Simon Pegg and Sasha Grey have little in common. Pegg is a drama club dork and lifelong science fiction fan. Grey is a former porn star known for films like I Wanna Bang Your Sister. But both have transcended their subcultures and become genuine celebrities, Pegg through satirical films like Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, Grey with a star turn in Steven Soderbergh’s The Girlfriend Experience and a recurring spot on Entourage. And now, both have written books that celebrate their crossover appeal. We pored through Nerd Do Well and Neü Sex to figure out how anyone from a comic-book geek to a porn star can seduce the mainstream.
Simon Pegg |
5 Steps to Crossover Success |
Sasha Grey |
||
Grew up near Brockworth in Gloucestershire, England, a town famous for its annual cheese-rolling ceremony. | Come from a nondescript town with peculiar traditions. |
Hails from a suburb of Sacramento, a burg known for the bizarre budget rituals of the California State Legislature. | ||
Built an encyclopedic knowledge of science fiction; wrote a school paper analyzing Marxist themes in Star Wars. | Develop an obsession with a déclassé hobby. |
Cultivated an interest in (and talent for) pornography while dating a kinky steakhouse cook. | ||
After years of working in stand-up and low-budget sitcoms, nominated for a British Comedy Award. | Pay your dues and establish credibility amongst peers. |
Appeared in more than 200 adult films; won four X-Rated Critics Organization awards. | ||
Made a career out of playing endearing, luckless misfits—most recently, as a nerd on his way to Comic-Con in Paul. | Transform quirky outsider personality into marketable brand. |
Became famous through repeated appearances as an indie sexpot—most recently in Eminem’s “Space Bound.” | ||
“I was well aware of the psycho-analytical implications at work in Shaun of the Dead’s Oedipal subplot.” | Take yourself a bit too seriously in your memoir. |
“My performances are more than just the having sex on camera … It’s more than just a job … It is performance art.” |
Credit: Grey:Corbis