FUN WITH JANE’S DICK!

In the HBO series “Hung”, blandly attractive actor Thomas Jane plays Ray Drecker: a divorced, middle-aged high school basketball coach with a house that’s just burned down and two kids who require child support. It seems like the only thing Ray has in his favor is that he’s, well… “hung”. What’s a broke guy with a big dick supposed to do? Become a male hooker, of course! Using his friend Tanya (Jane Adams) as his “pimp”, he sells his sexual services to lonely women. Reviews for the “Hung” were initially mixed (One critic questioned the plausibility of women in working-class Detroit being willing to pay for sex. I have to admit that I’m inclined to agree, despite being a fan of the show…). However, the series was apparently popular enough to be renewed for a second season. Despite the fact that HBO is not averse to full frontal male nudity (Remember “Oz“?) and that Ray Drecker’s big dick is the main character in the show, we never see Jane‘s penis on the screen– even though “Hung” features a good amount of simulated sex. When asked if his well-endowed character would ever consider selling his services to male clients, Mr. Jane responded, “I’ve always said that the year that Ray ends up with a penis in his mouth is the last year of the show.” That remark apparently struck some members of the gay media as being homophobic, although Jane was no doubt speaking from the perspective of his totally hetero character Ray. (Trivia: “Hung” is not the first film where Jane plays a male prostitute. What others were there? The answer’s at the bottom…)

In a recent interview with the “L.A. Times”, 42-year old Jane (who has appeared in a lot of movies, ranging from indies to the big budget “The Punisher” in 2004) revealed that he’s apparently had real-life experience with being a rentboy. It was back when he was a hungry, struggling actor… and his clients, not surprisingly, were Jacks rather than Jills. Jane stated, “Hey, you grow up as an artist in a big city, as James Dean said, you’re going to have one arm tied behind your back if you don’t accept people’s sexual flavors… You know, when I was a kid out here in L.A., I was homeless, I didn’t have any money and I was living in my car. I was 18. I wasn’t averse to going down to Santa Monica Boulevard and letting a guy buy me a sandwich. Know what I mean?”

Yes, Thomas, we do. And we won’t hold it against you! Later on in the interview, Jane went on to speak about whether being gay or straight is a choice, and his answer may raise a few eyebrows: “I’ll tell you what — it’s not a choice until you’re open enough to experience both male and female sexuality… Until you’ve tasted the food, you don’t know whether you’ll like it or not, as my mom always said.” Well, I for one have always believed that everyone should have a wide variety on their plate. And make it a BIG plate too!!!

(Answer to trivia: Thomas Jane played a hustler in the independent flicks “I Love You Forever, Tonight” in 1992 and “The Velocity of Gary [Not His Real Name]” in 1999.)