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| Trevor Wayne Photo by Sean Armenta for Noogie Style |
The boys of Seattle Gay Scene being what we are, (horny art/film nerds), several of us attended the midnight screening of Bruce LaBruce’s new film, “L.A. Zombie” and it was pretty much what you would expect from that filmmaker: arty, weird “porn” with lots of gore and a political message. (or, is it, “porny, strange performance art with lots of gore and a socio-economic message”‘?) The film stars the ridiculously hot French gay porn star François Sagat as a sex zombie wandering the streets of Los Angeles in a quest to f*ck the life back into recently deceased muscle studs. Only, it ISN’T really about an actual zombie because sometimes François is just a sad homeless guy, rummaging around in junk filled shopping carts, (though to be honest, I’ve never seen a homeless guy with a body like François Sagat’s….) But, other times, Mr Sagat IS a zombie, with some seriously bad dental work, a nasty skin condition and the oddest looking schlong you’ve seen since Brett Favre’s chewed up old rawhide toy. (At first glance, I thought it was just Mr Sagat’s actual wang, but it had a bizarre curly cue tip and a tendency to shoot out a substance that looked like a combination of motor oil and Hershey’s syrup…Mr Sagat’s zombie also had a tendency to stick the aforementioned wang into some very strange places, but I don’t want to spoil the film for you!)
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| Trevor’s about to drop a cap into some porn studs in L.A. Zombie |
Yes, it is a weird movie, but it was also at times, hauntingly beautiful and it had an amazing soundtrack and a surprisingly compelling performance by Mr Sagat…he’s really quite a good actor in this film! His character never speaks, but physically he is a powerful and moving presence in the film and conveys a lot of emotion through movement and facial expressions. It was an honest and artistically valid performance! And, there were OTHER porn actors in this film, and they weren’t as compelling, (most of them had a difficult time playing “dead”) and at least one NON-porn performance worth noting. Three quarters of the way through the film, a duo of drug lords shows up to do a deal with the aforementioned muscle bear porn stars. Things turn ugly, though and the duo massacres the porn studs and they flee the scene of their crime. One of those drug lords was played by noted model/muse, actor and artist Trevor Wayne. He’s not a household name, but thousands of gay men, Clive Barker fans, and art lovers will recognize the face and body art. He has posed for many artists and photographers and been featured in fashion shoots, films and tv shows and Wayne is a well known face on the L.A. fashion and art scene. He’s also a Facebook friend of mine and Monday night he made a post about “L.A. Zombie” and his brief role in it and the fact that he hadn’t seen it yet and I responded in the comments and a dialogue developed between us.
Michael Strangeways: i saw it saturday night in Seattle at the gay film festival…you were AWESOME! but sadly, not nekkid…also, kind of a bad guy.
Trevor Wayne: Michael!! You saw it!? I want to see it!!
Michael Strangeways: I liked it…it’s not what I expected. Very arty. BEAUTIFUL photography and score. Francoise is a good actor! And your scene was the raunchiest! (after you left). The other porn stars in the scene weren’t as good as Francoise; they couldn’t even play “dead” very convincingly…but they looked hot! And, apparently we saw the “medium core” version. Friends in the industry told me there is a harder cut with more explicit penetration shots.
Michael Strangeways: Francoise’s “stunt” c*ck was scary, though…looked like a yam.Thanksgiving dinner will never be the same!
Michael Strangeways: And, everyone should know, this is NOT a porn film! It’s arty and it’s weird and it’s sometimes beautiful and it’s funny and it’s gross and ultimately it’s kind of sad. Like most Bruce LaBruce films.
Trevor Wayne: I love your description!! ..I love Bruce… I KNOW it will be good!!
So we had that little encounter and then I had the brainstorm, “Why don’t I ask Trevor to do a little interview for Seattle Gay Scene?” and I emailed him and he very sweetly replied, “Sure!” and that lead us to having an email interview at two o’clock in the morning! Enjoy!
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Michael Strangeways: We just saw LA Zombie here in Seattle at the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. You don’t have a huge part in it, but more than one person recognized you! How did you get involved with it? Are you a Bruce LaBruce fan?
Trevor Wayne: No I don’t have a huge part, but I’m really happy with the part I have. I had just released a minimag of nude photos of myself by a dozen really well known photographers- Horror legend Clive Barker being one of them- and it was great to be a part of such a sexual film where I wasn’t playing a sexual part. I love Bruce, I had met him a few times before whenever he was visiting L.A. just to have drinks, and we always talked of doing a photoshoot when we could get our schedules together. Then he just asked if I wanted to do this part for L.A. Zombie and I said yes, of course.
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| Trevor Wayne in Bruce LaBruce’s L.A. Zombie |
MS: How long did it take? I’m guessing that your part probably only took a day or so to film…were you around for the “naughtier” stuff that happens AFTER your character leaves the scene, or, was that a “closed set”? I’m not asking for perverted reasons, but I’m wondering what the mood was like on the set with all the blood and gore combined with all the sexy stuff…I’m guessing it probably was a bit funny to watch. Watching some scenes I kept thinking, “How did they keep a straight face?”
TW: My part only took one day. I came in and things were a little behind so I had some free time. I wasn’t around for the naughtier stuff, though I think the overall vibe was that it was all good, and I could if I wanted. I actually had no interest in watching it happen for real. I wanted to stay out of the way. I knew everyone was on a tight schedule and people were running around. I decided while all that was going on I’d get out of there and grab some pizza, and I told Bruce I’d be back in a few hours, and to text me if he needed me earlier than that. Sex for a film in real life isn’t as sexy as you’d think. It really is business, and lighting, and camera angles, and shots… I’ve never done it…and I’m not sure I could. It would depend on the project for sure.
