Rocco, the family man
Rocco Siffredi is arguably the world’s biggest male pornstar. The career of The Italian Stallion started in the early 1980’s and has spanned over a thousand adult movies as an actor, director and producer.
In recent years, Rocco has entered mainstream television with several reality projects which have enjoyed great popularity in Italy. His latest project, Casa Siffredi, showcases his personal life with wife Rozsa and sons Lorenzo and Leonardo.
Maria Chiara Duranti meets the real man behind the pornstar.
Hi Rocco, I’m sure most of our readers know what you are famous for, so let’s start this interview by telling them something they don’t know about you.
I am a good father, I love my family, I think that they are just the best part of me. I have a fantastic beautiful wife that I love to death and I am very proud of my two sons. I also think that I am a good person. I have fallen to the deepest dark corners of the world and I have always found a way to resurface. My family nucleus is very important to me, Rozsa is the boss in the house, busy with her work and family. She is my love, a mother and a businesswoman. My two sons Lorenzo and Leonardo are students. We have a lot of things in common, and we do a lot of sports together.
Are these the type of stories people get to hear in your new show in Italy, Casa Siffredi?
Yes in part. It’s our daily life at home and in business. This docu-reality series came after the success of Rocco to the Rescue and the reality Isola dei Famosi (Survivor), when TV viewers had the possibility to see my private side, the fragile and normal human face. In The Siffredi Family there is my life with my family but also you meet the rest of my relatives, my cousin Gabriel Unit, my good friends, my guests and also you see my new business, The Siffredi Academy, a boot camp for aspiring men and women who want to work in the porn industry, not just actor or actresses, but also writers, directors, etc… They live all together and I teach them everything about the industry.
Why do you think people are so curious to know what happens in your family life?
People are so curious because they can’t believe it. There is also a kind of respect from other men not just simple curiosity.
Have you had problems at home because of your career?
No, I didn’t have problems at home, not really, my family knows who I am, we talk. I can say that I have a very happy and normal family, a loved wife who loves me and we share everything together. I also share my spare time with my sons and I teach them to learn as much as possible: the more you know the more you get.
You are no stranger to reality television. You actually decided to quit adult acting during your stay at Playa Desnuda (Naked Island) in the Italian version of Survivor. Tell us more about that crucial moment?
My experience in Honduras was really intense, I can admit it was one of the most important moments in my life. I was alone with myself and I had to deal just with me. I spent 2 months on Cayos Cochinos leaving my wife and family. It was such a big experience, left by myself, alone for so many weeks. I was so alone that I really focused on my problems, on my demons and on me. For the first time I had the possibility to look inside myself thanks to a reality show. It was a special opportunity: from the pain to the discovering of myself. Think about my situation: I am a porn actor but at the same time I have a great perfect, normal family. I have two completely opposite lives: my job and my family. The Island was the opportunity to think about this double face, a fight with my demons and my beautiful life with the family. I think that I am a very lucky man.
Besides Casa Siffredi, what are you busy with right now? Any plans for other TV shows?
The Siffredi Family was great and I really hope to do more I would like to do a talent about porn, an X Factor but related to sex. Also I would like to host a talkshow about sex. My idea is to do a show for a young oriented target group. I think that I would like to talk about sexual topics. Nowadays, many young people don’t know much about sex and love. When I made the docu-series Rocco to the Rescue I met many couples who had lost the pleasure of having sex, so I liked the idea of teaching them to play again and rediscover each other. I think that a talkshow should perfectly fit me in this role. I can help people to resolve their sexual problems.
Will your TV career mean the end of your adult entertainment career?
I always say that, but I am still working in the industry as a producer and director. I also teach when the courses began at the Siffredi Hard Academy: I like the idea of teaching at the bootcamp, in a real university of porn. I would like to produce a talent of porn maybe this is just an idea…
What do you like to watch?
I love culture. I watch cultural TV programs. I like to watch documentaries and everything on Discovery Channel or National Geographic. Maybe it sounds strange, but I like culture and I explain to my sons that it’s important to know.
If Rocco Siffredi could run a channel, which one would it be and what shows would he put on air?
Definitely educative programs but entertaining, fun and ironic shows: people have to laugh and have fun. People need to learn as much as possible.
You mentioned you are running your own adult academy in Hungary. What do you teach your students?
I’ve always had the dream to teach in a real school, this was my own opportunity. A group of aspiring actors with the aim to graduate from the Academy. This was a challenge for me to give lectures to a group of young people and to help them discover themselves.
Does size matter? On and off screen.
(Laughing)…yes of course a lot but just in front of a camera.
Do you think there is sexism on television?
Are you kidding me?! Of course there is and it is a lot. There are so many TV shows that are so sexist and having recently watched shows like Ciao Darwin (airs on Canale 5), I got the impression that many shots were made by professional porn cameramen. That kind of program is very sexist but also Le Iene (Caiga Quien Caiga, Italia 1) is another example.
How would you rate the uncensored scenes in Game of Thrones?
Well, the line between art and pornography is very thin. Do you know that many actors in the series are porn actors or former porn actors? There are many porn actresses turned Game of Thrones stars like for example Maisie Dee, she plays the role of a prostitute, and there are many other examples. I can define it as an erotic series.
Why do you think porn is growing more and more popular with every year? What does this tell you about people nowadays?
Today we are surrounded by porn, with the internet it’s easier, but in the last few years sex has changed in the porn industry: it’s more and more extreme and audiences always want more and sex is becoming more artificial. Nowadays, men are more afraid of women. We are literally invaded by pornography today.
