Teramo, Italy – Italian male porn actors are lacking in passion and suffer from “performance anxiety”, according to one of the country’s top female stars .

Speaking recently at an erotic film festival in Abruzzo, Erika Neri said her male counterparts no longer live up to their traditional reputation of “Italian stallions” and are frequently outstripped by newcomers from other countries .

“I’ve been doing this job for five years and I’ve noticed that the number of Italian actors has dropped considerably in that time,” she said. “Those there are tend to perform poorly and somewhat mechanically compared to foreigners” .

Neri, originally from Naples, suggested that German, Czech and “particularly Hungarian” actors were far more enjoyable co-stars .

“They still approach sex as fun,” she explained. “It’s clear they enjoy it and therefore they give it their best. It also means they don’t suffer from performance anxiety, like the Italians .

“It isn’t that Italians can’t perform, but as an experienced actress, you can tell whether or not someone is passionate about what they are doing” .

But according to Neri, who broke off her law studies after being “discovered” dancing in clubs, Italy’s male stars were once the best in the industry .

“Roberto Malone and Rocco Siffredi, for example, are really great performers,” she said .

Siffredi is perhaps the best-known Italian porn star, having appeared in over 1,300 films. However, he recently announced he was quitting acting in order to devote himself to producing and directing, as his kids were now reaching an age where he had “difficulties” explaining his job to them .

Malone continues to act but, as Neri pointed out, his age could soon become a problem .

“He’s the ‘Robert De Niro’ of Italian pornography. He’s now nearly 50 but he’s still shooting films. He performs excellently and is very, very good at what he does” .

Neri has appeared in around 50 films since making her first pornographic movie in 2001 .

She is considered one of the best up-and-coming female stars and has won numerous industry awards, including “Best Starlet Trophy” at the 2005 Brussels Erotic Film Festival, “Best European Actress” at the Prague Erotica Sex Festival in 2005 and “Best Leading Actress” at the Turin Erotik Fair in 2004 .