Dirk Diggler (born approx. 1953) is a fictional porn star of the 1970s who featured in Paul Thomas Anderson's 1997 movie Boogie Nights. Diggler's first appearance was in Anderson's short film "The Dirk Diggler story".
In Boogie Nights, Mark Wahlberg played the character of Dirk and Jack Horber was played by Burt Reynolds.
Warning: Wikipedia contains spoilers
Diggler, whose real name is Eddie Adams, was discovered in the San Fernando Valley as a teen by porn movie producer Jack Horner.
Diggler's life at home wasn't very pleasant, so he moved in with Horner and his wife, porn star Amber Horner, known in the porn industry as Amber Waves. Later on, Dirk and Amber had an affair.
Dirk became a huge star during the 1970s, his name reaching the mainstream and his face appearing on the cover of Time Magazine, among others. Diggler's movies were very popular among porn addicts at that time, and he earned a lot of money as a porn star. He also got to be with a lot of women off cameras, in addition to the ones he shared with on camera. But with all that money, fame and lifestyle came a dark side too: He had to survive a suicide by one of his closest friends, and he began dabbling in drugs.
During the filming of one of his movies, one of his closest friends confessed to have homosexual feelings and that he wanted to be with Dirk. Dirk rejected his friend's advance, but they kept being friends.
Dirk also tried at one point during the late '70s to turn his porn industry success into a successful music career, but soon after entering the music studio, he gave up on that idea.
By the 1980s, Dirk's drug habit had almost ruined him. His person wasn't being asked for anymore by porn producers because they had some new, younger actors who they thought could become popular too. As a consequence, Dirk lost almost all of his money and he began wandering the streets, trying to hustle to earn an income.
It is said that Dirk nowadays likes to tour the country around in his bike. He has always been a faithful fan of motorcycles, and during the '70s, he loved to dress like bike rider Evel Knievel.
Dirk Diggler is also the name of a young male singer.
