Oct 8
Watch: What Intimacy Coordinator? Drew Starkey Says He and Daniel Craig Had 'Fun' with Hot Sex Scenes in 'Queer'
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 3 MIN.
Drew Starkey says he and Daniel Craig weren't in need of the set's intimacy coordinator for hot sex scenes in Luca Guadagnino's film adaptation of the William S. Burroughs novel "Queer," calling the steamy moments "fun" and "comfortable."
"Daniel and I worked with an intimacy coordinator," the "Outer Banks" actor said in remarks to IndieWire, "but we were in movement rehearsals for like months before those shoots."
Starkey added that "by the time we got there" with the sex scenes, it was as though "we'd been like a jiu-jitsu class for, like, a couple of months. It was with this amazing, beautiful dance, and choreography."
"We were comfortable," Starkey went on to say; "it was a lot of fun."
The outlet noted that screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes – who also wrote Guadagnino's "Challengers" – weighed in on how he and the "Call Me by Your Name" director chose to expand upon things that the novel only hinted at.
Speaking in general terms so as to avoid spoilers, Kuritzkes said that "there's a door that's opened in the book that is then swiftly closed and that's kind of towards the end of the book."
But it was a door he and the "Challengers" director chose to fling open from the start of the project.
"Luca and I, in our early conversations about what we thought we wanted this movie to be, we made a decision pretty firmly that we were going to open that door and go through it and see what was on the other side," the screenwriter explained. "And so I was structuring the movie always knowing that that was coming, and that really changed the way that I would then approach even the earlier scenes in the book."
The director and his stars have teased the film's erotic content for months, with some early reviews also taking note of what's been called a career-best performance on the part of former "James Bond" actor Daniel Craig.
Starkey spoke earlier about the "fun" he and Craig had with the material, telling Variety that he and the 007 actor had a lengthy process of discussion around how to approach the sex scenes, after which the two "jumped into movement rehearsals and choreography with each other – that's a great way to get to know someone."
Starkey also told Variety how "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," Starkey continued. "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."
For all the preparation involved, "those were some of the most fun days I think we all had on set – just Daniel and I laughing," Starkey went on to recall.
Starkey and Craig won't be the only stars raising the temperature of the silver screen; out pop singer Omar Apollo is also part of the cast, and he, too, reportedly has some significant skin time with Craig.
Watch a clip from the film below.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.