Drew Starkey Just Got Real About Filming Those Sex Scenes In Queer
“It’s as present as you can be with another person.”
Drew Starkey got a little bit of practice with intimate scenes on Outer Banks, but his new role in Queer turned the heat all the way up. In Luca Guadagnino’s period romance, Starkey plays a former Navy recruit who begins a steamy relationship with writer William Lee (played by Daniel Craig) against the backdrop of 1950’s Mexico. The entanglement mostly takes place in the bedroom, and Starkey fully understood how important it was to get the sexual mechanics right.
“I think it’s the ultimate form of honesty shown on screen,” Starkey told Dazed on Nov. 28 when asked about the movie’s sex scenes. “That’s the ultimate form of communication, how they’re intimate with one another. It’s as present as you can be with another person.”
The actor also spoke about the current hot-button debate over whether there’s too much sex in TV shows and movies. Starkey thinks it may be a bit of a misconception that Gen Z moviegoers aren’t as interested in carnal moments. “There’s a lot of, ‘What’s up with the younger generations like, being uptight?’ I don’t know. I don’t know if they are,” Starkey said.
Just as important as nailing the sexual moments was embodying the complicated romance between Starkey’s character, Eugene, and Craig’s Lee. “There’s this deep kind of longing underneath the surface with both of these characters, except one presents it more,” Starkey said. “There’s some type of misfiring within Lee that won’t allow him to express that.”
Thankfully, Starkey had a helpful scene partner to keep him present during those close and personal scenes. He credited Craig with helping him get through Queer’s more difficult filming moments without obsessing over how he was playing them too much. “His ability to be like, ‘Oh, great, moving on.’ Like, oh, yeah, right, same – I’m not thinking about what I just did on repeat,” Starkey said.
Queer was released in theaters on Nov. 27.
