December 28, 2021 |
Harden Fast: Anton Harden Bursts Onto XXX Scene |
LOS ANGELES â Anton Harden tells AVN the past year has been about pushing himself to become a better performer on and off the set. The 26-year-old contract stud for Vixen Media Group is a finalist for the Best Male Newcomer trophy at the 2022 AVN Awards on Jan. 22, thanks to an eventful year of major-league performances for Blacked.com, BlackedRaw and Deeper. âIt really means a lot,â Harden says. âFirst of all, itâs an honor even being a part of the industry. Even getting a chance to be here and do the work is amazing.â It didnât matter if it was one or two girlsâa fast-rising newbie or a seasoned porn superstar as his scene partner for the dayâwhen it was time for action, the soft-spoken Harden delivered. He thanks the team at VMG for âgiving me a chance.â âFor teaching me the ropes, the techniques, the camera anglesâteaching me all the stuff that it takes to become a better performer,â says Harden, who grew up in Charlotte, N.C. and moved to Atlanta before his junior year of high school. A former computer science major who worked at a Lenscrafters warehouse in Atlanta and also at Chik-fil-A for more than two years before adult, Harden says his first full year in the business has been âa challengeââbut in a good way. âIt took some adjusting to get used toânot even just performing on camera, just the behind-the-scenes stuff. This is like running a business and they donât tell you that stuff when youâre watching videos at home with your bottle of lotion. Itâs a lot,â Harden says with a laugh. âIâve been fortunate to have a company like Vixen behind me, helping me and believing in me. All the performers Iâve been working with have been great. I love everybody I worked with, I love everybody in the community. Congrats to the other male performers also nominated for Newcomer as well.â Harden also is riding into January with a nomination for Best Gangbang Scene for his contribution to Influence Emily Willis Part 4, a Blacked/VMG production that co-stars Rob Piper, Isiah Maxwell, Tee Reel and Willis, the 2021 AVN Female Performer of the Year. His big break last year someday may be the stuff of legend. Determined to prove himself, he reached out to superstar performer Vicki Chaseâmore than onceâthrough social media and Chase finally decided to give him a test drive in August 2020. Vicki, the 2015 AVN Award-winner for Best Oral Sex Scene and February AVN cover girl, took a road trip to Atlanta and tried out Harden for her OnlyFans content. Suffice it to say the âauditionâ with Chase in an Atlanta hotel room went well. Now about 100 professional scenes later, Harden is well established as exclusive talent for one of the top adult studios in the world with bookings that will take him all the way through 2022. âWhen I go back to look at my first videos I see that I had the raw skill, but I just wasnât polished with the camera angles or positioning or the timing,â says Harden, who shouted out VMG directors Derek Dozer, Laurent Sky and Kayden Kross for their guidance in the past year. âNow I know the ins and outs. I get in there and I know this angle is going to be popular, that this is what the fans want. âAlso Iâve just matured a lot inside. Iâm ready to go out there and shoot with anybody and everybody.â A student of the game, Harden says when he watches his scenes later that sometimes heâll slide into the comments section and reply to the fans. âMostly itâs like homework,â he adds. But when he's not performing Harden says heâs not someone who checks social media all the time despite already having 44,000-plus followers on his second Twitter account at press time. âIâd rather stay in my lane, work for my company and do my thing,â Harden says. âEverybodyâs doing their own thing and itâs easier to get distracted by what other people are doing. Iâm not saying Iâm not friendly, I just separate myself from it all. Itâs somewhat hard being in the industry and keeping your mind regular. It takes a lot of work.â He says some of his most challengingâand rewarding scenesâso far have come when he steps onto set for Deeper, where the dialogue and setups often are more elaborate before the sex begins. âIâd probably say one of my favorites is shooting for Deeper. They focus more on acting and roles and lines,â Harden says. His scene with Lulu Chu in Kayden Krossâs Muse 2, âWhat We Have Lost,â so far has earned a terrific 9.4 rating on Deeper. âIt just did way better than I even expected it to for a site thatâs for acting and theatre and not just based on being Black,â Harden says. âIt just surprised me. Iâm so glad it did so well. Iâm breaking that wall⦠I can be the BBC guy, the Blacked.com guy, but I want to do other stuff, too.â Harden comes prepared knowing that every day on set brings different challenges. âSometimes you have sets that could be cold. Iâve shot in freezing cold and Iâve shot in sun rooms in the burning heat in Beverly Hills⦠It shapes you. It shapes your skills and what to expect when you get to set, which I think has been making me a better performer,â says Harden, who shoots at least two or three scenes every week. His off-the-set regimen includes running, working out at the gym and eating a lot of protein. âIâve definitely kicked it up a notch in the gym,â Harden says. âIâm doing what it takes to build the performer body.â He prefers road work at nighttime but sometimes heâll jog on the treadmill while listening to NBA YoungBoy, The Devil Wears Prada and We Came As Romans, among other artists. Harden will be getting his passport in 2022 with plans for a European trip to work with VMG producer/director Julia Grandiâs talented crew. âOther than being a software developer for iOS apps this is the second best dream jobâbeing a top-class porn starâI just love it,â Harden says. âI love going to work, the money is good, Iâm just good.â He adds that âprobably my favorite thing is just trying to see how I can change it up.â âWith everybody I can do something a little different,â Anton reasons. âI donât want to be one of those stagnant performers, like I know what heâs going to do⦠I like mixing it up, meeting new people, having them mesh ideas. Kenzie Reeves is really good at that. Sheâll throw out some ideas and weâll put that in there. The creativity is my favorite.â Plus the family support he receives means the world to him. âI was just back home a few weeks ago for Thanksgiving⦠My brothers, they still crack on me,â Harden jokes. âThe love is there⦠My mom is above and beyond the clouds for meâthatâs support. I tell her that all this is just for us to live a better a life in the end. I do love my job and itâs fun but in the end I want to take care of my mom, buy a nice house and have family security and such.â
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