Drew Starkey, known primarily for his role on the Netflix seriesOuter Banks, is poised to majorly breakout thanks to his turn in Luca Guadagnino’sQueer, a film that sees the rising star sharing intimate moments with his co-star,Daniel Craig. The movie made a splash at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, and it is even earning some Oscar buzz for its two lead performers. What can’t be ignored is that the film does feature some steamy scenes between Starkey and Craig and the former reveals how the pair approached filming those moments.
During an interview with Varietyabout making the film, Starkey was asked what it was like filming his intimate scenes with Craig and the actor broke it down as one would for any scene. While he does address being aware of one’s comfort level, he also expressed that you just treat it like anything else and go for it.
“You treat it like you would any other thing. Obviously, you’re more precious with it and you communicate more on the day about people’s comfort levels. But Daniel and I were just game for anything. We just were like, “Let’s go for it, let’s have fun.” So he was a great partner to have in that. I think him and I share that same mentality of just not giving a shit.”
Luca Guadagnino Is Known for Having Intimate Scenes in His Films
Guardagnino is no stranger to capturing intimate moments on screen, given his previous projects likeCall Me by Your NameandChallengers, which both put their performers through the paces of getting to a proper comfort level necessary to sell affectionate and highly charged sexual moments. Previous actors who have worked with the director have all expressed how comfortable he has made them feel, and it appears that Starkey and Craig were no exception.
Daniel Craig Wanted One Part of His Queer Role to Be ‘Real’ as Possible
Craig stars as a gay man in 1940s Mexico along with Drew Starkey in Luca Guadagnino’s adaptation of the William S. Burroughs novel .
“And Luca was so specific — he wanted us to be as comfortable as possible throughout that process, and we would block off where these intimate scenes would happen and we talked months in advance about what we thought it should be. It was also like a dance. We were trying to figure it out. But those were some of the most fun days I think we all had on set — just Daniel and I laughing.”
Directed by Guadagnino from a screenplay by Justin Kuritzkes,Queeris a historical romance drama based on the 1985 novel of the same name by William S. Burroughs. Set in 1950s Mexico City, Starkey plays Eugene Allerton, a young student who finds himself at the center of the attention of William Lee, an older American expat who becomes infatuated with him.
The film has earned solid reviews so far out of the Venice Film Festival, registering a 75% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.A24 recently acquired the filmfor U.S. distribution, which means it will likely be a movie much talked about during the upcoming awards season.
