The XCritic Interview: Maitland Ward

Things changed in March 2020 and for many of us, there has not always been bright days since. In the adult film world, a business that has always been known to keep spirits up, even in the worst of times, it was difficult to know what was ahead after COVID-19 hit the US shores and changed everyone and everything we know. The Deeper family consists of the “best of the best” in the world of XXX. Director/writer Kayden Kross and actor, writer and wonder of the modern sexual revolution Maitland Ward. Two women who are looking to change the earth, not just the world of adult entertainment. They too were left vulnerable during this pandemic. Shutting down production, learning to stay sharp, pass the time, all while venturing into unknown waters without the aid of face to face human contact. It is a task to try and follow a film that set the world ablaze like last year's smash hit Drive did with fans across the globe. These ladies had already begun a project that was created from the heart. A film with the intention to once again open the eyes of the world to something they did not know. That is how MUSE was born. This new series from the pen and mind of Kayden Kross and Maitland Ward had so many obstacles to overcome but like this article will show, you can not hold down the great minds of the adult world who are looking to create stories, films, and erotica, the likes of which we have not seen for a long time. We sat down with star Maitland Ward to discuss what this project is, how it really came to be, and what she looks to accomplish one year after doing what few actors ever have. 

(Our conversation begins with your normal hi and hello and visions of the 405 being empty and what a sight that had to have been. Maitland is one of the most intelligent, outgoing spirits I have ever had the pleasure of interviewing. I had to note that there was not one drop of lag in her voice. No loss of composure in her marvelous character that is always seen in everything that she does. Almost nine months indoors has not stopped this woman who is on a mission.) 

Don Juan: Madam, how glad I am to hear that you are doing OK. My goodness, if there was ever a person who has seen the “highways and byways” of that amazing city it is you Maitland. 

Maitland Ward: Well, I have to say that when we started working again the one thing that was so good, it would have to be that the traffic was lighter. That is the only benefit that comes from such events. 

Don Juan: I can imagine. Right off the bat Maitland, I really have to say that what you are doing with this massive sized script and these massive set locations, everything looks phenomenal, I applaud you. 

Maitland Ward: Thank you so much. Kayden simply wrote the most beautiful script and I had six-hundred lines to say and memorize. That is more than I have spoke in any mainstream production. It was just really great to get back to work and see everybody again. 

(For those of you who do not know, Maitland’s outlook on what acting is within the adult film world is one of the most eye-opening displays of honesty and passion that few actors care to admit to outside the XXX side of the tracks. She once told me that working in adult sharpened her skills, made her appreciate erotica and sexuality even more. Her first insight into MUSE is one of an actor getting to truly do something that many of them only get to dream about. You must ask yourself, where else in the world is such a feat of acting accomplished?) 

I wish that I was getting to see everyone under different circumstances but that is what makes me even more proud of what we were able to accomplish. 

Don Juan: You know, being the writer who prides himself with being up to date with everything in our industry, I really enjoyed hearing you say in another interview that this is something that the business has always been capable of. It is a bold truth madam.

Maitland Ward: Yes, I truly believe that. It really upsets me when people try to tear it down, or make the acting within this business seem less credible. I think that this industry is filled with a bunch of innovators. People who can work with circumstances that are not ideal and still come up with a way to make products and create with a way to do things that are just different. This industry has many people, who when anything is thrown at them they come up with another way to do it and everything that the adult industry does, they attempt it before mainstream will and they do it because they are far too scared to do so first in mainstream.

(For years, from the tech side of things, to OnlyFans and what now is starting to become film and television, the XXX world set the benchmark during the technological revolution for doing things first. We were the first using credit card based systems on the internet. For creating streaming software that allows massive files to be shared across the web and now, we are seeing actors like Maitland Ward come into this side of the entertainment world and begin to create films, scenes, and programs that are able to spark creativity, passion and much more within those who watch. It is the beginning of a new age of entertainment.) 

