House of Guinness star James Norton has been cast as Brian Epstein in Sir Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles biopics. According to Deadline, the 40-year-old actor will portray the legendary manager in The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, although Sony Pictures has yet to confirm the casting.
The ambitious project will consist of four separate films, each focusing on a different member of the band. While the extent of Epstein’s role in each instalment remains unclear, he is expected to appear across the entire series.
Epstein, often described as the Beatles’ Svengali, first encountered the band during a lunchtime performance at Liverpool’s Cavern Club in 1961. Despite lacking experience in artist management, he signed them to a contract and famously secured their record deal with Parlophone, playing a crucial role in their rise to global fame.
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.'”