The Beatles biopic star Mia McKenna-Bruce admits she wasn’t a fan of Fab Four prior to landing role
Mia McKenna-Bruce, who is set to star in Sam Mendes’ The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, has revealed she wasn’t a fan of the band prior to being cast.
In the upcoming set of biopics, which will span four films and will be released in 2028, the Bafta Rising Star Award-winner will portray Ringo Starr’s first wife, Maureen Starkey.
The announcement of her involvement was made in October alongside Saoirse Ronan as McCartney’s wife Linda McCartney, Aimee Lou Wood as Pattie Boyd, and Anna Sawai as Yoko Ono.
However, in a new interview with Tatler (via The Independent), McKenna-Bruce revealed she had been keeping the role secret for almost 12 months, sharing, “I’ve known for near-on-a year, but I couldn’t tell my family. I love them all but they have the biggest mouths in the world.”
During this time, McKenna-Bruce has brushed up on her Beatles knowledge, which she admitted was limited prior to being cast as Starkey, sharing, “We sang ‘Eleanor Rigby’ and ‘Yellow Submarine‘ at school, but it wasn’t my jam.”
Thankfully, her co-star Martin Freeman on the new Netflix series Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials was on hand to help and quiz McKenna-Bruce on set.
She recalled, “On Seven Dials, Martin Freeman was asking me to name all the Beatles – I didn’t know. Then he’d ask me, ‘what band was Mick Jagger in?’ I was like, ‘I have no idea, Martin’. Now, I’m like, Oh my God, The Beatles are underrated. This is good. It’s music I’d sit and listen to on the train.”
The all-star cast for the upcoming set of films, which Sony has hailed as “the first bingeable theatrical experience”, will star Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr.
Earlier this month, the cast grew even further upon confirmation of David Morrissey as McCartney’s father, Jim McCartney, Leanne Best as Lennon’s Aunt Mimi, and James Norton as the Fab Four’s manager Brian Epstein.
Additionally, Harry Lloyd was announced to play the band’s trusted producer, George Martin, and Bobby Schofield as their tour manager, Neil Aspinall. Meanwhile, another member of their inner circle, Mal Evans, is set to be played by Daniel Hoffman-Gill, and their press officer, Derek Taylor, will be brought to the screen by Arthur Darvill.
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