When director Luca Guadagnino first read the 1985 novella, “Queer” by William S. Burroughs, he was 17 — and it stuck with him. Many decades later, it’s the source of a new film starring Daniel Craig.

Taking place in 1950 in Mexico City, “Queer” is about William Lee (Craig), an American expat — leading a solitary life — who becomes enamored with younger man Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey) and realizes intimacy indeed might be a possibility. The period piece also stars Jason Schwartzman, Lesley Manville, and Omar Apollo.

Craig has been mentioned as a potential Best Actor Oscar nominee for his work here. He and Guadagnino spoke recently at a virtual Zoom press conference.

“Queer” and its themes have always been close to the director’s heart — and he’s been stubborn about wanting to bring it to the screen.

“When I first read the book it was my first reading of any kind of Burroughs’ books,” he told Georgia Voice. “Afterwards, I read everything and put it in comparison with his other work. And yet there was something about this book — this opera, this romanticism that he brings on the pages — and this idea of this kind of search for contact that never changes and increases. I learned throughout my life, throughout my work, throughout my movies and the people I met, this quest for contact is a beautiful idea to explore and bring to life.”

Written in the ‘50s and printed in the ‘80s, Guadagnino feels Burroughs’ work is nonetheless just as potent today.

“The magical fascination of Burroughs is something that will last forever, so you are not bound to anything of the moment,” he said. “He has been a model for many, many generations.”

For Craig, working with Luca Guadagnino was, first and foremost, the attraction, but he also loved the complexity of William Lee.

“To be offered a character that is properly complicated — this really embodied somebody who I thought was many things, all of which were fascinating to me, all of which I thought I could key into,” Craig said. “It’s rare to get to do a character as layered as this. It was too tempting, a wonderful opportunity.”

The character of Lee has his own distinct way of speaking and the actor worked to develop that.

“I had to make a leap of faith,” Craig said. “The voice came from a few directions. One, where he is from; the other, which I felt was to do with the very public voice of William Burroughs; and the third, what he was really like in private at this time of his life. That I would credit a lot to Luca; we discovered that together on set, how he is. Not so much his accent, but his gestures, his demeanor, and that continued to be discovered throughout the film.”

Craig and his acting coach would frequently discuss the character and come up with alternative ideas to scenarios. That pre-work helped shape the character, but once filming started, it all took shape.

The chemistry between Craig and his various co-stars, such as Starkey, has been noted.

“You prepare and prepare and then come to the set and hopefully the groundwork is going to inform,” he said. “But added to that there are all these incredible performers who come in front of you and give you something. There is another level that opens you; you are in response to them. I think it’s an important part of my job to stay open and receptive, because I’ll miss something and that would be sad.”

While Guadagnino likens the work of the actors and their teams to a violinist and a violin, Craig states that if that’s the case, then Guadagnino is the undisputed conductor.

Earlier this year, Guadagnino’s “Challengers” was released; it featured a homoerotic nature and invited speculation about its central male characters. Guadagnino has often dealt with themes of identity and queerness, such as in his acclaimed 2017 Oscar winning film, “Call Me By Your Name.”

“I don’t know if I thematically choose to explore themes of identity and queer identity in my work; I can only speak for what I am attracted to and what I want to tell the story of,” Guadagnino said. “I love these characters and this world and those are specific people and places I want to see on screen, and I am lucky enough to partner with Daniel and have the support of financiers and producers to make the movie we wanted to make.”

“Queer” is now in area theaters.