“Queer” co-stars Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey talk about filming intimate scenes with for their love story

Queer, directed by Luca Guadagnino, is screening at the 2024 Venice Film Festival and stars Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey. Set in 1950s Mexico City, the film follows William Lee (Craig), an American expat in his late 40s, as he leads a solitary life amidst a small American community. However, the arrival in town of Eugene Allerton (Starkey), a young student, stirs William into finally establishing a meaningful connection with someone.

Here is some of what the stars and the director had to say about filming their intimate scenes:

Drew Starkey in interview with Variety: 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. 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.

Director Luca Guadagnino interview with Variety: In the case of “Queer,” this is a movie about the fever dream of connection and disconnection. And the only way we can really communicate the depths of their connection, and the dramatic denial inhabiting them, is that you have to see their interaction. From the way they travel together; the way they drink together; the way they fuck together; to the way they are apart and together. It’s integral to this idea of connection and disconnection.”

Daniel Craig at the Venice press conference: “You know as well as I do, there’s nothing intimate about filming a sex scene on a movie set. There’s a room full of people watching you. We just wanted to make it as touching and as real and as natural as we possibly could. Drew is a wonderful, fantastic, beautiful actor to work with and we kind of had a laugh. We tried to make it fun.”