I have always wondered what do porn stars do in their free time? What about you?
I like to do sports, especially with my two sons. I really work a lot, but when I have spare time I spend all my time with my family. I like to be surrounded by genuine feelings and love. ▪
I am a good father, I love my family, I think that they are just the best part of me. I have a fantastic beautiful wife that I love to death and I am very proud of my two sons. I also think that I am a good person. I have fallen to the deepest dark corners of the world and I have always found a way to resurface. My family nucleus is very important to me, Rozsa is the boss in the house, busy with her work and family. She is my love, a mother and a businesswoman. My two sons Lorenzo and Leonardo are students. We have a lot of things in common, and we do a lot of sports together.
Are these the type of stories people get to hear in your new show in Italy, Casa Siffredi?
Yes in part. It’s our daily life at home and in business. This docu-reality series came after the success of Rocco to the Rescue and the reality Isola dei Famosi (Survivor), when TV viewers had the possibility to see my private side, the fragile and normal human face. In The Siffredi Family there is my life with my family but also you meet the rest of my relatives, my cousin Gabriel Unit, my good friends, my guests and also you see my new business, The Siffredi Academy, a boot camp for aspiring men and women who want to work in the porn industry, not just actor or actresses, but also writers, directors, etc… They live all together and I teach them everything about the industry.
Why do you think people are so curious to know what happens in your family life?
People are so curious because they can’t believe it. There is also a kind of respect from other men not just simple curiosity.
Have you had problems at home because of your career?
No, I didn’t have problems at home, not really, my family knows who I am, we talk. I can say that I have a very happy and normal family, a loved wife who loves me and we share everything together. I also share my spare time with my sons and I teach them to learn as much as possible: the more you know the more you get.
You are no stranger to reality television. You actually decided to quit adult acting during your stay at Playa Desnuda (Naked Island) in the Italian version of Survivor. Tell us more about that crucial moment?
My experience in Honduras was really intense, I can admit it was one of the most important moments in my life. I was alone with myself and I had to deal just with me. I spent 2 months on Cayos Cochinos leaving my wife and family. It was such a big experience, left by myself, alone for so many weeks. I was so alone that I really focused on my problems, on my demons and on me. For the first time I had the possibility to look inside myself thanks to a reality show. It was a special opportunity: from the pain to the discovering of myself. Think about my situation: I am a porn actor but at the same time I have a great perfect, normal family. I have two completely opposite lives: my job and my family. The Island was the opportunity to think about this double face, a fight with my demons and my beautiful life with the family. I think that I am a very lucky man.
Besides Casa Siffredi, what are you busy with right now? Any plans for other TV shows?
The Siffredi Family was great and I really hope to do more I would like to do a talent about porn, an X Factor but related to sex. Also I would like to host a talkshow about sex. My idea is to do a show for a young oriented target group. I think that I would like to talk about sexual topics. Nowadays, many young people don’t know much about sex and love. When I made the docu-series Rocco to the Rescue I met many couples who had lost the pleasure of having sex, so I liked the idea of teaching them to play again and rediscover each other. I think that a talkshow should perfectly fit me in this role. I can help people to resolve their sexual problems.
Will your TV career mean the end of your adult entertainment career?
I always say that, but I am still working in the industry as a producer and director. I also teach when the courses began at the Siffredi Hard Academy: I like the idea of teaching at the bootcamp, in a real university of porn. I would like to produce a talent of porn maybe this is just an idea…
What do you like to watch?
I love culture. I watch cultural TV programs. I like to watch documentaries and everything on Discovery Channel or National Geographic. Maybe it sounds strange, but I like culture and I explain to my sons that it’s important to know.
If Rocco Siffredi could run a channel, which one would it be and what shows would he put on air?
Definitely educative programs but entertaining, fun and ironic shows: people have to laugh and have fun. People need to learn as much as possible.
Siffredi late academy
You mentioned you are running your own adult academy in Hungary. What do you teach your students?
I’ve always had the dream to teach in a real school, this was my own opportunity. A group of aspiring actors with the aim to graduate from the Academy. This was a challenge for me to give lectures to a group of young people and to help them discover themselves.
Does size matter? On and off screen.
(Laughing)…yes of course a lot but just in front of a camera.
Do you think there is sexism on television?
Are you kidding me?! Of course there is and it is a lot. There are so many TV shows that are so sexist and having recently watched shows like Ciao Darwin (airs on Canale 5), I got the impression that many shots were made by professional porn cameramen. That kind of program is very sexist but also Le Iene (Caiga Quien Caiga, Italia 1) is another example.
How would you rate the uncensored scenes in Game of Thrones?
Well, the line between art and pornography is very thin. Do you know that many actors in the series are porn actors or former porn actors? There are many porn actresses turned Game of Thrones stars like for example Maisie Dee, she plays the role of a prostitute, and there are many other examples. I can define it as an erotic series.
Why do you think porn is growing more and more popular with every year? What does this tell you about people nowadays?
Today we are surrounded by porn, with the internet it’s easier, but in the last few years sex has changed in the porn industry: it’s more and more extreme and audiences always want more and sex is becoming more artificial. Nowadays, men are more afraid of women. We are literally invaded by pornography today.
I have always wondered what do porn stars do in their free time? What about you?
I like to do sports, especially with my two sons. I really work a lot, but when I have spare time I spend all my time with my family. I like to be surrounded by genuine feelings and love. ▪