There are a lot of companies and people in mainstream that are too set in their ways and have too much money involved in production. The people who are this involved I think they now lack the ability to be able to think outside their own realm and world. I think that they have forgotten what it was like to create something on the fly and just run with it. 

Don Juan: You created something that is the definition of the term epic with MUSE. What you did in that classroom was nothing short of one of the greatest artistic dissections of what porn is. I mean that with no ass kissing intended. I was so thoroughly entertained with this production. This series reminds of the independent production of the seventies, that is what you got here. Films like The Devil in Miss Jones. Films made with direction, story, sexuality.

Maitland Ward: Oh, that is amazing. I love hearing that so much. We really worked hard to create a story within a story with MUSE. We wanted to do something that people had not seen in porn for a very long time, if ever. This is something we really wanted to blend all of those elements within it together. This story of MUSE, one that is filmed in the most beautiful way possible, added together with the sex and everything else, it is just something I am so proud to be a part of. 

Don Juan: This is something wonderful. The balance of storytelling and erotica is so well-timed and presented. I do not think it will overwhelm people or fall short in any area with what fans want to see within the things that entertain them and broaden their minds sexually and artistically. I really have to ask, how is it that you all came up with this idea? How did MUSE come to become more than just an idea? 

Maitland Ward: First of all, we had been discussing making a big feature back in January before anything happened. This was right around January and February where everything was much more about a large scale feature with massive locations. It was something that had lots of people and a lot of different sets but then the pandemic happened. That is what made us see that we had to think differently if we were going to make this series. I think that is also what drove us to make sure that this feature gets made no matter what it would take. There were a lot of questions among us. “How will you be able to get back to normal production? How will you be able to work with this person or that person, with everything going on around them?” 

At that time, we saw that there were a lot of other studios around us who thought that they just could not stay open with everything that was going on. The pandemic changed a lot of things from testing to shooting but Kayden and I were very adamant about getting this feature off the ground. There were some things that we had to change and she was definitely the brainchild of this beautiful script that reflected all that. I think when you are faced with so many changes, you begin to throw around other ideas. I don't want it to sound like we were second guessing our work but it made us thing somethings out that may be a little more practical. Kayden always came back to the idea and story of MUSE every time. Kayden really tied this story into my personal life and my persona. I play a professor who is also an advocate for sex work and sex workers. This character is someone who had been involved primarily in the sex industry. She is a character who is simply a very sex-positive person. A woman who gets a lot of media attention, who has all of these outlets paint a picture of her that is very judgmental. I thought it was a genius idea to use my “fame” to help portray this character. She is this person who is known in the media world, but she is also this human being who is a woman with depth, that as the story unfolds over the course of this series, she begins to understand the value of getting loved and finding an appreciation for the softer things in life. She discovers this difficulty getting that from people as the story gets told because she is such a sexually promiscuous woman. 

If I described this character on a deeper level, it is that she is very unapologetic for who she is. This film is meant to show the many different roles of women in the world. This series contains sisters, wives, mothers all who do not all get to see certain sides of what sexual freedom can be in many ways. My character's sexual freedom takes away the softer elements, like love and she grapples with what that is throughout the film. That is the best synopsis I can give you to start things out but the marvelous thing really is that Kayden just walked up to me one day and said, "what do you think about this idea?" I absolutely loved it because this film asks the question that we should be asking ourselves in today's world, "can pornography be art?" That is the central question to this whole series. I think that we are answering that question, while posing a question. I think that is just a cool statement in itself. It is a true statement that will show people what this industry is. I think this film is going to prove that it is art and that it can be something more than people thought. 

Don Juan: So how fast are we talking that Kayden got this thing out and ready for others to read? I know that she is a woman who has worked with so many great minds in this industries history. I can only imagine the pace to which she works.

Maitland Ward: Oh, Kayden came up with this script fast. Once she got the idea and she started talking to me about it, within a week she had the entire script done. That just made me so excited about this project. I think that is why we went so fast with getting it produced. Once I read it, we just applied that same type of speed to getting things made. 

