By Erika Icon
YNOT – Dating in the adult industry is difficult, and most couples don’t last. There are exceptions like the talented duo Mark Wood and Francesca Lé. The married couple — both AVN Hall of Famers — performs together, directs together and produces together.
With more than 500 scenes to Lé’s credit and more than 1,800 scenes for Wood, it was no surprise they’d take the directorial reins, most recently for Evil Angel. Late last year, LeWood — the couple’s directorial sobriquette — partnered with the studio and Gamma Entertainment’s FameDollars division to launch a membership website that’s “doing very well,” according to a FameDollars spokesperson. LeWood.com, billed as the official home of “the freakiest real-life couple in porn,” showcases high-definition content in vignette-style hardcore releases covering the anal, lesbian, MILF and interracial niches.
Wood isn’t much of a talker, but YNOT convinced Lé to dish.
YNOT.com: How did you get into the adult industry?
Francesca Lé: I was dancing at the age of 16 for a bachelor party company. Then when I turned 18, a girlfriend and I thought it would be fun to do girl-girl and bondage movies.
Mark originally moved to Los Angeles to pursue his music and go to graduate school. After arriving in L.A., he thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try his ultimate fantasy and get into adult. He met a swinging couple online, and his career took off after he performed on their website.
Is being a couple in the adult industry hard?
Actually, I think it helps both of us a great deal. It’s always nice to bounce questions off each other and get feedback from one another, since we both understand what the other person is going through.
Do you ever watch each other’s scenes when you perform with other people?
Only in our own productions. We watch every second of every movie to make sure we are putting out the best-quality product we can. And, of course, when we shoot one another in scenes, we watch those. I handle the camera for all scenes Mark is in, and he shoots all my scenes.
You retired from hardcore performances in the 1990s and came back in 2003. What prompted the comeback?
When I met Mark, I was working in sales for an adult company with no plans to make a comeback. Mark was working as male talent and directing. But after we started dating, I liked the idea of finally making my own product on my own terms, and that’s how LeWood was born.
Reportedly, both you and Mark have retired from performing, but you still do scenes for your own sites and DVDs, right?
Mark has never retired. He started as talent in 1998 and has never taken a break from performing or directing. He still works for select companies that he enjoys working for. For the moment, I’m only doing scenes for LeWood through Evil Angel and working for Kink.com. I want people to pick up LeWood product to see me.
You two distribute your LeWood DVDs through Evil Angel and are part of the studio’s video-on-demand network. What’s it like working with the Evil Angel bunch?
It’s really a dream come true. I know that sounds a little cliché, but it was always a goal of ours to be affiliated with Evil Angel one day. We really enjoy the fact they, too, actually watch our movies and give us feedback. We like knowing they care as much as we do about the end product.
You launched LeWood.com in December a part of the Evil Angel network. What type of scenes can your fans expect? How’s the site doing?
The site is growing. There is a lot of content there for fans to enjoy, going all the way back to when we first started LeWood in 2002. Fans can expect some hot scenes with the same LeWood flavor that we try to bring to everything we do. We try to create a fun atmosphere to explore things sexually, and I think that comes across.
You signed for Vicky Vette’s Vette Nation Army at the most recent Adultcon, after partnering with that program to promote FrancescaLive.com. Will you be signing for anyone at any upcoming shows?
I will be at Adultcon in Los Angeles signing for VNA. In the past I have attended Exxxotica, but I have no future plans in that direction.
About that tagline “the freakiest real-life couple in porn”: What’s the freakiest thing that’s gone on behind closed doors at Casa LeWood?
Some of Mark’s birthdays have been pretty epic. Nothing like being the center of attraction for five of my girlfriends. We like to have a good time when we aren’t working.
What’s next for you two?
We just want to continue to keep putting out movies for people to enjoy. Hopefully this year we will take our act on the road more, as we would love to shoot in some other places.
How can fans get in touch?
They can always find us on Twitter. I’m @FrancescaLeXXX, and Mark is @MarkWoodXXX.
