TWO YEARS AGO, DREW STARKEY was eating breakfast in L. A. with Luca Guadagnino, the Italian director behind Call Me by Your Name and Challengers. Starkey was in disbelief. Guadagnino is an Academy Award nominee who's worked with Tilda Swinton, Timothée Chalamet, and Zendaya. Starkey had spent the past three years on Netflix's Outer Banks-a wildly popular show (now in its fourth season) that bears little resemblance to Guadagnino's moody, hyper-stylized films. But the director had seen the actor's audition tape for an unrelated project and asked him to breakfast.
Shirt ($990) and pants ($2,100) by Loewe; loafers ($842) by J. M. Weston. Opposite: Sweater ($1,820), jeans ($2,060), and boots ($2,440) by Louis Vuitton Men's; sunglasses ($430) by Loewe.
The topic of conversation that morning: Queer, a movie about a gay heroin addict living in Mexico City in the 1950s, based on the William S. Burroughs book of the same name. It was Guadagnino’s next project, and he was eyeing Starkey to star opposite Daniel Craig.
Sweater ($390) by Guess USA; trousers ($1,950) by Valentino; loafers ($1,200) by Prada; necklace ($220) by Noma; bracelet ($11,600) by Tiffany & Co.; Juste un Clou ring ($2,850) by Cartier; signet ring ($300) by Lagos.
“Halfway through the first meeting, I was like, ‘This is amazing, and I don’t really care what comes of it,’ he tells me. “I’m getting to sit down and have deep conversations with a director—an artist—that I really look up to? That’s incredible. The whole time, I was thinking, It’s not gonna happen.”
This story is from the Winter 2025 edition of Esquire US.
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This story is from the Winter 2025 edition of Esquire US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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