Cliff Joannou meets François Sagat, arguably the most famous male porn star ever, and one of the few to effortlessly cross between art, fashion and sex

Styling Tom Erebout Location Special thanks to Hotel Amour, Paris

Photography Ferry Van Der Nat

François wears briefs, by Rufskin, shoes, by Abra

Idon’t think it’s farfetched to say that to most gay men François Sagat is as famous as Lady Gaga or Jesus. His iconography is certainly as well-known — the tattooed scalp, muscled physique, and a generous posterior that is more of a watermelon than a peach.

Sure, he hasn’t had a number-one single with Ariana Grande like our blessed Lady G (yet) and people aren’t leaving books about Sagat’s nude scenes in hotel-room drawers as they do copies of the fictional retelling of the life of Jesus H Christ. But neither the Mother Monster nor the Messiah has had a career that has effortlessly traversed pornographic movies and arthouse film; nor can they claim to have been the lead in films by celebrated directors Bruce LaBruce and Christopher Honoré, which both premiered at the prestigious Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland in the same year. And while countless millions worship at the altars of Gaga and the Son of God, neither deity has yet had sex toys made in the image of their genitalia.

Sagat’s edge has allowed him to cross over into the fashion and style press, as his Attitude cover shoot by photographer Ferry Van Der Nat at Hotel Amour, Paris, attests, in which he finds himself dressed in lingerie, heels and, inevitably, little else. “I love the photographer, he was great. So nice,” says Sagat, when we speak on video call post-shoot. “I was naked all the time. It’s not a big change, I guess,” he adds, with a wry smile.

There’s something about the Sagat ‘brand’ that has allowed the actor and model to transcend being classed as just another gay male porn star, and move into the realm of art, blurring the edges of sex on screen while also embracing a feminine side despite a brooding, gruff exterior.

My first encounter with François Sagat was during HustlaBall weekend in London ten years ago, at an after-party in Vauxhall (some would say ‘chill out’), where he was hanging out with the gays. His cheeky humour came through in a way that his films haven’t necessarily allowed in the past, and he mixed comfortably with the crowd, not vying for the spotlight as one might expect. Away from the image he has projected in scenes for porn studios Raging Stallion and Titan, Sagat is a man whose character is as offbeat as would be expected of a person who has relished playing an extraterrestrial undead monster in LaBruce’s infamous film LA Zombie.