“Yeah, I met with people who were in the web-scamming business. I did as much research as possible in order to really understand the personality and everything that goes along with being in this industry, so that my portrayal came off as authentic as possible.”
Is it a large industry?
“It is surprisingly — at least, much larger than I thought. There are people all over the world who are doing it. You know, you can do it right from home. You flip open your laptop, turn on your webcam, sign up through sites, and they send you a check every month with the money you’re making. You have high school students, college students in their dorms, parents, all sorts of people.”
Photo: Rob Latour/Rex USA.
You get a sense that there are elements of abuse — that your character was not necessarily making the choice to be apart of that world. Do you have a different sense or appreciation for people who are forced into these ambiguous sex industries?
“I found it to be really interesting what I uncovered. I think some people don’t have a choice, they kind of get forced. At the same time there are people who just see it as an easy way to make money. For them, they’re so comfortable in their own skin and comfortable with their sexuality that they have no problem doing it because they realize it’s an easy way to make money and not need to further an education; they can sit at home and make a thousand bucks a week being on the computer for two hours. It’s really interesting the different types of characters who are in the business, for the reasons they are in it. Obviously, Kyle is a character that is fairly damaged, grew up on the streets, and came from a broken-down family. He saw this as an opportunity to make money. At the same time he likes what he does. He’s so comfortable with himself that he doesn’t really see a problem doing it. He just hasn’t looked at his future yet.”