Alicia Rio Interview

Alicia Rio is one of the hottest X-rated stars to come along in the adult video business in quite some time. She's appeared in well over 100 films, and been nominated for Best New Starlet of the Year. And she even has her own Fan Club. Alicia has also performed in dance clubs all over the United States and Canada, and is a much sought after magazine model.

We talked with Alicia Rio about her career to date.

Q. Alicia, how long have you been dancing"?
A. I've been on the road dancing for about a year and a half.

Q. How did you make the jump from acting to dancing?
A. Well basically, any girl that does enough box cover work, and gets enough publicity in magazine work is able to feature in clubs. That doesn't mean every girl is going to be successful. Every girl has the opportunity to do that. So, you just have to stick your neck out, be brave, and go for it. (Laughs.) So, I did that. I danced for the first time in the club Ruby Tuesdays in Bridgeport, Connecticut. You just make the jump, because at that time I made over 70 films and I was getting a little burnt out, and I needed a change of pace, and so I started to dance.

Q. Is there a huge demand for adult film stars to be seen in - person dancing?
A. Yes there is, because it's always a fantasy for the guys, to actually see the girls on videotape. You never know what a girl is like personality-wise. Then, when they get to meet them and have their signature, and get to say "I saw you in such and such movie," and by the way I watch all my scenes, so I remember which movie in particular they're talking about, 'cause I care. I do a lot of movies, but I've really cut back my work, because dancing has taken off.

Q. You're obviously what is called a Feature Dancer?
A. Right. What I call myself is Latin Queen of Erotica.

Q. That means you make a lot of costume changes and have a lot of props on stage?
A. Not so many props, but costumes, yeah.

Q. When you're on the road do you workout to keep in shape?
A. Sometimes that's difficult, because of the hours of the club, and I need my beauty sleep. So I take dancing as my exercise. Once in a while I'll workout, but it's kind of difficult because of the hours that I'm there at the club.

Q. How did you get involved in adult films? Did someone approach you? Did you approach them?
A. No. As a matter of fact, prior to this business, after graduating from Cal State with a degree in Finance, I started working for a city in San Gabriel Valley as Deputy City Treasurer. I did that for many years. If I say how many, I'll give away my age. I got cheated out of a promotion that should've been mine. So I pretty much said, Take this job and shove it!! I did it the conventional way, the way we're brought up to be, and it didn't work for me. So, I filed a suit against the city for racial discrimination. And, it was in that time of the suit, that I said win or lose, I'm not going to be happy here. I need to find another way of making money. So, I got a magazine called L.A. Express, which ironically I was on the cover, a couple months later. I responded to an ad, and just went from there.

Q. Was it an ad for videos?
A. No. It was an ad for nude modeling. But, I never did do nude modeling. When I went in for my interview I worked my first scene. One girl didn't show up, and I was there, and they said, 'Well, do you want to start?' And I went, 'Sure.' I wasn't scared. I wasn't nervous. I just did it.

Q. Why weren't you scared?
A. Because I take risks. In this life, if you want to get ahead, you're gonna have to take big risks. I didn't quit my job, that's the whole thing. So, I went for it. I did adult movies for about three months, still working for the city. So, I was conservative, and wore glasses in the day, and then Alicia Rio wild and crazy at night, for about three months. Then I decided to really make the big jump and quit my job. But, it was normal. I'm literally made for this business.

Q. How many films have you appeared in?
A. I've appeared in about 150, and the list goes on.

Q. How long does it take to make one of those Films?
A. Well, it depends on who you're working for. (Laughs.) No. If the director is organized, the people are there on time, a good day is from 8 a.m. till 11 p.m. But, I've had days from 8 a.m. to 4 a.m.

Q. Can you then make 2 or 3 films a week?
A. That's what I did when I first got in the business. When you first get in the business you're considered 'fresh meat.' So, you work a lot. You're new. Then after that, you kind of mellow out your work. So, I dance 2 or 3 weeks out of the month. When I come back, I only do one or two projects. So, now I only do one or two movies a month.

Q. You're considered one of the hottest x-rated stars around today. Why do people say that about you?
A. It's the ability to enjoy one's self with a partner, an ability to have fun, and be oblivious to the cameras, yet still pay attention to them, from the corner of your eye, and the ability to use your ears as your eyes, meaning, when you're in a scene, you don't turn around and go, 'What? What did you say?' It ruins the whole scene. It's weird. You see with your ears is what I'm trying to say. (Laughs.)

Q. You read your scripts ahead of time?
A. No. They give 'em to you, the day of the set. Half the time I get the script the day of.

Q. The adult film industry brings in receipts of something like $10 billion a year. Is there an actor or actress who receives $1 million dollars a picture or more? Who's making all the money?
A. O.K. It's a pyramid, just like everything else is a pyramid. The government is a structural pyramid, the family structure. So, in this business, there's a structure also. The ones that make the money are the distributors, the producers, and the directors. Now, there's potential for any actress, to have an infinite income, if they produce their own movies, and their own life. But, just being talent, you're not going to do it. See, the whole thing is not just about films, it's about marketing. It's about having your own line of t-shirts, posters, and magazines. This business gives you an opportunity to expand, and to even go behind the scenes and start your own line, like a toy line. Domenique Simone has her own doll. There's just so many things. So, all in all, I don't think they make the money off of one movie. If an actress is to make that much, it's out of a wide range of marketing.

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