Don Juan: Did you have any type of problems that you were not able to overcome because of the pandemic? I just have to give you so much credit, this film looks so pristine. I would have never thought you made this that quickly. 

Maitland Ward: When Kayden got us this script we wanted to keep up that pace. The thing about production and the cast, was that we were able to get up and rolling and what we did to get there was that everyone had to be onboard, working hard and that is what everyone did. This was a day in and day out effort. It was very special to work with people like that.

Don Juan: Wow, I am sorry that I have to interrupt you but I have to tell you that what has me so intrigued about this creation, it is that you are showing reality in ways that I do not think it has ever been shown before. To tell you how enthralled I was, to see Scarlit Scandal’s character, just like with your character, seeing this interaction between two people with an assignment and where these characters go from there, the audience is beyond enthralled to keep following. That is not easily achieved in any film, let alone in an XXX film. Then I see the characters of Seth Gamble and Adriana. This is a story that needed to be told but it is also not an easy story to tell at all. How does one tell that story? I do not know but you guys are doing one hell of a job doing so. There are so many things alive in this story and they reflect society in so many ways.

Maitland Ward: Oh, thank you. The series is going to have many of these characters' story lines intertwine in ways that I do not think anyone will expect. The really cool thing is that this classroom is the center point of the universe for this story and its characters. Which makes it so that they can go off in all of these different directions by seeing these characters' lives and this is truly what you call "art imitating life." You will get to see my life, you will get to see the views of a character like Scarlit’s and Adriana’s. You get to have all these story lines that come back to this center of the universe meeting point. It is something realistic. This film is something that has the same elements of something you would watch and find on Netflix. There is going to be something new every week to keep you watching, just like a Netflix show.

Don Juan: My God woman, you always read my mind as to what is coming next. 

Maitland Ward: We think alike, we are on the same wavelength. 

Don Juan: When I looked at that press release, the first thing that I said when I saw Gianna Dior, Seth Gamble, and Dante Colle. I think it is amazing you all put him in this kind of role. Let’s observe Dante for a second here and what this means. A man who is one of the most amazing performers in this business and seeing that he is being cast in these “mainstream” roles as a bisexual performer. You all are showing the world and this industry that we are all people. You are getting rid of that line that has divided the industry in many ways in the past. I freakin’ love that Maitland. It is something so massive to end stereotypes within the business. I mean that. How many other forms of entertainment can state such things.

Maitland Ward: You know, that just means so much to me and you know, I remember someone else saying that same thing to me. I had not even thought about that being a woman who holds no judgment on such things. We concentrated on making a great scene Dante and I. That never even came into thought. 

(In many places in the history of this business and of course, the world. A bisexual male performer was not always given the same chances as a straight male performer no matter how good an actor he was, or how great of a model he can be in any situation or scenario. This year has given rise to so much change within the industry itself and seeing Dante Colle cast as the opening male lead in this series shows that like so many other things this industry, it is far ahead so many other places in the world when it comes to acceptance and looking at what it is that counts within the human spirit, human actions and of course human beauty.)

Then, when some other people had brought that up, I said to myself, this is really cool. I would love to end those stereotypes. I think that they are ridiculous. Yes, that was something I was not even thinking about because what I see when I look at Dante and after working with him, it is that he is a wonderful actor. He was so wonderful to work with and he has great reactions and expressions to everything that we did together. That is the thing that counts. I do not think about sexuality or things like that. I am looking for someone who can have great reactions to everything that we are doing on set. That is what matters to me, being able to act and perform with me. Dante was just everything and more.

Don Juan:You know, this is what you brought out in this opening chapter. This is what I love about both of you. Let’s just look at Dante and Maitland. It is two people who are centered with their sexuality. It is man and woman, two actors, two performers. Two people who omit this same signal of excellence. It shows in a very deep fashion with what you both created together. You both were able to bring this sexual reality to this picture. 

