Drew Starkey | Explain This | Esquire

Esquire

1 year ago

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00:00Oh, you filmed Queer in Rome.

00:02Your first stint in Italy, what was your go-to pasta?

00:05I had no pasta in Rome because I was dieting.

00:08That was painful.

00:09It was like walking through the streets of Rome.

00:11Smelling pizza and pasta.

00:14I didn't have any of it.

00:15Hello.

00:16I'm Drew Starkey, and Esquire has asked me

00:18to explain some things.

00:20Let's dive in, shall we?

00:27We wanted to fight Peter Parker at Rafe Cameron.

00:29I mean, come on, Spider-Man, it's insane.

00:32What do you remember about filming this scene

00:34with Tom Holland?

00:35Tom's amazing, and that was really stunt heavy.

00:39Yeah, he could be a brilliant stunt coordinator

00:41because he came in with his ideas and kind of took charge.

00:43So I think he pulled me down off the bus

00:45and just started beating the hell out of me.

00:48It was fun.

00:49It was in the rain.

00:50It was romantic.

00:52Did you do any military style training with Chris Pratt

00:55or Taylor Kitsch to prepare for your role

00:57in the Terminal List?

00:58Who was the most fun on set?

00:59I didn't get to work with them much.

01:01I worked with Chris, I think a day or two.

01:04We were filming, I think somewhere in Topanga or something,

01:07and I'm a part of this fugitive task force

01:10that's chasing Chris's character.

01:12And we end up on the side of this mountain.

01:14Chris is giving this beautiful performance

01:16and this bee, this honeybee,

01:18starts flying around his face and it hits his face.

01:22And so he's trying to give this amazing performance

01:25as he always does.

01:26And this bee is attacking his face.

01:28Tears are streaming down my face

01:30because I'm trying not to laugh.

01:32I think I remember asking him about it.

01:33He was like, yeah, I found this bee on the ground

01:35and I guess when his friend got mad that I picked him up.

01:39Your audition tape for Queer was a slam dunk.

01:42Can you tell us what you did for the tape?

01:44Oh, this is actually a fun story.

01:45I sent two, but the first one I had my good friend,

01:49Rudy Ponko, help me tape it.

01:51One of the scenes was me in bed, I believe.

01:56And so Rudy came to my apartment

01:57and I had my camera set up and tripod

02:01and I was laying in the bed framing myself.

02:03And he was like, what do we?

02:05I was like, just trust me, okay?

02:07I need your help.

02:08So he was a good sport for helping me with that.

02:11What was it like working with Daniel?

02:13I mean, he's such a collaborator, him and Luca both,

02:16but he works really hard on what he's prepared

02:19and what he's done, but he's so willing

02:21just to give it to someone else.

02:22Yeah, he's incredible.

02:24And an asshole and all that.

02:27And what I've learned from him is too immeasurable,

02:31I feel, really.

02:32What is the secret to playing such an antagonistic character?

02:36I think what it is, is at least for me,

02:38I don't feel as much pressure to be liked

02:42or be loved by people.

02:43And I think that's what's most fun about it

02:46is you get to play and you can do something terrible

02:50and it's still within the wheelhouse of like,

02:52well, you're supposed to hate this person.

02:55So it doesn't matter.

02:56Maybe that's a secret, I don't know.

02:56The secret's out now.

02:58Your Instagram is fashionably sparse, explain.

03:01It's always been a love-hate thing, mostly hate.

03:04I think what it is, is I'm just so,

03:07I don't know, maybe I'm nervous

03:08about putting myself out there in that way.

03:10I don't know what it is.

03:11I just try to stay off it as much as possible.

03:14I think at times that I have been on it,

03:17it's like I realize how much of an addiction it is.

03:20It doesn't make me happy.

03:22Do you have a go-to karaoke song?

03:24Tequila.

03:25Because I love the moment where people realize

03:27and they hate you for a second, you know?

03:29They're like, da-da-da-da-da-da,

03:31and everyone's like,

03:31tequila's also my shower song.

03:34It's also the song that I belt in the shower.

03:38What's your relationship like with basketball?

03:40It's my first love.

03:42Basketball is definitely my first love.

03:43My dad's a college coach

03:45and we were very much a basketball family growing up.

03:48And so much from basketball and playing basketball

03:51is translated into acting and, you know,

03:54it's kind of the same thing.

03:55You're working with a group of people,

03:56you have a person in charge,

03:58like you're only as strong as your weakest link.

04:00And a lot of the philosophy of it,

04:02I think it's similar, but I still love it.

04:05Jonathan Anderson of Blue Wave

04:07created the costumes for Queer.

04:08How did the wardrobe inform your character?

04:10As an actor, I don't have a lot of words to work with.

04:14So everything had to be about, you know, this physicality.

04:18Jonathan was really essential

04:21and he had a very specific idea

04:23of the silhouette of this person.

04:25In our first fitting, he was like,

04:26what do you think?

04:27And I was like, I don't know.

04:28You tell, like, you're the expert.

04:29Like you're doing, you know, I leave it in your hands.

04:32So thank you, Jonathan.

04:34Daniel Craig is a serious watch collector.

04:37Did working with him give you any desire

04:39to upgrade your own?

04:40Yeah, I mean, I love watches too.

04:42He's an Omega guy, like that's his thing.

04:45And I love Omegas.

04:46I was gifted a Speedmaster.

04:49I liked watches before, but I got that

04:52and it like opened Pandora's box for me.

04:54I'm like, oh, I get it now.

04:56What was your biggest takeaway

04:58being directed by Luca Guadagnino?

05:00He recognizes that it is the ultimate

05:02collaborative art form.

05:04And I think that's what makes great directors great

05:07is your ability to assemble the perfect team around you.

05:10So, yeah.

05:12What direction did Luca Guadagnino give you for this scene?

05:15I don't think there was much direction.

05:17You know, Daniel and I just went for it.

05:19And I mean, we talked about ideas

05:21and directions as to where to take it,

05:23but Daniel and I did it once.

05:25And I think Luca came in, he like walked in

05:29and he was like, one more time, let's do it one more time.

05:31I was like, okay.

05:32Yeah, it was quick though.

05:33It was like, it was very fast, yeah.

05:36Describe North Carolina style.

05:39It's like any other place, but a lot more work wear.

05:41When I find something that I like,

05:44it's because it's dependable.

05:46It makes me feel comfortable.

05:47I mean, I still have shirts from 10, 15 years ago

05:51that I wear.

05:51So yeah, anything dependable.

05:53Or boring, I don't know.

05:55That's boring.

05:56Let's go with boring.

05:57What is the Lueve special sauce?

05:59I think there's such a freedom to play.

06:02It feels exciting.

06:03But also, Lueve feels like it incorporates

06:06so much other art.

06:07I mean, the shows are like going to a circus.

06:09It's amazing.

06:11All right, hey, thanks for watching.

06:14Thanks for watching.

06:16Esquire.

Drew Starkey | Explain This | Esquire

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