In a cinematic moment that had gay Twitter pre-sold before the trailer even dropped, On Swift Horses gallops into theaters not just with brooding stares and forbidden romance, but with a real-world injury story that queer audiences will find equal parts hilarious, endearing, and — let’s face it — deeply relatable.
Diego Calva, the Golden Globe-nominated actor who rose to fame in Babylon, found himself riding a different kind of high while filming Daniel Minahan’s queer period drama. It wasn’t the fast-paced Vegas scenes or even the emotional vulnerability of portraying a man navigating forbidden desire in mid-century America — no, it was kissing a 6’5″ Jacob Elordi that did him in.
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“There was one moment, probably the first scene when I realised how tall Jacob was and it was my first time acting looking up,” Calva told Attitude. “He was laughing at me! He’s way taller – I had like a neck pain for the first week from just kissing.”
Neck pain. From kissing. Honestly, same.
The setup is practically mythic: tall, statuesque Elordi — the gay community’s current international crush and unreasonably gifted in the genetic lottery — paired on screen with Calva, whose vulnerability and softness only deepen the tension between their characters. When Calva jokes about the strain of “acting looking up,” it lands with the authenticity of someone who’s lived through a physically and emotionally disorienting gay crush. The queerness is not just in the script — it’s in the posture, the power dynamics, the sheer logistics of mouth-to-mouth.
And if the romantic stakes weren’t already sky-high (pun intended), Calva admits he had to steady his nerves during their more revealing moments.
“Believe me, being naked around Jacob Elordi is intimidating! He’s like a fucking god! He’s too perfect! … It’s hard not to do a hot scene with Jacob shirtless!” he confessed.
God-tier beauty aside, On Swift Horses isn’t just here for the fan service (though — let’s be honest — it delivers that, too). The film tells a nuanced story of queerness, repression, and identity. Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and her husband Lee (Will Poulter) are newlyweds trying to forge a life in post-Korean War California. But it’s Lee’s enigmatic brother Julius (Elordi) who becomes the story’s disruptor, drawing both Muriel and Henry (Calva), a Las Vegas casino worker, into gravitational orbits of desire that threaten the status quo.
While queer cinema often leans into angst or trauma, On Swift Horses doesn’t shy away from intimacy. It’s sensual, yes, but also steeped in the awkward, beautiful reality of human connection. The fact that one of its stars was literally injured trying to kiss the other? That’s not just a behind-the-scenes anecdote — it’s a metaphor. Sometimes queer love — onscreen or off — requires uncomfortable angles, some craning of the neck, and a willingness to look up even when it hurts.
So for the gays, girls, and theys ready to weep, swoon, and possibly schedule a chiropractor appointment in solidarity: saddle up.
Have you seen it yet or are you just here for the neck pain discourse?
Source: Attitude