Hollywood 2024: Sex Is Back! Just Ask Drew Starkey (“Queer”) and Harris Dickinson (“Babygirl”)

Sex, Chemistry, Submission, Acting with Big Movie Stars

“I’m finding out we’re the same person — long-lost cousins,” Drew Starkey, 31, says to Harris Dickinson, 28.

Indeed, they are in the same unusual position: Both play the love interests of more seasoned movie stars.

Starkey was best known for Netflix’s teen drama “Outer Banks” before stepping into Guadagnino’s surreal love story Queer as a quiet veteran who’s passionately pursued by an older heroin addict writer (Daniel Craig) in 1950s Mexico City.

Directed by Halina Reijn, Babygirl sees Dickinson as the intern of a prominent CEO played by Nicole Kidman.

In both films, the question is which lover really holds the real power.

Starkey and Dickinson are finding their power, reflecting on their school-play roots and learning to deal with the anxiety that comes with such roles.

STARKEY: Yeah, in a rural area. But strangely, I was surrounded by art growing up. How did you start?

DICKINSON: My mum was figuring out childcare during summer, and there was local drama school. We did “Grease.” All of the boys played Danny, and all of the girls played Sandy. How did you get into it?

Alexi Lubomirski for Variety

STARKEY: Just being in school plays. And then I went to college, I want to take an acting class. It’s fun.” And a professor was like, “I think you could do this.”

DICKINSON: I was in the Marine Cadets for years as kid, and even they were like, “Do you want to play the victim that we do our medical training on?” Then an acting teacher said, “Don’t join the military. You can probably be an actor.”

STARKEY: You’re a director as well?

DICKINSON: I’ve always wanted to direct, but it feels like two very different sides of me. When I’m acting, I need to be guided. I succumb to whatever world I step into.

DICKINSON: The script got sent to me, and I was like, “I don’t know if I can do this.” You tend to go to that place of “I don’t think I’m right” — to protect yourself. But Halina and I had really long chat, and I knew that Nicole was on board, which was intimidating.

STARKEY: You and Nicole do such a good job of finding the humor in it. There’s something childlike about it.

DICKINSON: Nicole and I didn’t have a ton of time together. To not fully understand each other — there was an element of mystery between us that was helpful.

STARKEY: I didn’t meet Daniel until a month before we shot in Rome at Cinecittà.

Alexi Lubomirski for Variety

DICKINSON: Where was the rest of it? in the jungle?

STARKEY: No, the jungle was in a back lot. Luca was like, “I want these plants,” and they brought in pounds of dirt and built a jungle. Luca was very specific about how he wanted the world to feel. He sent visual references. Some photography; these paintings by Francis Bacon.

With Daniel and I, there wasn’t a lot of conversation about the dirty word–“chemistry”–between us. It was just going for it. My heart was racing on the first day.

DICKINSON: Did you ask him about James Bond?

STARKEY: He just started talking about it. I got a lot of insider trading on that. It was really strange, because I’m watching this beautifully crafted, prepared performance, but also free of inhibitions. I’m like, “What is he tapped into? Fuck! Let me lock back in.”

DICKINSON: I love the ayahuasca sequence. How long did it take?

STARKEY: It was over the course of a night, but the rehearsals for the dance, that was months. I’m terrible at it.

DICKINSON: I love to dance, quite frankly.

STARKEY: I know this about you. Many mutual friends, they all say, “Harris, he’s a dancer.”

DICKINSON: Daniel’s a good dancer, isn’t he? I’ve seen him at the clubs.

STARKEY: He can move his body.

DICKINSON: You have to really fall a few times. There’s a tendency, which I’m trying to work on, “I’ll just try and do it safe.” And then, “All right. I’m going to just be an idiot for a second.” Nicole’s like that. She’ll just try it.

STARKEY: Daniel’s the same way. They take the lead. You have permission to make a fool of yourself.


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