MS: You make your living as a model and have often posed nude for some big name art photographers. Obviously you’ve been asked to do mainstream porn…did you wrestle with the decision to NOT do porn, or was it a simple case of, “I want to make art; I don’t want to be pinned in as ‘just another porn dude'”
TW: Porn just isn’t my nature. I think porn is a tricky thing. I’m all about sexual revolution, and that everyone should be comfortable with sex, and sexuality, and their own bodies (hence my “Pin-Up Show” minimag). I would love to even live in a nudist society. I think a lot of insecurity comes from clothes. I have been to nude places and its a freeing experience. I used to think it was creepy until I did it. You really just see people as people, and body flaws, and what Hollywood says is wrong with you falls away- you don’t notice it anymore. That being said, I think a lot of modern day porn hurts sexuality than helps it. Unrealistic expectations of breast size, penis size, and nevermind the face- you can be as ugly as shit as long as you have a big dick. Well I think that is completely the wrong idea. Dick size does not make the man, breast size does not make the girl- it all comes from within and how sexuality is expressed.
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| Golden Heroes by Trevor Wayne |
MS: You’re best known as a model and actor, but you also are an artist. Were you always into art as a kid? Was there a person or a thing that inspired you to make art?
TW: I always have been an artist. I was so captivated by cartoons as a kid I could not stop drawing them. Nothing really inspired me to do art other than my own OCD. I would get so obsessed with some cartoons that I had to draw them to get them out of my head! I’m still very much that way.
MS: What cartoons inspired you as a kid? Disney? Looney Tunes? Tex Avery? Crappy tv stuff? She Ra? Did He-Man make you feel all funny “down there”?
TW: I HHHHAATED Looney Toons! I never got into Disney… He-Man is definitely the start of it all! I was-am obsessed. I have the ENTIRE He-Man toy collection in my apartment as we speak! Every castle, vehicle, and figure! I remember seeing the He-Man/She-Ra movie in the theater with my dad when I was 4 or 5… I was really turned on by Prince Adam riding on the horse with Bow. I knew right then, that while She-Ra had the cooler clothes and transformation, that I wanted to be in between the boys!
After He-Man came Thundercats, then G.I. Joe, then Ghostbusters, then Ninja Turtles. Those were my faves and I still have many of the toys from all of them.
MS: We did a piece a few weeks ago about the Chris Colfer from Glee photo shoot in Rolling Stone which featured you as one of the models in the shoot. (It got, and still gets, a ridiculous number of hits on our website!) What was that experience like? Judging by your Facebook page, I don’t think you’re a Glee viewer.
TW: I actually don’t watch Glee, I really was just looking for some solo shots from the photographer that was offered in exchange on a day I had no plans. I didn’t expect to even end up in the final..trust me, I’ve been doing this long enough to hope for the best and expect the worst. I’m happy I was there to witness it, but I do not consider it portfolio material by any means, I’m not recognizable, it’s not something I would put on my site. Chris Colfer was really nice. It is also nice to hear the comments from my friends who are Glee fans when they see me in this photo. I appreciate any show that has that kind of energy- even if I haven’t seen it!
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| On the cover of Frontiers. |
MS: You are famous for your body art. When you go home for a visit, do you still get comments from Grandma or Aunt Mildred along the lines of, “Oh Trevor, honey, WHY did you do THAT to your beautiful body!” Or are they all cool about it?
TW: Oh no! I come from the most open minded loving family. I am completely supported. My parents know EVERYTHING I do… I know they worry sometimes…haha, but they know I am a good person and they trust that I am doing what’s right for me. I couldn’t be luckier. I have an amazing family. I love them all so much!
MS: What projects are you working on? What’s next for Trevor Wayne?
TW: Just more artwork for me,,as for acting,,I’m lucky enough to be a part of this awesome project called “Sponica” you can see a trailer for it at Sponica.net. I am not allowed to give much more away at the present time…haha.
MS: Is this a tv show, film or web project? Or, all of the above? Any ETA on when it premieres?
TW: It is a series..but that’s all I can say at the moment.. Hopefully I can talk more about it soon!
MS: It seems like you get cast as all these thugs and punks because of the body art, yet in reality you seem like a sweet natured art fart! Do you yearn to play a play the boy next door?
TW: Yah I definitely want to play the guy next door. I think playing characters that aren’t tattoo based are more interesting.. if a casting calls for heavily tattooed then I know it’s lame.. I think it’s more interesting to play a character who just happens to be tattooed.
(These were my last round up questions for Trevor.)
MS: Person living or dead you’d like to work with and why?
Person living, dead, or fictional that you’d like to sleep with, and why?
If you could live for one week ANY time in the past, when and where would you like to spend that week and why?
Have you been to Seattle? If you have, what did you think, or do you have a good Seattle story?
TW: Actually I’m not sure I have answers to any of the last questions! I have never been to Seattle.. I have no idea who I would sleep with if I could…I don’t know… I wouldn’t want to be in the past; I would want to be in the future..hahah I really have to think about these things..or maybe I just answered them?
MS: Thanks Trevor! It sounds like you DID answer all the questions! You are a sweetheart!
Check out Trevor’s art on his website…both his art and his “Pin Up Show” mini-mag are available for sale.
My thanks to Trevor for agreeing to such an odd interview. He is now “new future husband” material.
-Michael Strangeways