Maitland Ward: Oh, I am so happy to hear you say that. I really tried and I gave it my all. We worked really well together. We were on the same wavelength just like you said. We were very, very connected. I am so pleased that is what showed on screen. That was a really important scene and yes, it was so fun to be a part of. 

(This cute laugh comes from Maitland’s mouth that is very soft but also has this resonance of a woman thinking about something that makes you smile. I compare it to a person who is asked about their lifelong business, family, or maybe to get a little cheesy, a person who speaks of a lifelong dedication to an art, hobby, or event. That is something that Maitland has always brought to what she does and it did not start in the world of adult films believe it or not. These are the things that have been a part of Maitland as a woman I think and it shows in her strong diction and yes, this moment of blissful remembrance of something she obviously loves. Watch anything she has done in the past, you will see it, trust me.)

There is a lot to that scene that when II think about now, we were all constantly smiling and we had a few takes where I tie them up. It was fun for us all. Toying around on set that day, I will never forget it. Those scissors and the other things that we played around with, it was really great. It was something new and fun for me.

Don Juan: Your performance, it is something that I just do not have any words for. Maitland, when we first spoke and you talked about entering this side of entertainment and learning something new about acting and performing, you made me think about so many things within this business and it's history. Here, with this performance in MUSE, you brought something that is so real, that is true fantasy and drama. I can not say that I have seen something like what you did in this film, maybe ever! This character, she talks, she speaks, she looks, she loves with a realism that is so powerful.

Maitland Ward: That really means so much to me. It does, it means the world. I want to bring that across in the roles that I help create. I want to bring a realism and all those things that come with it. That means so much to me, thank you, I appreciate it.

Don Juan: You know, it is so hard to become a woman of fantasy. There is no tougher acting role in the business, hell in real life, as art does imitate life and vice versa. I have seen fans and yes, my own girl, tell me that as we watched, what came across in her mind was memories of her greatest sexual conquests. It is not easy to create a character, act in a role that can duplicate that in the audience's mind. That is what you did Maitland. I just don’t know how you did it here. 

Maitland Ward: Thank you again. I think that it just has to come from an authentic place. You have to be a person who loves sex and loves to sexually perform. I have always, well, I want to say that words have always been my strong point. When I first came into the business and I did my first scene, the thing that everyone kept telling me was that, “you dirty talk so well.” So, I think that I am going to continue with my love for words with what I do. That is one of the best parts of seduction for me and that is a very fun thing for me to do. So, I guess that means that it works. I guess that is my thing then.

Don Juan: Woman, you are something special to this business, I really mean that. That is as unique as it gets. Sexuality, creation, fantasy, story telling, it always begins in the mind and I think that when someone sees your work, they are not going to forget it. 

Maitland Ward: That is what it is all about. I hope that it does open up a new way of viewing things with fans. As an actor and performer, it makes me think bigger and different. I love to do that and I think that this industry is capable of so much. 

Don Juan: Oh, how wonderful. As I look over my notes, I see highlighted, “there looks to be so much of you in this creation.” Those clips of Maitland Ward in the press were just storytelling at its highest quality. This “professor” character, that is so you. It is a character that has all your true wisdom and insight that you possess and look to discover within yourself. There are so many places I see you going as the sex-positive actress, sex worker, and advocate. Is this going to be ongoing? Is there going to be a season two, a season three?

Maitland Ward: Oh yes, there is going to be. There definitely is going to be! YES! I will tell you, halfway through this, halfway through filming, everybody loved it so much that it became a series now. Season two is definitely going to be coming along very quickly. Everyone was so invested in it that we knew we had to keep this project going. So that is what we did. I have so much excitement to see what we can do with a streaming series like this. I think we are going to keep normalizing the story and continue to deliver great sex that comes right along with that. Earlier I said you could see something like this on Netflix, no, it is better than Netflix. 

