Daniel Craig stirs Oscar talk with new role worlds apart from James Bond

Daniel Craig's role as a gay person in the upcoming film Queer has set the Venice Film Festival alight, and there’s even talk of an Oscar nomination for the star.

Craig, who’s known for playing James Bond in five movies, stars as American expat and war veteran William Lee. He gets into a relationship with a younger discharged Navy serviceman named Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), who suffers from drug addiction.

The film is directed by Luca Guadagnino and based on William Burroughs' semiautobiographical novella.

“It's a long way from Bond, and very explicit. Craig is brilliant in the film,” Daily Mail’s chief showbusiness writer Alison Boshoff was told.

Venice Film Festival boss Alberto Barbera also sang praise of the 007 star’s performance, saying that he gave “the performance of a lifetime” in Queer. He added that he’d be surprised if the actor’s not nominated for an Oscar next year.

In an interview, Guadagnino commented: “Queer will be my most personal film. It's a tribute to Powell and Pressburger.”

Craig has an outstanding 30-year-long acting career and has given impressive performances in the James Bond movies, as well as Layer Cake and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.