize and limit who or what can be in a movie, but Drive so casually includes bi, gay, and trans scenes. Do you think that this is the direction the industry is moving in? Will you be including more bi and trans scenes in your own movies?
It was great that Drive included trans and bisexual scenes and that they were included not as a sales gimmick or marketing talking point, but because they added depth and authenticity to the story. During pre-production of the final act of ‘Drive,’ Kayden communicated to me that she wanted it to tell the story of someone whose sexuality had been unleashed completely. Kayden and I were bouncing ideas off each other, discussing the potential for blowbangs, reverse gangbangs, orgies, and gangbangs. When I raised the idea of possibly including trans and bisexual sequences, Kayden threw her full weight behind it. I thought it was a fantastic display of leadership, and I am really happy to not only have had the opportunity to do such scenes, but for them to be captured as part of such a high-profile release. The past 12-18 months has definitely seen an increasing number of female performers appearing in scenes with trans women and more “mainstream” studios entering into the production of trans content. It is excellent that the industry is moving in this direction, and I hope movies such as Drive, and casting decisions, such as the inclusion of Natalie Mars in my own Angela Loves Women 5, continue to push this dialogue forward.
This movie feels so unique to Kayden Kross as a writer, director, and producer. What do you think she brings to the table as a director that makes her movies so great?
Kayden has many strengths as a director. She is a fantastic writer, and I feel her wealth of experience as both a performer and director gives her unique insight into what is required to make a great feature movie. But I think it is her determination to compromise neither the sex nor story when producing a feature adult film that is what makes her movies so great. It is definitely an undeniable strength of Drive and the Deeper brand more generally.
Maitland Ward has made quite the splash! What was your experience like working with her? Did she share any acting skills with you? Did you share any porn star tips with her?
I loved having the opportunity to work alongside Maitland. Maitland was an absolute pleasure to share a set with and we supported each other throughout the film’s production. Aside from being an amazing actor, Maitland has also proven herself to be a compelling sexual performer. I’m excited to see what Kayden and Maitland create during the next 18 months of Maitland’s exclusive contract with Deeper and Vixen Media Group.
If you were to walk into a warehouse like the one in Drive, what would you hope to find there?
Everything I found in Drive! That was what made the final act in Drive so amazing. Kayden generously allowed me a lot of room for input and suggestion during the pre-production and production of Drive. And that is most evident in the final act. Kayden created the ultimate space for sexual abandon, filled with everything from oral sex to pegging, girl/girl sex to rope bondage, trans, and bi sex, to gangbangs and orgies. The Drive warehouse had everything, and it is a testament to both Kayden’s creativity and willingness to experiment.
What would you say to someone is thinking about buying and watching Drive, but hasn’t taken the jump yet?
What are you waiting for? If you are someone who demands extremely strong sex scenes and fantastic performances, but also wants an inspired script, great acting, immaculate cinematography, set design, and editing; Drive has it all. It is a complete movie that I have no doubt will wow the most discerning of customers.
What do you hope viewers take away from watching this movie?
Following what I hope is an enjoyable viewing experience, I hope viewers are inspired to reflect on their own sexual journeys and choose to further embrace, if they haven’t already, the energy, creativity, and liberation that results from an open dialogue with oneself. I hope they choose to embrace their sexuality completely and feel more alive as a result.
Watch Angela White in Drive, and read her other HotMovies interviews here!
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