Queer star lost ‘20 pounds’ through a ‘soup diet’ to film sex scene with Daniel Craig-Asyia Iftikhar-Entertainment – Metro

Singer Omar Apollo shared his drastic diet to prepare for Queer sex scene opposite Daniel Craig (Picture: Getty)

Omar Apollo, actor in Daniel Craig’s acclaimed new movie Queer, has shared his weight loss regimen to gain a ‘flat brown stomach’ for his sex scene with the Bond star.

The singer-songwriter, 27, stars in Luca Guadagnino’s latest film which follows American expat William Lee in 1940s Mexico City who becomes infatuated with young student Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), based on the 1985 novel by William S Burroughs.

As Lee finds himself immersed in the local gay scene he also comes across Omar’s character with whom he has a fleeting and intimate connection.

The film – which premiered at Venice Film Festival to a nine-minute standing ovation – marks a total departure from Daniel’s 007 past as a womanizing agent, and includes a series of sex scenes.

In a new interview, the Grammy-nominated artist reflected on his acting debut and how he lost weight to make sure he didn’t ‘look off’ for the British actor.

‘Yeah, I had to get on the soup diet. Luca did not tell me to lose weight, but when you’re about to have a sex scene with Daniel Craig, you’re like, “Oh, dude, I can’t be looking off.” I was at 200 pounds, because I’m six-five,’ he told his co-star Drew in Interview magazine.

The acclaimed music artist wanted the perfect stomach for the role (Picture: Omar Apollo/ Instagram)

He went on a soup diet (Picture: Getty)

Critics have said Daniel has put Bond behind in powerful new role (Picture: A24/AP)

He continued: ‘It’s around where I should be, honestly. But I got down to 181 when the movie came. I lost 20 pounds because I read in the script that my character had a flat brown stomach.

‘I was like, “Damn, I’m actually not flat right now.” I had to get it together, and I was on tour with SZA. Luckily, I didn’t have that many lines.’ Drew praised the final sex scene as ‘very sensual’.

As for Omar. he had nothing but love for his co-star Daniel, later adding: ‘He definitely has this presence to him that is felt from far away.’

‘I remember asking him, “How do you feel when the camera’s on?” And he said, “To be honest, every time the camera’s on me, I’m terrified.” I thought that was beautiful.

“You have to be vulnerable. You have to be open to these emotions. It was such an honest answer.”

The Outer Banks star, 30, can relate as he too reduced his weight ahead of filming, although he admitted he maybe took it a little too far.

He shared that he lost about ’30 pounds’ through dieting.

Drew Starkey also went on a diet, losing up to 30 pounds (Picture: AP/A24)

Omar praised Daniel for his ‘vulnerable’ attitude on set (Picture: Getty)

‘I got a little bit too thin, and Luca was like, “Hey, bring it back up a little bit”,’ he added.

The movie has been well-received by critics with largely positive reviews and some even predicting his first Oscar nod for the 56-year-old lead.

Metro.co.uk praised Daniel’s acting, saying ‘the physicality of his Lee that is especially impressive’ and that he is ‘fully committed to baring himself in this role.

The review continued: ‘His and Starkey’s sex scenes are incredibly intimate in their choreography, covering the fumbles and shy foreplay of getting to know someone before getting down to business.’

The sentiment was echoed in The Guardian who called the actor ‘needy, horny and mesmeric’ while Variety called the adaptation ‘bold and trippy’.

During the press conference, the Knives Out star spoke about his experience filming the more explicit scenes in the film with the ‘wonderful, fantastic, beautiful’ Drew.

H explained: ‘You know as well as I do, there’s nothing intimate about filming a sex scene on a movie set. There’s a room full of people watching you

‘We just wanted to make it as touching and as real and as natural as we possibly could.’

The main strategy? ‘We kind of had a laugh. We tried to make it fun.’

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