Interview: Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey on ‘Queer’
Set against the vibrant yet lonely backdrop of Mexico City, Queer, the second film from director Luca Guadagnino to be released in 2024 after Challengers, attempts to capture the quiet yet charged connection between two American expats in 1950s Mexico City. The restless and outspoken wanderer William Lee, effortlessly played with bucketloads of charisma by Daniel Craig, and Drew Starkey’s Eugene Allerton, the more restrained counterpoint to Lee’s chaos.
The chemistry between the actors was cemented early on, Craig recalls. “One of the first things we had to do was start rehearsing this dance thing we do at the end, which is the ayahuasca trip,” he says, referring to one of the film’s best scenes. For a bulk of the film, Craig’s Lee is in search of ayahuasca, a drug he believes is his gateway to enlightenment. Despite the warning that the drug is more of “mirror, not a portal” and that he might not like what he sees staring back at him, Lee decides to embark on an ayahuasca trip – with Eugene as his unwitting passenger. For Lee, the mirror reveals far more than he’s ready to face – and the following scene, a surreal and visceral sequence choreographed by Sol León and Paul Lightfoot, blurs reality into an abstract, unsettling dance that resists easy interpretation – leaving a haunting impression that will stay with audiences long after the credits roll.
The scene is at once both otherworldly and incredibly intimate – and it required the kind of trust between actors that doesn’t come easily. “We got to know each other very quickly because you’re dancing with each other,” explains Craig. “You’re going to have to. Drew’s a wonderful actor. He’s brought so much to this role and as soon as I met him and as soon as I started working with him, I knew he was there to play. And that made my job so much easier.”
Starkey, known for his breakout role in Outer Banks, takes a quieter turn in Queer, especially compared to his performance in the hit Netflix show. His Eugene is subdued and reserved, an anchor for the audience in contrast to Craig’s more outlandish and outspoken Lee. “It was certainly a challenge,” Starkey says of playing a character who would rather . “It was a real challenge. I was standing in the middle of a circus, surrounded by all these brilliant circus performers doing these otherworldly things. It was hard [to play this character] but throughout the course of filming, I learned a lot of patience by just sitting there and allowing it to wash over me.”
For Craig, Starkey’s ability to inhabit Eugene’s restraint brought balance to their dynamic. “It’s a very difficult job and Drew did it brilliantly,” he gushes. “He has an incredible natural presence. He inhabits what he’s doing because he’s thoughtful, and he’s thinking about it, and all of those things, and all of that comes across on screen. And without that performance, my performance doesn’t work, so it’s such a brilliant thing.” That dynamic is at the heart of Queer. “Lee and Eugene may seem diametrically opposed but they are trying to get together. They are,” Craig says. “It’s just that they’re kind of unsynchronized. They’re sort of vibrating at different frequencies and not quite touching. That’s one of the sadnesses of the film.”
The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, an experience both actors found profoundly moving. “It feels like we won. It was just spectacular,” Craig recalls. “To bring this movie that we made in Italy and to Venice and to have the response that we did. And just to be in Venice, is just such a magical, romantic kind of thing. It was very emotional.” Starkey echoes the sentiment. “It was emotional, yeah,” he agrees. “To be sitting with everyone, it was overwhelming in a good way. In the best way possible.”
Ultimately, Luca Guadagnino’s Queer is an exploration of loneliness, connection, and everything in between. It’s also an incredible showcase for both Craig and Starkey, who bring raw vulnerability and a striking intensity to their performances. As the film – and their performances – unfolds, the film’s quiet, devastating ache settles in, leaving the audience to sit with it – just as Lee and Eugene sit with theirs.
Queer is now playing in limited theaters.
Ahmad W.
Aspiring critic and poster designer.