Double Take: DeAngelo Jackson Does It Again

LOS ANGELES—After picking up his second major award in the span of a year, DeAngelo Jackson recognizes how strange it sounds when he says it: “I’m still just trying it take it all in, because that sort of attention—and I know it sounds silly—is just not something I’m used to.” But if you’ve spoken to the man behind the porn superstar, you understand that he truly means it. Jackson is one of a small group of performers who can claim a remarkable feat—winner of both a Best Actor and Performer of the Year trophy at the GayVN Awards, putting him alongside icons like Blake Harper, Jake Deckard and Wesley Woods. But for all the success he’s had, Jackson never lets it change him. “It’s always nice to be recognized for your hard work, and by your peers. So it was really nice to have that kind of recognition. But you wake up the next morning and you press on. You just focus on the next project, the next gig. Don’t let it go to your head.” When he stood on stage in Las Vegas accepting the Best Actor GayVN Award for Icon Male’s Blended Family in January of 2020, Jackson’s emotional speech struck a chord with the crowd. “It was absolutely surreal for me to win that particular category, because I was the first man of color to win it. It floored me. It was very humbling. And when I came home, I was just numb to it. That win wasn’t really just about me, it was really for all the men of color—being able to prop open the door just a little bit, hopefully, for what’s to come,” he says. “It was very important to me. I already had goals that I wanted to accomplish, but that one right there was completely out of left field. I thought it set up what was going to be an amazing year. And then COVID came.” The pandemic slowed down Jackson’s plans, and also affected his well-being. “It was hard mentally, being cooped up during quarantine. It was difficult to be go from 100 to absolutely zero,” he says, snapping his fingers. “I always look at the gym as a place where I go to relieve stress. It’s my therapy, it’s somewhere I just love to be—to work out and to get my thoughts together. So that was the most difficult part to adjust to. I’m not someone who likes to work out at home. I get distracted easily. I really have a hard time focusing, so I didn’t work out for almost two months. And that can really take a toll on you, when you had things going on and then everything just comes to a halt.” Lightning Strikes Twice Thankfully, Jackson had already shot some high-profile projects that were being released as the pandemic began—including two group scenes in Men.com’s highly acclaimed Tom of Finland project. “That was an intense project to work on, but the end result was gratifying. It was different. It was something I had never done before, like a period piece so to speak. I was freezing my ass off in Montreal, and it was a long, long day—but it was worth it. I look at that and it’s one of my favorite chapters in my life. To visit Montreal and to be around an amazing group of performers—and the director and producers, the whole crew—was just fantastic.” His service station romp with Matthew Camp, Ricky Roman and River Wilson picked up a nomination for Best Group Scene, one of a whopping seven nominations he received for 2021. That included a nod for his popular “Fair Ass Wheel” threeway with Joey Mills and Ty Mitchell. “That was fun,” he laughs of the San Diego shoot. “I had some dialogue, so I was able to really overact and have fun with the guys. That was also another different thing for me to do. Anything different—like a new kind of role to play—I’m all for it, especially if it’s dialogue that I can play with and play off of my co-stars. That just makes the job so much easier and fun. The hours go by quicker, and when you look at it you can tell we were having a good time.” Jackson also picked up another Best Actor nomination for Noir Male’s first-ever feature, Sin City—which enabled him to exhibit a more serious side of his range. “That was another extremely fun project to work on. It was the first movie I’ve been in with Max Konnor in years, so that was fun to finally be back on set with him, to work off his energy and his vibes—and also for me to really just take a step back and be a co-star and not be like the main person in it. But I was able to have a few scenes and really play around with it. Chi Chi LaRue is a blast—she’s one of my favorite people ever, and she’ll always been one of my favorite people ever. It was something that we’ve been wanting to do and that she’s been wanting to do for a long time, and so I was really happy to be a part of it. That’s one of my favorite movies that I’ve done.” All of those projects helped contribute to Jackson’s stellar year, leading to him winning Performer of the Year in January’s virtual GayVN Award ceremony—another huge accolade he didn’t see coming. “It was unreal. I really thought Max was going to win. If I wasn’t going to win it, I wanted him to win. He’s like a brother to me. I’ve known him for so many years, so I really wish that we all could have been in person to really share that, to be on stage and to have him run up and I share the award with him,” Jackson says. “I was floored, especially just being nominated with all those other amazing performers. They love me just as much as I love them, which is surreal to me. And to come from Best Actor and then the next year Performer of the Year…what is going on?! It’s incredible. I think a couple of men of color have won this category as well, so for me to be amongst them is incredible. I just felt proud. I feel like all of my hard work is being acknowledged and seen. I love what I do, but to be appreciated feels really good.” Jackson’s success with the acting side of his work has inspired him to do even more of it—showing just how far he has come from his Blended Family shoot, where he was just beginning to learn the craft. “I’ve become more comfortable with it. Actually, I now prefer more scenes that have dialogue in them, just so I can practice and get better at really honing in on some of my craft. Like I mentioned a while back, I really want to transition from the adult industry—not completely