'James Bond' Daniel Craig stars in drug-fueled love story 'Queer'

VENICE, Italy — In his new film "Queer", Daniel Craig sheds his suave 007 persona for the loneliness and anguish of a drug-addicted gay man, in a love story based on the William Burroughs novel.

Containing graphic sex scenes and emotional highs and lows, the love story between two men packs an "emotional thump", Craig said ahead of the movie's world premiere Tuesday at the Venice Film Festival.

The film, directed by Italy's Luca Guadagnino, is one of 21 vying for the top Golden Lion prize at the prestigious festival, which will be awarded September 7.

On the red carpet ahead of the screening, a shaggy-haired Craig looked nothing like the tuxedo-wearing secret agent for whom he is associated, instead opting for a cream-coloured suit paired with aviator sunglasses.

Early reviews for the film were enthusiastic, with IndieWire praising Craig's performance as "all inner torment he wears on the outside as a deeply lonely man doomed to an unrequited all-consuming love."

"'Queer' is this emotional thump, a tiny book but an emotional thump," Craig told a press conference ahead of the screening.

"It is about love, it's about loss, it's about loneliness, it's about yearning, it's about all of these things."

The film centres on Craig as William Lee, an ageing writer in 1940s Mexico City who spends his time drinking and picking up men before becoming infatuated with the much younger Eugene Allerton, played by Drew Starkey.

"If I was writing myself a part and wanted to tick off the things I wanted to do, this would fulfil all of them," Craig told journalists.

As an actor, Craig is no stranger to sex scenes, having played ladies' man James Bond five times.

Here, he strove to make those scenes as natural and poignant as possible, rehearsing for months ahead of shooting with co-star Starkey.

"There is nothing intimate about filming a sex scene on a movie set -- there's a room full of people watching you," Craig said.

"We just wanted to make it as touching and as real and as natural as we possibly could," he said.

"We kind of had a laugh, we tried to make it fun."

His co-star Starkey added: "When you're rolling around on the floor with someone the second day of knowing each