With hard work comes recognition: Deen has won several adult film awards, including the 2009 AVN Award for Male Performer of the Year. At 22, he was the youngest man to ever win.

As far as The Canyons goes, reviews have been decidedly less effusive, with some praising Deen's mainstream turn and others panning his performance.

"I read the reviews because I was interested in what people thought about the movie as a whole," Deen says. "After I read a couple, it was just so mixed. The movie's technically good. It's shot well. It's lit well. There's nothing wrong with the movie. So then it just comes to personal opinion."

And that's not something Deen has much time for. While he appreciates the positive feedback, he's not motivated by it. There have been times, he admits, when he did feel the pressure: After his high-profile GQ piece in July 2012, Deen felt some anxiety over how best to keep his momentum going before realizing that wasn't a worthwhile concern.

"Worst-case scenario, everyone moves on to the next hot thing," he says. "Then they move on to the next flavor of the month, and you're still you, and you're happy.

"I try to operate under that at all times, to just be true to myself and do what makes me happy and not really worry about image or what other people think," he continues. "Because who cares? If somebody doesn't like me when I'm just being myself — I like myself, so we're good."

Deen's strong sense of self makes it easier for him to answer the persistent questions that have dogged him since The Canyons was first announced: Why not put those movie-star good looks to use as a movie star? When will the nice Jewish boy next door learn to keep his pants buttoned?

It's important to have a thick skin when you're in the public eye, especially when you spend so much time fully exposed. Deen has that, along with a willingness to speak his mind regardless of the consequences. It's easy to imagine a big-shot Hollywood producer telling Deen he'll never work in this town again — followed immediately by Deen shrugging it off.

"I'm not gonna compromise my values and desires to possibly one day do another movie," he concludes. "If it happens, awesome. If not, I go back to my horrible life of having sex with beautiful women and doing what I've wanted to do as long as I can remember."