leave it, but to really take on some scripts that aren’t porn. I really feel as though I can do it. For me, the more I do it, the more I love it. I just want to transition and turn the page, move beyond that,” he says, adding that he is currently reading a few scripts. “As we get older, you have to grow and not be stagnant. You have to challenge yourself. If you’re comfortable, that’s something you need to run away from. You need to try different things, and that’s what I’m doing right now. I mean, reading 70 pages of dialogue is scary as shit to me. How am I going to memorize all of this?! But you have to just go for it, or you’re not going to grow. That’s my short-term goal right now, is just focusing on getting into the mainstream.” Getting a Piece But fear not—Jackson is not going anywhere, and his brand has continued to grow even more. In late March, he was announced as the latest Fleshjack Boy—with his replica dildo and Fleshjack released in late April. “To have an ass insert and a dildo is fucking awesome. For me to be amongst the Fleshjack Boys is like, ‘Whoo, look at me!’” he laughs. “For someone who grew up using Fleshlights, and now here I am behind the scenes looking at how they make them, is incredible. And I’m so excited for my fans to finally get a piece of me. I’m actually going to use my own toys on myself, too. The insert looks incredible, and I think guys will only last one or two minutes in it.” The design process was a little different than normal due to the pandemic, so Jackson couldn’t fly in to take a 3D scan of his anatomy. “I had to take really detailed pictures of my dick—each side, up, down, front—and of my ass. Thank God my partner was here to help me,” he laughs. “We just went back and forth. They mailed me replicas, and I would write down notes, send it back, and they would make those adjustments—get the coloring right, get a particular vein in there, my birthmark…all these key details that you wouldn’t really think of on a dildo, but it’s important.” Jackson also recently shot his first ever scene with a trans woman, an upcoming release with Casey Kisses for Transsensual. “It was a first for me, but it was something that I wanted to do for a while. I love to be diverse. I don’t want to be boxed into any kind of category, whether it be gay, bisexual or whatever you go by. I have to do something fresh and new if I want to stay in this for a couple more years, so for me that was the most important thing, just to branch out a little bit,” he says. “I really wanted to expand my audience. There’s some fear that I may lose some fans because they may not want to see DeAngelo having sex with a trans girl, and that’s okay—I’m going to lose some, but I’ll gain some, too. At the end of the day, I have to do what I need to do for me, and that’s keeping things fresh and new. I want to experiment with different things, and I just love to say that the scene was amazing. I’ve never had more of an organic experience with anyone. I’m really proud of it.” Writing His Own Story Back at Noir Male, Jackson has his very own film named after him—the DeAngelo Jackson Showcase, which had its first of four scenes released in February. He also notes that a project with Konnor will be picked up in the future. Jackson was also part of the roundtable that Mile High Media VP Jon Blitt spearheaded last year to improve the studio’s exposure for men of color on both sides of the camera. “I’m so excited to see my brothers directing. I’ve told my manager, ‘Look, I’m someone who likes being directed. I do not like directing people, you know? Just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it. I’m your canvas. Paint on me.’ But the thing I love about Noir Male is they now have men of color behind the scenes—directing, writing and producing. That can really change what you see on screen when you are directed by another man of color. I’m excited to see what they have in the pipeline, and I’m going to be a part of the whole narrative of it,” he says. “The writing aspect in particular is so important. I’ve gotten some scripts before in my career and I’m like, ‘I would never say this.’ And no disrespect to the writers. We’ve always been given the leeway to make changes on the spot, so I would say, ‘This is not going come off naturally if I don’t change this. This is what I would say.’ So now, we’ve completely taken that down and we have black writers. That right there is major. And to be filming and these beautiful scenes with the sets and the locations, it’s high-end adult entertainment with these beautiful Black men, and it’s been a long time coming. It’s extremely important, and I am so appreciative of Noir Male and Jon Blitt. It wasn’t lip service. He really wanted to have [men of color] directors, writers, people who could operate a camera—and if you didn’t know how to do that, they have people to teach you. This is what we need, and now here we are. We’re actually doing it. It’s amazing.” And as befits his quiet, humble nature, Jackson is happy to let his work speak for itself—and hopes that other companies follow Mile High’s lead.  “Last year, I found it very…curious to note how everyone wanted to be woke all of a sudden. This has been going on for years and years, and it was just like, ‘Why now? Why did it take this particular incident to wake a lot of people up?’” he sighs. “For me, I didn’t really understand it. But I’m accepting of any allies. I really think it did have an effect on the industry. We had a lot of companies trying to shift gears and really trying to incorporate men of color all of a sudden, and we had a lot of models being cancelled. “I’ve been in the industry for over a decade now, and I’ve seen it. I’ve been a part of it. I’ve had to deal with the stereotypes and feeding into the narrative of how black men and men of color are viewed in the porn industry—or any industry, for that matter. I think it really shifted things. Now, is it going to last? I don’t know. I really hope it does. And I’m going to play my part in trying to keep the focus on keeping diversity within all sectors of all these companies. Let’s not do it just because this is the thing to do right now. Let’s make it permanent.”