Don Juan: I loved that part of this creation. No, I am telling you, I am involved as much as I can be when it comes to the things that I write about. It does not matter if it is porn, books, or music. From the first episode I was captivated and I could not stop watching. 

Maitland Ward: Oh good, that is the best. That is the best response that you can not stop watching. 

Don Juan: I have always thought that we need more of that, we really do. Grabbing that type of creation and running with it, that is something special and something that you all must continue to do with Deeper. 

Maitland Ward: Yes, and like you said earlier it does tie a lot into my personality and my persona. Kayden really wrote that so well. To me, she took what she knows about me, and she is someone who knows me very well now, as opposed to when we first met and we were making Drive. I think that this character was really tailor-made for me. It is very cool to be able to play something that is so close to your beliefs and the things that you have gone through. It does something to your own character. I will tell you that. 

Don Juan: Oh, I can imagine. You know, for the next question I just have to know, what was your favorite part of this creation that has so much of you within it? I mean there looks to be many numerous parts of this series that are also a true part of you. 

Maitland Ward: Yes, yes there is. Having a character based upon yourself, it allows you to explore other avenues of who you are as a person. I found that I was exploring things within myself as this project went further and further along. Fans are going to get to see so much more of myself as we go further along in the series. Seeing things that they have never seen before. I got to push a lot of sexual boundaries within myself. There were a lot of firsts for me. We spoke about this last time, I find that I am again pushing my acting range dramatically, and I am also pushing my sexual escapades you could say. 

(It is so hard to write what it is that Maitland is saying here, so I will try my best to describe what it is in this amazing woman’s voice and heart that comes out in her voice. Maitland preaches about the business side, the acting and film making side. She talks about how much it helps her to grow. She also speaks without words about how it is OK to also find joy in sex, sexual fun, sexual adventures and her laugh at the end of that last quote, it spoke volumes of the joy that is in this sexually confident, beautiful woman who loves sex, who enjoys being sexy and understands to one of the highest degrees and how freeing, how important that is to women. This film speaks in those exact terms as well. This is something I have seen inside the smile of many women and you would be surprised to know that not all of them were women who worked in porn. They were women who worked in the regular world, as civilians would call it.)

You know, what got me to this point was pushing my sexual boundaries, opening myself up to new things that I had never tried before. I am pushing boundaries on all levels yet again. It feels so authentic to me as a person because I am so tied into this character. The other thing that really stands out for me, is that this film asks so many questions that I care so deeply about. The question of when does pornography become pornography or art? If you look at ancient cave drawings, or paintings from far back in history you will see very explicit, sexual art. There is so much of it. Drawings, paintings and sculptures. 

Don Juan: Oh, I love this. Myself, I love that this country was founded on sex. Trust me, when you look at how Benjamin Franklin was able to “win” favor with the French. Just read A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America. It is a book that shows what you speak about is so true.

(We share a small laugh but the truth of what I see and hear in Maitland’s voice is a woman who does see the wonder in sex, sexuality and how it always has been at the forefront of our society. This series touches on that in ways that you have to see to believe. Just read our reviews for episode one and two.) 

Maitland Ward: Oh yes, this is what made us think. Was this art, or was this their pornography during their time? Or maybe it was both? Is it because many generations have passed that pornography has now become fine art? We want to have people talk about what path it took to go from being pornography to being placed inside a museum now in our current time. We talk a lot about that and that is something that is a very interesting perspective that I love delving into personally. We are asking a lot of bold questions and we are answering them at the same time. Let’s just say we are answering them in a very meaty and delicious way. 

Don Juan: Oh my goodness, I could talk to you forever about this subject. Just look at the French paintings from the sixteenth century. Woman, she is something so beautiful to behold. So is man and humans in general but that beauty of a woman and that nude, erotic aspect of who she is in so many forms. We could write a book on all the discussions that we could have. You all touch on this so well in what I have seen in the first three episodes.

