Making ‘Queer’ required openness. Daniel Craig was ready

NEW YORK — Daniel Craig is sitting in the restaurant of the Carlyle Hotel talking about how easy it can be to close yourself off to new experiences. His drawling detective Benoit Blanc stole the show in “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.” And now, Craig gives arguably his most transformative performance as the William S. Burroughs avatar Lee in Luca Guadagnino’s tender tale of love and longing in postwar Mexico City, “Queer.” Since the movie’s Venice Film Festival premiere, it’s been one of the fall’s most talked about performances — for its explicit sex scenes, for its vulnerability and for its extremely un-007-ness. Craig, left, and Drew Starkey in a scene from “Queer.” Craig, left, and Drew Starkey in a scene from “Queer.” Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Allerton is enigmatic and aloof, and it’s unclear how much he’s embraced his homosexuality. He doesn’t have a sense of pride or a protection of social codes.” Craig and Starkey in a scene from “Queer.” Craig and Starkey in a scene from “Queer.” Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print While they were making “Challengers,” released earlier this year, Guadagnino approached Kuritzkes about adapting Burroughs’ novel. Craig and Starkey Craig and Starkey Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print For “Queer,” there was extensive preparation, on accent and movement and Burroughs’ own tortured history.