Interview: Danni Rivers Acts Out

Photos of Danni Rivers by Jeff Koga for Sweet Sinner. This article originally ran in the June issue of AVN magazine. Click here for the digital edition. After her first year as an active adult performer, Danni Rivers opened up a new chapter: She wanted to act more in adult productions. Rivers was already credited with 70 scenes in IAFD.com ("That many?" she asked with a delighted grin) and she had been nominated for a 2019 AVN Award for Best Virtual Reality Sex Scene for "Taming the Sphinx" for WankzVR.com. "That scene was pretty cool, with my bestie Rosalyn Sphinx and Damon Dice. He's a sweet guy. I found out when my agent called me. I was, like, 'Wait — what?' I didn't think I would be nominated for anything." She has a background in acting, dating back to her childhood: "I've been doing drama classes since I was a little kid. My parents would put me into these activities to keep me busy, because I was very energetic. Now I just play off of that. I did minor roles and behind-the-scenes in school and I also sang in choir, so the stage is not an unfamiliar place to me. I've always had a thing for performing, but I've never taken classes. I know there's such a thing as Method Acting, but I haven't explored it ... I use the Danni Rivers method," she says with a laugh. "I love acting," Rivers says. "I like being in character. Sometimes I get to be my typical self, happy, kind; but then I get to be the exact opposite, which I never do because that's not me. It's fun to play a challenging role. I can do both [acting and sex performing]—obviously, I'm in the industry—but you have to tone down the sex when you're acting because you can keep it real, like it actually would be. No crazy killing-my-back upside-down twisted positions. Nobody does that in everyday life, unless they're feeling experimental." Rivers was preparing to play the lead in a new production with Jacky St. James when she spoke with AVN. "I had a lead with Jacky, but it wasn't as intense as this one coming up is. She's trying to push me, but I enjoy the push," Rivers says. "Pretty much all my leads have been with Jacky. I like to think my acting skills are okay, but there's room for improvement. She's pushing those boundaries. I'm on every single page of this script." (Rivers is pictured above on set for St. James’ movie The Girls Next Door, out now from Sweet Sinner.) As her acting progresses, Rivers is looking forward to working in intense vignettes. "I've never had one of those characters where it's super-intense and you have to stay in character. I'm just waiting for the day that I get the call from my agent that says, 'Bree Mills wants to talk to you.' I'd be screaming it from the rooftops. She brings it out of you. I love the intensity and the taboo-ness of her stuff." Rivers says her ideal character to play is "bad-ass. Something out of Mr. & Mrs. Smith or Kill Bill. Kill Bill is my all-time favorite movie. Quentin Tarantino is my man. If I could get a character like Uma Thurman, that would be so fun."