Sean Michaels (actor)


Sean Michaels is the stage name of an American pornographic actor, model, director and trade union leader. In 2002, AVN ranked him 14th on their list of The Top 50 Porn Stars of All Time. Michaels has also been inducted into the AVN, NightMoves, and XRCO Halls of Fame.

Early life

Michaels was born Andre Allen and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Boys and Girls High School, the oldest public high school in Brooklyn. After moving to the West Coast, he worked as a nurse for an urgent care facility in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. He also did runway and print modeling prior to entering the industry.

Career

Michaels started out in the adult industry as a nude model. Dissatisfied with the portrayal of black men in porn, he began performing in adult films in 1989. He chose his porn name by combining the names from two celebrities he admired: his last name refers to Michael Jordan and "Sean" is a reference to Sean Connery. Michaels gained recognition after appearing in John Leslie's 1990 film Oh What A Night. In 1996, he started Sean Michaels Productions, which was changed to Sean Michaels International the following year when Anabolic Video began handling its distribution.
In 2003, Michaels was issued a cease and desist order by World Wrestling Entertainment on the use of his name due to the similarity it had to WWE wrestler Shawn Michaels. Michaels name was already registered as a trademark, while Shawn Michaels had not registered his moniker.
Along with Lisa Ann and Nikki Benz, Michaels hosted the XRCO Awards in April 2010. In 2018, he performed in his first bisexual scene for Kick Ass Pictures. In regards to the scene, Michaels commented, "I feel strongly about doing the things you want to do in life. Cuckold fans have been asking me for years to do bi scenes, and I'm happy to be making this move. I believe it's important for people to grow sexually in any way they choose."

Advocacy and impact

In 2016, Micheals was elected President of the Adult Performers Actors Guild. As President, he announced the APAG would push to raise the legal age to perform in adult films from 18 to 21, commenting that "it's 21 years old to drink, so you should have to be 21 to do porn."
In her book A Taste for Brown Sugar: Black Women in Pornography, women's studies scholar Mireille Miller-Young notes how Michaels's portrayal of "suave and professional" characters in his films has challenged the stereotyping of black men as "sexual beasts" in pornography and expanded opportunities for black performers. Violet Blue shares a similar sentiment in The Ultimate Guide to Adult Videos, calling Michaels a "major force in changing the face and attitudes of the adult industry towards black performers." Blue concluded by dubbing him "the most famous black man to ever appear in porn."

Select appearances

Awards