We are often blinded by the glitz and glamour of popular stars but not everyone knows about the struggle that some of them go through at the beginning of their career. There a number of stars who have made a name for themselves in the mainstream entertainment industry but before getting into it, they had to struggle for their living.
Some of them even acted in adult films. Though there are some stars who defend it and say that it was their choice to be an adult film star, some did it because of mere survival needs. We bring to you a list of popular actors and actresses who have been in the adult film industry.
Cameron Diaz
A successful Hollywood star, Cameron Diaz has appeared in many successful movies like the Star Trek series, Charlie's Angels series and Knight and Day. The actress has been praised for her acting abilities in movies like Being John Malkovich (1999), Vanilla Sky (2001), Gangs of New York (2002) and There's Something About Mary (1998), and is no doubt one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood. But fans may not know that before becoming a star, she had appeared in adult movies for a brief period of time.
Jackie Chan
One of the most popular action stars, Jackie Chan, has acted in more than 150 films. The martial artist, however, did an adult film called All In the Family after commercial failures.
Sunny Leone
Sunny Leone made a debut in the entertainment industry of India with reality TV show Big Boss and after gaining popularity, she received several offers from Bollywood filmmakers. Currently, she is an established Bollywood actress and working with some well-known actors of the industry. She is one of the most searched celebrities on Google and has 21 million followers on Facebook. However, she was from the adult film industry and well-known in Canada and the US.
Sylvester Stallone
One of the most popular actors of Hollywood, Sylvester Stallone aka Rambo has had his share of bad luck. There was a time when Stallone was evicted from his apartment and became completely homeless for several days. To get some money, he ending up doing a role in an adult feature film -- The Party at Kitty and Stud's (1970).
Helen Mirren
Academy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren is one of the best actresses in the world, but surprisingly not many are aware of the fact that she has appeared in an adult film known as Caligula, which explicitly featured some 'Roman Orgy' scenes.
Peter O'Toole
Peter O'Toole is also one of the most acclaimed actors with eight Oscar nominations. Just like Helen Mirren, Peter O'Toole too appeared in Caligula.
Sasha Grey
Sasha Grey debuted in the mainstream entertainment industry by appearing on several well-known television programs. Before that, she was in the adult film industry and also won numerous awards for her work between 2007 and 2010. Grey later shifted her focus to mainstream and worked with Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh in The Girlfriend Experience (2009). She also starred in Smash Cut, a Canadian black comedy horror. She was also a member of an industrial music band –aTelecine.