FOR one thing, Dallas Steele’s new career has a bigger benefits package.

After more than two decades as a television news reporter and anchor, Steele dropped the microphone to launch a career in gay porn last year.

The 44-year-old California native simply wasn’t having fun and disliked the high-intensity environment driven by ratings and exclusives. He now has 11 hardcore titles to his credit — and doesn’t miss the newsdesk at all.

“That didn’t necessarily have me walking from there to a porn set,” Steele told The New York Post. “There were four years in between where I basically contemplated what I was going to do next. And when a friend of mine suggested I do movies, I said, ‘I’ve got to do something.’”

Steele, whose real name is Jim Walker, has worked at several news stations in the US, including CBS affiliate KBAK in Bakersfield, California, FOX affiliate KBTV in Beaumont, Texas, and NBC affiliate WBBH. He ultimately decided to get out of the business after 23 years when his boss relayed focus group research indicating viewers in south Florida just didn’t like him.

That dose of straight talk, coupled with the death of his longtime partner two years ago, convinced Steele to make the switch.

“You know, I loved telling news, I loved breaking news and I loved telling good stories,” Steele said. “But I didn’t like the continuous bulls**t that management put you through and the constant pressure to sensationalise and exaggerate what was really true just to boost ratings.”

Steele said he thoroughly enjoyed the success he had on-screen, citing two regional Emmy nominations and interviews during charity events or campaign stops with every living US president, as well as Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

“You don’t come across many porn guys who can say that,” Steele said.

The 6-foot-3 (190cms), 108-kilogram porn star said his former career “very rarely” comes up while on set, but if it does, Steele said other actors or crew members are usually fascinated. But Steele said he considers his latest line of work to be a bridge to bigger things.

“It’s not a career, no one considers it a career,” Steele said. “It’s a stopover for maybe a few years and then I’ll consider my third act in life.”

So what comes next for Steele?

“I’m open to whatever the world has to offer, provided they’re OK with me being me,” he said. “That’s not to say I’m going to continue doing movies.”

One thing’s for sure: Steele won’t be going back to traditional news.

“I have no interest in going back to traditional news, ever,” he said. “I would consider doing something in LGBT media or with an LGBT-friendly company doing some kind of work.”

Whatever job he takes up next, Steele said it’s important to him that he’s not defined by the one he has now.

“My story is not about porn,” he said. “My story is about getting out of an environment that’s toxic to you. Whether it’s long-term or temporary, it’s about getting yourself to a place where going to work every day doesn’t make you want to kill yourself.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Post