Penniless and, it would seem, homeless, he returns to his native Gulf Coast Texas, ready to start a starry-eyed scramble all over again.īaker made a fascinating choice when casting Mikey: the MTV VJ turned actor turned rapper Simon Rex, who also did some (solo) porn as he was getting started as a model. It’s simply time that got him, his work drying up after 20 years in the business. Unlike Dirk, Mikey hasn’t been derailed by drugs and the advent of home video. If Dirk Diggler, the hustling and hustled porn star from 1997’s Boogie Nights, were to find himself in 2016, he might look something like Mikey Saber-the bedraggled adult film star who occupies the frenzied center of Sean Baker’s latest film, Red Rocket.