Actor Drew Starkey has joined the cast of Queer, the upcoming adaptation of William Burrough’s novel to be created by Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino.
Beat Generation writer William Burroughs wrote his short novel between 1951 and 1953 but it remained unpublished until 1985. It is a partial sequel to his previous novel Junkie.
It follows a character named Lee who is an American living among expatriates in Mexico City. The self-conscious protagonist starts to pursue a young man named Allerton who is a recently discharged naval serviceman. The book is based around Burroughs own experiences.
In the film Bon star Daniel Craig will play Lee, and Starkey will take up the role of Allerton, the alluring object of his obsession. Also in the cast will be Lesley Manville (The Crown), Jason Schartzman (Rushmore) and Henry Zaga (Teen Wolf).
Drew Starkey is best known for playing Rafe Cameron in the Netflix teen drama Outer Banks. He also played Garrett Laughlin in Love, Simon.
Shooting of the film gets underway this week in Italy, it will be shot at the famous Cinecittà Studios. The studios have previously been used to film other epic films including Gangs of New York, The English Patient, The Passion of the Christ, and classics such as Cleopatra, Ben Hur and Roman Holiday.
There have been several attempts to bring Burroughs work to the screen over the years. Steve Buscemi had previously tried to make a film version of the novel and had a reading of a screenplay at the Sarasota Film Festival in 2011. Actors Stanley Tucci and Ben Foster took part in the reading.
Burroughs wrote many novels during his lifetime and homosexuality and drug use are common themes in his work. He died in 1997.
His most well-known work is The Naked Lunch, which was often described as being an unfilmable novel. It was adapted for the screen in 1991 by director David Cronenberg. While the film was a flop at the box office, it went on to develop a cult following. So far its the only work of Burroughs to make it to the screen.
OIP Staff, image: Shutterstock.
