True Detective’s overhyped orgy can be summed up in one word: boring.
If only the cameras had lingered longer, but alas the focus was on Rachel McAdams—not all the writhing, naked bodies in the background. As she fought her way deeper into the den of whores in a drug-induced haze, the minuscule glimpses of erotica grew increasingly blurred. Hot young women in various stages of undress were strewn about the party scene, suggestive of more explicit acts. With each frame we waited, breath held, for McAdams to stumble into what surely hinted at avant-garde sexual theatrics. No such luck. If there was anything kinky going on at that sex party it was behind closed doors.
Though it seemed, to us viewers, like one of the lamer sex parties we’ve ever seen, what was it for the women involved?
Back in March, well before True Detective’s second season premiere, The Hollywood Reporter ran a piece speculating that a “deliriously vast, Eyes Wide Shut-caliber orgy sequence involving dozens of naked bodies” would make itself known on the HBO show, and that creator Nic Pizzolatto and Co. had hired a handful of porn stars to participate in the kinky mansion shenanigans.
Porn actresses Alix Lynx and Peta Jensen appeared in arguably the kinkiest moment during the orgy—one blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene where Rachel McAdams’s eyes dart to a corner to take in a bloated older gentleman of influence taking the two women from behind.
“Me and my co-star Peta Jensen were in that little room for hours,” Alix Lynx tells The Daily Beast. “We were naked and the dude was going at it from behind both of us and all we had separating us were these little strips we put over our lady bits. We had to do it hundreds of times, so we all got pretty close.”
Filming fake sex can take a lot longer than capturing the real thing since there’s no limit to the number of takes a director can demand. Fake sex can go on for days, which is just one of the many lessons Lynx learned from her first foray into the mainstream. “For that one little spot that I was in for 30 seconds… I spent three days doing that!” says Lynx, who has a newfound appreciation for the amount of work it takes to create a TV show.
Spending that many days on a porn set is unheard of unless you have dialogue to recite. Accustomed to in-and-out shoots, not all porn stars are up for the challenge of spending long hours and consecutive days on set, even if it’s for mainstream bragging rights. Lynx says she and her colleagues “were asked to do it because we are reliable,” not a trait all adult actresses can claim.
Reflecting on her most memorable moment, it’s not the presence of McAdams sitting in a nearby makeup chair that springs to mind, but a chance encounter with Colin Farrell. “I was walking outside during downtime, on set exploring the property, turned a corner and almost walked right into Colin Farrell,” says Lynx. “We made eye contact, then I was shooed away by the crew.”One porn star managed to get a whole lot closer to the show’s star than she’d planned.
Hustler cover girl Charlotte Stokely gushes about what it was like to work in close proximity to Rachel McAdams—and she did more than just make eye contact with the A-lister. “The scene when I’m in the washroom and she barges in to throw up drugs, my high heel was out too far and she hit me with the door. I happily took the opportunity to make full eye contact and we exchanged a few words laughing,” says Stokely. “I never told her how much I love Mean Girls. Even though I’ve seen the movie a gazillion times.”
Stokely was the closest porn star to McAdams, so maybe it’s no coincidence that she’s also the most clothed?
While True Detective failed to deliver anything more than a subpar orgy rife with clichés, perhaps the show should be applauded for its understated use of porn star talent. Whereas many mainstream productions exploit porn star identities, these women were given roles that made them difficult to discern from the other extras, for better or worse.
