Bracing for a punch in the face, porn legend Ron Jeremy didn’t know what to expect when he bumped into Billy Ray Cyrus at an event.
Jeremy had recorded a parody of his daughter Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball music video.
While the popular imitation has garnered more than 4.6 million hits on YouTube Jeremy wasn’t sure about Cyrus’ take on his re-enactment.
“He actually thought it was funny,” laughed Jeremy, who was in Red Deer for the Taboo ... Naughty but Nice (Sex) Show on Friday and Saturday.
“He put his arm around me and we took pictures together.”
Most people will still connect Jeremy with the porn industry. Since the late 1970s, the award-winning actor has made close to 2,000 adult-films.
But he is one of the few adult film stars who has successfully crossed over into the mainstream movie business.
Jeremy, 61, said he never imagined that his career would turn out this way and that he would still be going strong after all these years.
“No absolutely not,” said Jeremy, who was a high school teacher before he decided to bare it all to gain acting exposure.
“I think it’s the work ethic. I came from an educated family. My brother went to Harvard. You work hard. My dad wouldn’t have cared if I was a dishwasher or shined shoes for a living. He just wanted me to be the best at it.”
Jeremy said his mother, who was a spy during the Second World War, understood him better than anyone.
“Her greatest expression was my boy Ron dances to a different drummer,” he said.
Jeremy said his life as a porn star has opened up a lot of doors over the years. Jeremy said both the porn industry and the mainstream movie industry are suffering because nobody can compete with free on the Internet.
But he believes there will always be a porn industry whether people pay or get it for free because people have a voyeuristic nature.
Jeremy still makes the odd porn movie every year because “it’s too much fun to give up” but he has been keeping most of his clothes on for his new roles.
Jeremy has been in more than 200 mainstream movies including Boondock Saints, Detroit Rock City and Ghostbusters commercials, and reality television shows such as the The Surreal Life.
Jeremy will appear in the soon-to-be released Jersey Shore Massacre and Haunted Trailer. Most recently he was nominated for a Toscar award, awards for parody movies. Jeremy starred in British Hustle (a take off on the Oscar-nominated American Hustle).
He is a classically trained pianist and plays the harmonica and violin. He has appeared in music videos by artists such as LMFAO, Kid Rock, and Guns N’ Roses.
His 2007-autobiography Ron Jeremy: The Hardest (Working) Man In Showbiz is a best seller on the New York Times list.
Jeremy is not sure what is left on his “to-do” list.
“Life has taken interesting turns,” said Jeremy. “Things have worked out in the acting field. So who knows. I have some big projects coming up so we will see what happens.”
crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com