James Norton is set to play Brian Epstein in Sir Sam Mendes’ Beatles biopics.
James Norton is set to star in the Beatles biopics
The 40-year-old actor has been tapped to play the group’s manager in The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, sources told Deadline, though Sony Pictures declined to comment on the news.
Each of the four movies will tell the story of the different members of the iconic group, so it is unclear how significantly Epstein will feature in each film, but he is expected to be a part of all them.
The Svengali met the Beatles at a lunchtime concert at Liverpool’s Cavern Club in 1961 and put them under contract, despite having no experience in managing musicians, and eventually secured them a record deal with Parlophone.
The movies will star Paul Mescal as Sir Paul McCartney, Barry Keoghan as Sir Ringo Starr, Harris Dickinson as the late John Lennon and Joseph Quinn as the late George Harrison.
And it was revealed earlier this month Saoirse Ronan will play Paul’s late first wife Linda McCartney.
American photographer and passionate animal rights activist Linda tragically passed away in 1998 aged 56, following a battle with breast cancer.
She was also part of Paul’s post-Beatles band Wings, but she faced criticism from some for her vocals.
Mescal recently admitted he has spent time with McCartney ahead of portraying him in the movies, admitting it was a “crazy” moment in his life.
Asked if he has connected with his namesake Paul, he told IndieWire: “I have, yeah.
“He’s an extraordinary man, like to spend any time – it’s a crazy sentence to say that I’ve spent time with that man, let alone play him.”
Quizzed on whether he will be doing his own singing in the four films, he said: “Yeah, yeah, absolutely yeah.”
Meanwhile, Keoghan previously recalled how he “couldn’t look at” the drummer he will be playing in the biopics, let alone show off his musical skills, when they first met.
Speaking on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’, the Banshees of Inisherin actor said: “I met him at his house, and he played the drums for me.
“He asked me to play, but I wasn’t playing the drums for Ringo.
“And when I was talking to him, I couldn’t look at him. I was nervous, like right now. But he’s like, ‘You can look at me.’ “