Harry Lawtey among new names added to Sam Mendes’ cast for The Beatles biopics
Sam Mendes has expanded the cast of his set of four biopics on The Beatles with four new additions.
The upcoming films, set for release in 2028, will star Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr. Production recently went underway on the movies, which are being packaged by Sony as The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event.
Now, it has been confirmed that former Industry star Harry Lawtey will portray Stuart Sutcliffe, who was the band’s original bassist before leaving in 1961, which paved the way for Paul McCartney to switch to the four-stringed instrument.
Meanwhile, Indian actor Farhan Akhtar has been confirmed to play Ravi Shankar, the legendary musician who famously introduced George Harrison to the sitar and re-shaped his view of the world.
Lucy Boynton, who previously had a major role in another musical biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, will portray McCartney’s former fiancée and muse Jane Asher.
The last of the new additions to the cast is The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power star Morfydd Clark, who will bring Cynthia Lennon’s life to the screen. Cynthia, who died in 2015, was married to John Lennon and the mother of his first child, Julian.
The ensemble cast also includes the previously announced Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney, Aimee Lou Wood as Pattie Boyd, McKenna-Bruce as Maureen Starkey, and Anna Sawai as Yoko Ono.
Additionally, James Norton will portray The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein.
Notably, each of the four films will focus on a different member of the group, and has been described by Sony as “the first bingeable theatrical experience”.
In January, Mescal was tight-lipped when he was asked to lift the lid on the forthcoming biopics, revealing, “To be honest, I can say very little — actually contractually, but also I’m kind of keen to say very little about it, because I’m excited that people want to know so much about it.”
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