Maitland Ward: Yes, we really do. I think that the ironic thing is that we are now living in a time when women are being censored so heavily. Their beauty is looked at as something that is nasty, bad, and needs to be hidden. That is what I think is a big part of what we talk about when we discuss this subject of art and past civilizations in the film. I personally love how one generation's art and the way that they displayed woman and showed her body, her nudity, and openness was one of the truest looks at her femininity or whatever you wish to call it. Back then it was something that was more celebrated and now, it is being shut down in ways that are not progressive for society or for women. 

Don Juan: That is a perspective if I have ever heard one. As we go into this last question, what I think that this series touches on the most, being part Native American, one of the things throughout history and my pursuit of its knowledge showed me, was that the settlers back then looked at native people as being “promiscuous.” I remember seeing that word in textbooks and even heard it spoken by great actors like Will Geer in Jeremiah Johnson. So many since that times looked to shame what was something they did not know. Native people believed in sharing lovers, that the tribe was more connected by sharing love in so many ways without judgment. There were not categories or labels of being gay, straight, or too outgoing and loving as a man or as a woman. That is what made all women mothers in my family’s tribe. I think that this film begins to speak about a true forgotten history of the world and sex and it is sex and pornography that has so much to do with all of those things. There is so much that is in our genes, within our own human nature. 

Maitland Ward: Yes, and we are suppressing so much of that. There is so much that comes natural to us when it comes to sex and it is something deeply ingrained with what we see and what we feel. I think what we touch on with art in this picture is also something that you could reflect on when it comes to evolution and so much more. I think that suppression in society is what made things change in today’s world. How these paintings, these cave drawings, these sculptures went from being art, a reflection of human nature and life, to now being condemned. All the unrest that we are seeing, all the censorship, it is something that affects everyone. Women today are ashamed of their bodies instead of celebrating them like they did all those years ago. There is something misconstrued with the past. People believe that everyone was so buttoned up and concealed, so proper. It just is nott true. There has always been sexual promiscuity and there is definitely that in this film. 

Don Juan: You know, "mainstream" believes that this is a film that we have never been capable of producing in the adult world. For the last question, I would love to know, what was your end goal when you saw what you had when you were finished making this film? 

Maitland Ward: For me personally, listen, I could have stepped away this whole year and done my OnlyFans and concentrated on solo work and cam-shows but I did not. I could have gone the route of only making money but I did not come into this industry to do that. I came to make art. I came to Deeper and became their contract star to make films and to create something that has meaning behind it. I came to this industry to make things that will change that bridge between mainstream and porn forever. I wanted to revolutionize feature films in this industry in ways that spark a revolution with the people who are watching. That is why Kayden and I both said that we have to make this feature, we need to get this done! I wanted to make something that was not just going to be something that had an asterisk next to it in the history books. I do not want this year to be known as anything less than the highest quality work we can do. Kayden and I wanted to make a film that had a mainstream look. We didn’t want this to be small by any means. We want something that will be going for seasons and seasons, years and years. That is why we have the big cast, that is why we came in every day, tested every single morning. We had a medic on set with us every single morning to test us, as well as a team that was contact tracing who the talent and team had worked with so that we would not hire anyone who had been exposed to someone who was sick. This was an effort of a great team that was committed to putting in the time, the money and the effort to be a part of a project that really meant something. I think that is everyone’s goal when it comes to MUSE. We are going to be that beacon to show the word that this is what the adult industry can do! 

You can see the entire series as it premieres by going to Deeper.com

XCritic wanted to thank Kayden Kross and Maitland Ward for providing all the pictures going along with this epic article. Make sure that you check out these XCritic full scene reviews for both episode one and two by clicking these two links: 

https://www.xcritic.com/review/45263/muse-episode-1/

https://www.xcritic.com/review/45272/muse-episode-2/

Make sure to Follow Maitlant Ward on Social Media: 

Twitter: @MaitlandWard

Instagram: maitlandward