As the HBO series The Deuce readies its third and final season, Maggie Gyllenhaal took the stage at Deadline’s The Contenders Emmys to talk about the evolution of her character, Candy, a sex worker turned empowered porn director and how her journey reflects that of a certain person who has been making headlines as of late.

While Gyllenhaal talked to Deadline’s Pete Hammond about the story arc of Candy over the first two seasons, the name Stormy Daniels was brought up as she has had a very similar journey to Candy, who went from being an adult film star to a director.

Gyllenhaal said that it would be interesting if a porn star brought Trump down. “That would be great advertising for The Deuce,” she laughed.

Taking place in the late ’70s, The Deuce puts the spotlight on the porn industry, but also the treatment of women in it. Gyllenhaal said that porn is seen as bad and although it can be destructive and exploits women, Candy is fed by the possibility of what it can do for her. As a woman trying to bring her artistry behind the camera as a porn director, Candy struggles to be taken seriously — but this was common during the era and it is, unfortunately, the case in 2019 as well.

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“I think for Candy, she gets told no all the time she doesn’t have the luxury to wallow and feel bad about it,” said Gyllenhaal. “She just keeps moving forward. for her, that’s all she has.”

Created by George Pelecanos and David Simon and starring Gyllenhaal and James Franco, The Deuce follows the story of the legalization and subsequent rise of the porn industry in New York’s Times Square from the early 1970s through the mid-1980s, exploring the rough-and-tumble world that existed there until the rise of HIV, the violence of the cocaine epidemic and the renewed real estate market all ended the bawdy turbulence. The HBO drama is executive produced by Pelecanos, Simon, Nina Noble and Franco; Richard Price is co-executive producer; Marc Henry Johnson and Gyllenhaal produce.