Our beloved Beatles, loved and listened to by billions, are being played by the popular white boys of the month. The infamous John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison are being played by David Von Erich, Connell Waldron, Oliver Quick and Eddie Munson. Let me say it one more time. The Beatles are being played by Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan and Joseph Quinn in the upcoming four movie Beatles biopic.
Any lifelong fan of The Beatles feels personally victimized by this casting. When I look at the four actors I do not see John, Paul, Ringo and George — I see four famous actors who are already known for something else. I see well-known actors who are already established in the industry that are most likely Hollywood money grabs to get teenage girls in movie theater seats.
I cannot blame the production company for casting them when they know that the fangirls are going to boost box office sales. The higher-ups in the industry are using these four actors for marketing purposes, not for their acting talent.
Do not get me wrong, Dickinson, Mescal, Keoghan and Quinn are phenomenal actors. Possibly the best young male actors in the industry right now. They are all talented in their own respect, but not for playing these iconic musicians.
Hollywood has lost the art of casting nobodies. They find the hottest actor on the scene and cast them in every single movie imaginable. Timotheé Chalamet played Willy Wonka and Bob Dylan inside a year. Pedro Pascal is in three upcoming movies this year from A24 and Marvel Studios. Dickinson is going from the hot intern in “Babygirl” to peace-loving guitar-playing Lennon. This is not to say that these actors should not be working or getting their money, but not for this project.
The key to casting someone for a biopic is finding someone that looks similar to the real person and can portray them accurately. Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury is a perfect example. Although “Bohemian Rhapsody” got some hate, as a lifetime Queen fan, that casting was perfect. They casted underground artists for Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon and it completely swept me away from the Hollywood sphere. Malek is a phenomenal actor who instantaneously morphed into Mercury.
Austin Butler played Elvis Presley in the recent ”Elvis“ biopic and I could not help but picture Peyton from “Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure” most of the movie. Bradley Cooper acted as Leonard Bernstein in the 2023 film “Maestro,” and I could not help but picture Phil from “The Hangover.”
Potentially this is less of a commentary on casting and more on the acting capabilities. Malek is already established in Hollywood, as well as Cooper and Butler. There was only one biopic where I was not picturing the other roles that actor has been in. And it certainly was not “Maestro.”
I understood why they casted Margot Robbie for Tonya Harding or Malek for Mercury because they look similar to the original person. At least with these castings they simultaneously looked like the person while delivering a great performance. Looking like the person is not as important as the performance, but it is a part of the immersion. None of the four men that were cast look even remotely like any of The Beatles. Their looks have nothing to do with The Beatles’ success or their story, but hiring similar looking actors would have won over a lot of Beatles fans.
If I were casting The Beatles biopic I would try to find four underground actors from Liverpool that have the same features as the original four, and have some musical background.
As a forever fan of the band, I do not feel that they have done justice with this casting. Choosing the four hottest men (figuratively and literally) in Hollywood for this four film series is way too cheap and easy. I wish the casting directors did more research and tried to find a better alternative. But who knows? I could eat my words and end up loving this casting when the movies release in 2028. All I know is that Mescal does not look like he could even come up with the concept of “And I Love Her.”
