Here’s what he said.

Drew Starkey has been a household name for a while, mostly because of his portrayal of Rafe Cameron in the Netflix drama Outer Banks. Rafe isn’t one of the Pogues, in fact, he’s one of the Kooks—aka the rich kids, and he’s always causing trouble for the main group, including his sister Sarah (Madelyn Cline). But if everyone loves a bad boy, it’s clear why so many fans have fallen in love with Starkey’s Rafe.

In the last season of Outer Banks, Starkey’s Rafe Cameron is even with the Pogues in Morrocco when the show’s most devastating moment happens—the death of Rudy Pankow’s JJ Maybanks. And though what will happen in the upcoming and last season of Outer Banks is still unknown, it seems like Starkey will indeed return to the role. He did, after all, recently reconcile with his sister Sarah and basically taunted the Pogues into getting revenge for JJ.

Outer Banks isn’t Starkey’s only role, even if it’s his most high-profile one. The actor is set to appear in Luca Guadagnino’s movie Queer, a period romantic drama based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs. The film premiered at the 81st Venice International Festival. The movie is set in 1950’s Mexico and it follows William Lee (Daniel Craig), who after fleeing from a drug bust in New Orleans wanders around the city and becomes infatuated with a younger man, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey).

The role has prompted people to wonder about Starkey’s sexuality and whether he’s discussed it in real life. So, is Drew Starkey queer in real life? Has he come out as gay?

Is Drew Starkey gay in real life?

No, Drew Starkey has not identified as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. The speculation comes from his diverse acting career, which has included roles in LGBTQ+-themed projects, as well as the fact that he stars in the new movie Queer alongside Daniel Craig. Starkey also appeared in the movie Love, Simon, another movie with LGBTQ+ themes.

Speculating about actor’s sexualities is a very slippery slope, as everyone is allowed to identify in any way they want, and change the way they identify whenever they so choose. Starkey has spoken about his role in the movie Queer and to the question of whether he hesitated to take the role he responded with “no, no, no hesitation in the slightest.”

“Getting the opportunity to collaborate with someone like Luca, Daniel, Jason [Schwartzman] and Lesley [Manville] and [costume designer] JW Anderson and screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes” were big draws for Starkey, who added that, “I mean, all these giants. It was a blessing that I was even part of the conversation for the film. So, no hesitation at all.”

And Starkey revealed to Variety that the topic of sexuality didn’t come up at all during the casting process, saying ‘It wasn’t part of the audition process—[director Luca Guadagnino] didn’t ask us the intricacies of our sexuality,’ the actor explained.

The actor also spoke about nerves at the New York Film Festival premiere of Queer on Oct. 6, telling reporters he was nervous for “every” scene in the film. “All of them, every one,” he said, speaking about his co-star Craig as well. “I think we were both nervous. We wanted to tell those stories.”