Katsumi is one of the most acclaimed adult film stars both in the US and Europe. Having appeared in well over 200 erotic films, she recently signed as a contract star with Digital Playground, known for producing high-end explicit erotica with an eye toward exotic locales and high fashion.
It's a perfect fit, and not just because Katsumi has already appeared
in such DP productions as the Jack's
Playground and Jack's
Teen America series, Deeper
2, Cockasian.
Katsumi's a shoe-in for Digital Playground stardom for the simple
reason that porn stars don't get much more exotic than this striking
French-Vietnamese beauty who's won awards at both the Erotic Film
Festival in Barcelona and the AVN Awards; moreover, almost nobody
looks better in high fashion than the gorgeous Katsumi.
Katsumi's chosen stage name is both a Japanese given name and a pun
on the English "cat" (mrrowr!!) and the French "soumis" ("submissive").
But there's more to Katsumi than meets the eye, and to think of her
as purely submissive would be erroneous -- she's in charge of her
own stardom, and rising fast.
Currently living in Paris and traveling regularly to the Los Angeles area, Katsumi recently took some time out while attending the Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas to chat with Eros Zine.
Eros Zine: You've worked with a lot of different video production companies, both in the United States and all over Europe. What made you want to become a contract star with Digital Playground at this point in your career?
Katsumi: It just seemed like the perfect time. For many years
I've been doing features in Europe and gonzo in America; a few months
ago I decided it's time to change my career, to choose more of my
own movies, more features that will make more of my reputation and
my name, that are classier. I've been working with Robby D, and he
was very interested in a contract with me, and I decided it was the
perfect time.
Eros Zine: When you started out, did you work only in France?
Katsumi: For two years I was under contract, working only in Europe; I worked everywhere in Europe, in Italy, France, the Czech Republic.... then I began to work in the USA, which was so different. Now, I work only in the US, but I still have a career in Europe.
Eros Zine: Yes, I understand you're much better known as a star in Europe?
Katsumi: [laughs] I don't know if am more famous there; I've
been working there a long time.
Eros Zine: Do you still live in France?
Katsumi: Yes, I still live in Paris. I feature dance in Europe.
Eros Zine: What's different about your work in the US versus Europe?
Katsumi: The business in Europe is more about features, because they sell a lot to TV, especially in France. I didn't do a lot of features in America because when I arrived here my English wasn't very good [laughs]. But in France I did shoot big budget films. It's a very different market.
Eros Zine: With Digital Playground, are you going to be doing more features?
Katsumi: Yes, that's definitely what I want.
Eros Zine: Do you know what films you're going to be working on first?
Katsumi: I know that I will be on Pirates 2 this year.
It's a huge production; it's really incredible. I'm so proud to be
in this movie. I will come back to the US in February to do gonzo
and some photographs, and I will be doing a virtual DVD with Joone.
Eros Zine: I hear you're also working on a memoir?
Katsumi: Yes. It's not easy because to write, because I need to take a distance with my job if I want to write a memoir. Maybe it would be easier if I waited until I've stopped with my career. At the same time, I don't want to speak only about my experiences as an adult actress; I want to I want to speak about things I feel. So I just write and I will see when I am ready to finish the whole book. I want to take my time; I don't want to do it just because I want to sell something I really want to do something personal. I don't really want to speak about everything I did in my career; I want to speak about my experiences as a woman; I want to speak about sex. I want to speak about the feelings you can have when you do a scene, because lots of people wonder how it is to be a porn star -- they don't really understand how we can have sex with somebody we don't know, for instance.
Eros Zine: Do you find that when you do interviews, people have preconceptions about you as a porn star?
Katsumi: Often times they ask questions about my relationships with my family with my boyfriend, because they don't understand that it can be okay to be in this business and have a happy private life. What I don't really like is that usually when interviewers about my private life, it is usually to look for a problem. They would like me to say, "Oh yes I have been raped when I was younger," or "I take drugs." I don't really like that in France they invite porn stars on TV but when you say "I do porn and I like it," they don't like that. Because for them it is not possible.
Eros Zine: Even in France that's true? Because Americans have a stereotype that France is very libertine and sexually accepting -- much more open about sex...
Katsumi: Not so much. They bring porn stars on TV because it makes people watch, but they don't really want to talk about our job; they don't really care. It is not easy to have interesting interviews.
Eros Zine: Did you grow up in Paris?
Katsumi: no I grew up in a small city in France but I live in Paris now.
Eros Zine: What was that transition like?
Katsumi: In the beginning I hated Paris, because it's so noisy and it's a lot of stress it's true that people in Paris are aggressive we don't really have a good reputation. But at the same time, once you know Paris you fall in love. And finally, when you leave Paris after that, you realized that you miss it.
I feel very lucky because I have the opportunity to be in Paris and in the USA, so I have both sides. And when I live in Paris I appreciate more the fact that I can work in LA.
Eros Zine: Are there things about Los Angeles that you like?
Katsumi: Los Angeles is so different from Paris! It's the opposite. It is always beautiful; the cars are all beautiful; the people are rich; it's not really human. In Paris, it's a lot of stress, it's crowded, it's a lot of contact. But it's full of restaurants, and you have always have something to do in Paris.
I like Los Angeles because it's a great place to work; people are very professional. It's a great place to shoot, because the houses are all very big and the weather is always good.
Eros Zine: Have you traveled around the world much?
Katsumi: Yes I worked everywhere in Europe -- Italy, Spain, England, the Czech Republic, Germany. I've never been to Japan or Asia -- but, everywhere in Europe. This is what I like about my job; I can meet all kinds of people and I realize that in each country that culture is different, so porn is different; movies are different.
Eros Zine: Does the American porn industry exert any influence on the French porn industry, or are they very different?
Katsumi: No; they really have their own style in France. Most of the time in France, they redo features to sell them to French TV, and French TV has its own rules. It can't be very hardcore; if it can be a little bit funny, it's even better. The fact that porn is funny makes it easier, because there is an attitude that even though it's sex it's not too serious.
I would say in the United States features are better produced because they have bigger budgets than in France, and we don't have as many actresses working in France.
Eros Zine: There's a smaller number of actresses working in France than in the US?
Katsumi: Yes, we can't compare with America. American girls are so eager to act!
Eros Zine: Thanks for taking the time to chat with us, Katsumi!
Katsumi: Thank you!
Eros Zine: Readers can find out more about Katsumi at her MySpace page, at DigitalPlayground.com, and at ClubKatsumi.com, as well as in such films as Jack's Playground 9, Jack's Teen America 4, Deeper 2, and Cockasian.
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• EROTICA / ZINE
