Drew Starkey Says American Audiences Are ‘Uptight’ About Sex Scenes

Outer Banks actor Drew Starkey believes American film audiences are “uptight” when it comes to sex scenes.

Starkey, 30, who stars in the forthcoming film Queer alongside Daniel Craig, told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published on Sunday, September 8, that intimate scenes between actors have the ability to put movie goers on edge.

“I think as American audiences, we can be very uptight about that stuff, sex scenes, whatever, which is strange,” he told the outlet. “It feels a little prudish to be like, ‘Ooh if that’s in a movie that [sic] taboo,’ but if it’s on our phones, it’s fine.”

In Queer, an adaptation of the William S. Burroughs’ short novel which was written in the 1950s but published in 1985, the actor portrays a student named Eugene who becomes the object of the story’s protagonist, William Lee, played by Craig, 56.

Starkey, who is best known for his role as Rafe Cameron in Netflix’s teen drama Outer Banks, told the outlet he’s proud to be bringing such profound on-screen intimacy to cinemas.

“[I’m glad] sexuality is coming back to the theaters because I think it’s imperative we integrate sexuality into our stories, it’s the way to better understand ourselves,” Starkey said. “You learn so much about a person by looking at the way they are intimate with one another.”

Starkey, who also appeared in Love, Simon and The Other Zoey, also revealed during the interview that he and Craig, who is married to actress Rachel Weisz, were a mere one day into rehearsals for Queer before he found himself getting up close and personal with the Casino Royale star.

“We jumped into it, just grabbing and throwing our bodies on top of one another, rolling around, getting intermingled,” Starkey said. “I think it unlocked something subconsciously, gave us a level of comfortability and familiarity with each other, so that, everything after that was very easy.”

Queer made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday, September 3. According to Deadline, the film, directed by Luca Guadagnino, attracted an 11-minute and 44-second standing ovation.

Right before the standing ovation took effect, the crowd reportedly began chanting 53-year-old Guadagnino’s name.

The spotlight was also firmly set on Craig throughout the European film festival as the actor sported a new hairstyle for the occasion. Showing off long, luscious tresses while attending the Queer photocall on September 1 and the film’s premiere, Craig also attracted praise via social media.

“Daniel Craig looks SCRUMPTIOUS with that longer hair at Venice,” one social media user gushed.