Monday, April 1, 2013

An Ordinary Day: Randall O'Reilly by Joe Mazza


'I have always wanted to be fucked on the streets OR in the woods! Oh that would be so hot!'


One might assume living the life of an adult film star would be extraordinary. Lavish parties, yachts, mansions and swimming pools all accompanied by non stop sex and orgies. Truth is actors in adult films for the most part, when not on camera, live pretty ordinary lives. Randall O'Reilly for example, spends most of his hours studying. As a full time student with Radiology technician as the end goal, Randall has two years of pre-course classes left before he can apply to a Radiology program. When not studying, he also works at a hospital and with the little free time left, Randall likes to ski, hike, camp and go fishing. When off screen, he prefers cuddling and what he calls 'lovey vanilla type sex' over the various wilder scenarios and positions he is usually asked to do on film.


With an adult film actor as a model, it would have been easy for San Francisco photographer Joe Mazza to have put Randall naked on that street he described, or spread-eagled deep in the woods. His choice of focusing on the ordinary, rather than the extraordinary, is why this series, especially the images of Randall in the kitchen making tea, has become one of my all time favorites.

In The Kitchen

We all get up each morning and head to the kitchen to make tea or coffee, but rarely has it looked so enticing. Most artists can skillfully capture the extraordinary, that is easy. The hard part is making the ordinary looks so beautifully sexy and erotic as Joe has with this series. The images so beautiful, yet so simple. Great lighting and the kitchen location, detailed, but not distracting, allow us to enjoy and focus on Randall, his personality, his body and the small movements made.


The images speak to Joe's relaxed and focused style of shooting. He enjoys spending time with the models he shoots, working to get a sense of their personality and how they can work together to capture great images. Joe describes Randall as a sweet sweet guy and it is clear in these shots, that Joe has beautifully captured a side of Randall that most who have only seen his work on film, would not have had a chance to experience.


Seeing the extra within the ordinary is not new for Joe. He has spent much of life observing and photographing the human experience. While traveling some of the worlds most remote and desolate locations, most of Joe's traveling companions aimed their cameras towards the landscape and architecture. Joe on the other hand, focused his lens on the faces of the people. It was those people who helped form the artists fascination with the story behind the eyes of his subjects, a trait still central to Joe's work today.


Exploring human behavior and expression is also part of another of Joe's passions, acting. Finding truth within the moment is key to giving a good performance no matter what the situation or circumstance. This is something Joe has done himself over his 20 year acting career. Today, he works helping others, with actors in his role as an acting couch, and as a photographer, with the models he shoots. The images capturing the moments of Randall in the kitchen are both relaxed and natural. Even when completely naked, in poses which may not (sadly) be part of one's daily tea making rituals, it feels very real, not set up or forced.


Joe, along with Alex Bego, Dylan Rosser and five other photographers from around the world joined forces last year to launch the 2012 ACT-Q Calendar – New Beginnings, the first homoerotic art calendar (in this case, male nude photographs) to support the fundraising campaign for establishing the first LGBT Arts Center in Bucharest, Romania. Check out more HERE:


Joe Mazza Official Site:



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I want to lick those star tats!

Bobby F said...

And him freeballing is extra points in my book!