Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey are sweaty, horny and Queer in the first trailer for Luca Guadagnino’s highly-anticipated romantic drama.
Set in the 1940’s, the film follows Craig’s character Lee as he flees a drug bust in New Orleans. He roams the bars and clubs of Mexico City, where he meets and becomes infatuated with Eugene Allerton (Starkey), a discharged serviceman from the American Navy.
In the dreamy two-minute trailer, Lee says a “wise old queen” taught him that he had a “duty to live, to conquer hate with knowledge and sincerity and love”, before scenes show him and Eugene wandering the streets, in the jungle and, of course, getting frisky.
Based on William S. Burrough’s 1985 short novel of the same name, which explores themes such as homosexuality, sex and drug abuse, Queer also stars Jason Schwartzman, Lesley Manville, Henry Zaga, Drew Droege and Ariel Schulman. It also marks the acting debut of singer-songwriter Omar Apollo.
Queer premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival (3 September), where it received acclaim for Craig’s performance and Starkey’s star-making turn, as well as Guadagnino’s stylish direction. It later made its UK debut at the BFI London Film Festival (17 October).
Over the past few months, the film has made headline news for the “steamy” sex sequences between Craig and Starkey, as well as Craig and Apollo.
In an interview with Variety, Starkey said he and the James Bond actor were “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 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.”
Starkey is best known for his supporting performances in films such as Love, Simon (2018), Hellraiser (2022) and The Other Zoey (2023). Since 2020, he has played Rafe in Netflix’s mystery teen drama Outer Banks.
Craig also told the publication that his intimate scenes with Apollo were a breeze to film, calling the ‘Less of You’ singer a “beautiful human being”.
“You just have to look after each other. That’s all. We’re all adults,” he said. “We know what it’s about, and try to make the scene as real as you can.”
Queer will be released in UK and Irish cinemas on 13 December.
Watch the first official trailer below.
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