As NakedSword gives fans a free showing of the feature-length “I Want Your Love” through March 28 on Weekends at NakedSword, we caught up with the actor/author/musician (and so much more!) to talk about growing up, weary whores, Blair Witch porn, fatherhood…and what made him shit himself.
The Sword: It’s been five years since “100 Boyfriends Mixtape” marked the debut of NSFW. What do you remember about making that, and what did it mean to you to see it released?
Brontez Purnell: Hmm, OMG so much! I remember thinking that I really had no huge game plan with that movie, and that’s what i loved the most about it. I really had the luxury to experiment with like genre and legibility, and looking back that was the biggest kick for me. Also, working with and being around Jack Shamama was always key—he was the kind of producer that basically let you be a weirdo…all in all, I think to see it now feels…surreal? But at the time it meant a lot to me to get it done. I think it’s one of those things that looks so odd that the question is kinda, “Who made this and who exactly was it made for?” is key in deciphering it. It was clearly made for other freaks.
The Sword: What do you think it is about your experiences and voice that have resonated with our community?
Brontez Purnell: “100 Boyfriends Mixtape” is essentially the diary of a man whose kissed A LOT of frogs. I mean, who can’t relate to that?
The Sword: There are two lines from the film that I find so powerful, and they come from the opposing voices in the relationship: “I hate how uncomfortable he is in the world,” and “Relationships run their course and now I sleep next to this man that I have to be everything to.” They serve as a reminder to us to be ourselves, to be open and honest…yet so many of us still struggle with that. Why do you think that is?
Brontez Purnell: I mean, I think we are all so used to living in these societal confines and we can easily become strangers to even ourselves—and much more so other people. When being a boyfriend becomes less about the shared space with another person and more about you fulfilling some “role” you have to play (like a sitcom character), the whole dynamic blows to hell exponentially.
The Sword: The scene where you freak out when a guy comes inside you…was that an actual experience of yours? And if so, does it still freak you out?
Brontez Purnell: Oh god, no…or at least it wasn’t like that, LOL. I’m gonna leave it at that.
The Sword: How have you grown and changed in the last five years when it comes to your outlook on men, love, sex and relationships? How different are you now from the man we all see and hear in that short film?
Brontez Purnell: Well first of all, DeShawn isn’t an autobiographical character, really. He’s like this composite of all the men me and my friends have had and/or dream about having. Since making this short, I am 75% more weary of men and sex in general.
The Sword: Tell us about your new book 100 Boyfriends. How long has this been in the works, and how does it relate to the film?
Brontez Purnell: It’s a book about multiplicity. It is of no specific relation to the series “100 Boyfriends Mixtape,” but explores the same themes.
The Sword: How much of you and your experiences are we reading in every character? Are you a part of every character?
Brontez Purnell: I’m gonna let you guess.
The Sword: The New York Times called the work a “hurricane” and observed that while it chronicles erotic adventures, it’s also a book about aging. How would you assess that observation?
Brontez Purnell: It is the diary of a weary whore, yes.
The Sword: Have you gotten more or less sexually adventurous over the years? Is there any experience you look back on and think, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I did that!’? What do you still want to explore?
Brontez Purnell: I want to explore monogamy, and being a father.
The Sword: How have you evolved as a writer, particularly since your other works like Johnny Would You Love Me If My Dick Were Bigger and Since I Laid My Burden Down?
Brontez Purnell: I think my assessment of plot and scene has become more angular, yes.
The Sword: In that interview with Kenyon Farrow many years ago, you said, “There’s no real precedent for my character in ‘I Want Your Love.’” Some seven years later, how much has that changed, if at all? Is any progress being made?
Brontez Purnell: I still don’t see that character as much as I would like to, but maybe I’ll write TV some day and change all of that.
The Sword: What effect did the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 have on you personally?
Brontez Purnell: It reiterated what i had suspected all along.
The Sword: How has the pandemic affected your life? How have you managed the last year?
Brontez Purnell: I stayed my black ass in bed all year and now I look thick, well-rested and hydrated.
The Sword: What observations do you have about how the pandemic has affected gay men, particularly those that may be single and lonely? What kinds of long-lasting ramifications could it have with how we view/experience intimacy and sex?
Brontez Purnell: The pandemic spelled out who the deep, deep sex addicts are, not that we really needed to look deep into a crystal ball to figure out who that was in the first place, I’m certain. I think these next two years is going to be a ‘psyclone’ of pussy enveloping the entire world.
The Sword: Were you as excited as I was to see rock god Billie Joe Armstrong write a glowing review of your “White Boy Music” EP in Rolling Stone? What was that like? (He called it “muscular.”)
Brontez Purnell: The 13-year-old alternative music fan that still very much lives within me shit myself.
The Sword: Tell us about the inspiration of your EP (it includes a track called “Forgive Me, Philip”…who you sing is playing with your life. Is Philip based on one or many men in your life? Has he forgiven you?)
Brontez Purnell: I had basically wanted to make an ’80s-inspired fake mod white boy pop record. So i did. Also, fuck Philip. I don’t care if he’s forgiven me or not, ultimately.
The Sword: What’s your relationship with porn like now, and how has that evolved?
Brontez Purnell: I mean, it’s always kind of alienated me. Like I think that era of glossy, well-lit studio porn is over. I like looking at creepy shit, like shit shot on a phone and recroded in the woods that looks like The Blair Witch Project, only porn. Does that make any sense? Just every time I see the gay porn I watched as a teen in the”90s, it just reminds me of like some ’30s MGM shit—like, who has sex this way ultimately? I think the over-saturation of porn has made essentially every tentacle of it niche, and i think more and more people are more apt to jump into rabbit holes with it than were possible before.
The Sword: In your previous Sword interview, you also said “Seeing my wiener go in a butthole at the premiere at the Castro Theater almost made me shit myself.” Are you any more comfortable seeing yourself have sex on camera these days?
Brontez Purnell: NOT. AT. ALL! LOL
The Sword: What other current and upcoming projects can you tell us about?
Brontez Purnell: I’m going to be a father.
The Sword: What excites you about being a father?
Brontez Purnell: The best thing about fatherhood is getting to wear matching outfits with my infant spawn.
Congratulations, Brontez!
He is a punk legend in the Bay Area even Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day agrees.