Joining Variety’s Actors on Actors series, Harris Dickinson and Drew Starkey compared their experiences working with Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig on their new films. Dickinson shares a scene with Nicole in ‘Babygirl,’ while Starkey is romantically involved with Daniel in ‘Queer.’
Dickinson explained his initial reaction when he received the script for ‘Babygirl’ and admitted to having some hesitations at first.
“You tend to go to that place of ‘I don’t think I’m right’ — to protect yourself, maybe. But Halina [ the movie’s director] and I had a really long chat, and I knew that Nicole was on board, which was intimidating.”
He continued, confirming that Nicole was already attached to the project: “Which is always nice to read it with that in mind.”
After accepting the role, Dickinson revealed that he didn’t have much time to get to know his co-star before shooting began.
“Nicole and I didn’t have a ton of time together. In a way, I think that was quite helpful actually. To not fully understand each other — there was an element of mystery between us that was helpful,” he said.
He added, “It’s really two people playing and trying things out, and I think it needs that because there’s a lot of tension in it as well. And there’s a lot of tension around the idea of restraint and lack of liberation. SO you need that humor to sort of undercut it and find a way in that is truthful.”
Starkey described a similar experience while working on ‘Queer.’
“I didn’t meet Daniel until we were in New York, probably a month before we shot. I met him at the table read, and it was kind of the meeting and then we just jumped into reading it out loud,” he recalled.
Speaking about how they created the scenes, Starkey shared, “There wasn’t a lot of conversation about how we wanted it to feel, or you know the dirty word… the chemistry between the two of us,” he said. “It was just kind of exercising and going for it.”
He stressed how inspiring it was to work with Daniel: “It’s amazing how open and inviting he is. And he looks at you as an equal, and he’s ready to share his own insecurities and fears about what we’re about to do. So you’re like, ‘Oh great, he’s in it with me.’”
Starring Dickinson, ‘Babygirl2 explores the complexities of power dynamics and sexuality in a professional environment as senior CEO Romy Mathis (Nicole Kidman) embarks on a forbidden romance with her much younger, charming intern Samuel (Harris Dickinson). The film is scheduled to be released on December 25, 2024.
‘Queer,’ starring Starkey, is based on the novel by William S. Burroughs. Set in 1950s Mexico City, the film tells the story of an outcast American immigrant (Daniel Craig) who falls in love with a young man (Drew Starkey).
