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Daniel Craig has praised his Queer co-stars Omar Apollo and Drew Starkey, who he shares sex scenes with in the new movie directed by Luca Guadagnino.
The film, which is an adaptation of William S Burroughs’ second novel of the same name, sees Craig play William Lee, an ex-pat living in Mexico City, who gets by on part-time jobs and army benefits. He soon becomes obsessed with a young man, played by Starkey, who he decides to pursue.
Critics were full of praise for the film after its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, with one critic reporting that it “features the the most explicit gay sex scenes I can remember in any mainstream movie”.
Queer will mark 27-year-old singer Apollo’s acting debut who Craig has called a “beautiful human being” while speaking to Variety at a recent screening of the movie.
When talking about his sex scene with Apollo, Craig admitted that actors “just have to look after each other” and that “we’re all adults.” The James Bond star added: “We know what it’s about and try to make the scene as real as you can.”
The Knives Out actor, 57, echoed similar sentiments for Starkey, saying: “He’s such a beautiful human being. We lucked out that he did the movie to have someone that young and so dedicated and also just savvy about the world.”
In a conversation with Starkey for Interview magazine, Apollo revealed that he lost weight before filming the intimate scene with Craig.
“I had to get on the soup diet,” said Apollo. “Luca did not tell me to lose weight, but when you’re about to have a sex scene with Daniel Craig, you’re like, ‘Oh, dude, I can’t be looking off.’ I was at 200 pounds, because I’m six-five.”
He continued: “It’s around where I should be, honestly. But I got down to 181 when the movie came. I lost 20 pounds because I read in the script that my character had a flat brown stomach. I was like, ‘Damn, I’m actually not flat right now.’ I had to get it together, and I was on tour with SZA. Luckily, I didn’t have that many lines.”
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Craig’s performance in Queer is being tipped to be a major contender come awards season.
The Independent’s Geoffrey McNab writes that “Craig’s portrayal of the dapper, sardonic, self-destructive author ranks with his boldest work. Whatever sexual or drug-induced misadventures befall him, Craig’s queer author never loses his composure. Awards voters are likely to be shaken and stirred both by his poise and his daring.”
