Irish actor Barry Keoghan has said working on the upcoming The Beatles biopic has been an emotional experience, revealing he feels a strong responsibility to honour the legendary band while filming in their hometown.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, the Dublin-born star reflected on the atmosphere of shooting the project in Liverpool, the city where the band first formed and began their rise to global fame.

@entertainmenttonight Barry Keoghan takes a break from filming 'The Beatles' to talk 'Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man' — but we had to ask how he's adjusting to that Ringo Starr hair #barrykeoghan #thebeatles #ringostarr #peakyblinderstheimmortalman ♬ original sound - Entertainment Tonight

“It's absolute joy. We're up in Liverpool filming now, so that's sort of a thing in itself. The feeling and the response up there — it's beautiful. It hits you everytime.”

Keoghan said the weight of the project became especially clear when he came across a famous tribute to the band along the city’s waterfront.

“I was going on a job in Liverpool and I came across the four lads in the statue along the docks. I'm very emotional about it. And sort of like, wanting to do them well and justice.”

The statue Keoghan refers to depicts the four members of The Beatles — John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr — walking along the Liverpool waterfront, celebrating the band’s deep connection to the city where they grew up and began performing in local clubs before becoming one of the most influential music acts in history.

@grapherazzi Liverpool turning back time… 🎬🥁 Beatles biopic filming in progress with Barry Keoghan filming as Ringo Starr #B#BeatlesBiopicB#BarryKeoghanR#RingoStarrliverpool #fyp ♬ suara asli ||| BARU BELAJAR NGONTEN - Wafee

Keoghan is expected to portray Ringo Starr, the band’s drummer, in the ambitious film project directed by Sam Mendes, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind American Beauty, 1917, and the Skyfall and Spectre James Bond films.

The project is set to be particularly unusual in scope. Rather than telling the story of the band in a single film, Sam Mendes is reportedly developing four interconnected movies, each focusing on one member of The Beatles and their individual perspective within the band.

Several actors have already been linked to the project alongside Keoghan. Paul Mescal is widely reported to be playing Paul McCartney, while Harris Dickinson is expected to portray John Lennon, and Joseph Quinn has been linked to the role of George Harrison.

@itvnews First-look at Fab Four in Beatles biopic revealed #itvnews #news ♬ original sound - ITV News

Liverpool plays a central role in the band’s history. The four musicians all grew up in the city and began performing together in the late 1950s, honing their sound in local venues and later during a formative period playing clubs in Hamburg, Germany. Their breakthrough came in the early 1960s, sparking the phenomenon known as “Beatlemania”, which saw the band become one of the biggest cultural forces in modern music.

Today, Liverpool remains deeply connected to the band’s legacy. Locations such as The Cavern Club, where the band famously performed in their early years, continue to attract fans from around the world, while landmarks such as the Beatles statue on the waterfront serve as a reminder of their enduring influence.

For Keoghan, who has rapidly become one of Ireland’s most in-demand actors, the role marks another major milestone in a career that has already seen him earn widespread acclaim. In recent years, he has appeared in films such as The Banshees of Inisherin, which earned him an Oscar nomination, as well as Saltburn, The Batman, and Dunkirk.

As production continues in Liverpool, Keoghan says the atmosphere in the city has made the experience even more meaningful — reminding him just how much the story of The Beatles still resonates today.

The movies are set to be released in 2028.

Paul Mescal ‘Still Processing’ Paul McCartney Blessing For Beatles Biopic

Paul Mescal has said he is still “processing” the reality of receiving what feels like a personal blessing from Paul McCartney, as he prepares to portray the music icon in one of the most ambitious film projects ever attempted.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, the Irish actor described the experience as surreal, admitting that access to the lives, music and estates of The Beatles carries a weight unlike anything else in cinema.

“It’s a huge gift that the four of us are getting to step into their lives, access the music and the Beatles estates themselves, it’s pretty special,” Mescal said. “It’s an unbelievable privilege to have what feels like his blessing. I just can’t believe it.”

Mescal will star as Paul McCartney in Sam Mendes’ epic project, The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, which is set for release in April 2028. Rather than compressing the most scrutinised band in popular culture into a single film, Mendes is splitting the story across four interconnected feature films, each centred on a different member of the band and released across four consecutive weekends.

The scale alone sets the project apart. Mendes, the Oscar-winning director behind American Beauty and 1917, has described the films as “cinematic storytelling through four pairs of eyes”, allowing audiences to experience the same moments from deeply personal, overlapping perspectives.

Crucially, this marks the first time ever that a scripted Beatles biopic has received full approval from the surviving band members and the estates of those who have died. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with the estates of John Lennon and George Harrison, have signed off on the project and granted access to the band’s legendary music catalogue.

That approval, however, comes with boundaries. Ringo Starr has been open about his involvement, revealing that while he supports the project, he challenged elements of how his personal life was portrayed. Speaking previously about the script, Starr said it didn’t accurately reflect his relationship with his first wife Maureen Starkey, prompting him to go through it “line by line” with Mendes. His verdict was diplomatic but telling: “He’ll do what he’s doing and I’ll send him peace and love.”

That balance — endorsement without full authorship — hangs over the entire project.

@entertainmenttonight Paul Mescal is still processing that he received Paul McCartney's blessing for 'The Beatles' biopic. #paulmescal #paulmccartney #beatles ♬ original sound - Entertainment Tonight

Casting, then, becomes critical. Mendes has assembled a line-up designed to avoid imitation and instead aim for emotional truth.

Alongside Mescal, Harris Dickinson has been cast as John Lennon, with the actor choosing not to replicate Lennon’s mannerisms outright. After consulting Lennon’s close friend Tony King, Dickinson has said his goal is to create a “now” version of Lennon — an approach that echoes Austin Butler’s transformative performance in Elvis.

Barry Keoghan will portray Ringo Starr, bringing both unpredictability and warmth to the role. The Dublin actor has already met Starr, who reportedly played drums for him during a visit to his home. Keoghan has described his approach as observational rather than imitative, saying his aim is to “humanise” Starr rather than caricature him. Starr’s son Zak Starkey offered one piece of blunt advice: “Get a big rubber nose.”

George Harrison will be played by Joseph Quinn, whose Liverpool roots add an extra layer of authenticity to the casting.

The supporting cast is equally stacked. Saoirse Ronan will appear as Linda McCartney, while Anna Sawai takes on Yoko Ono, Aimee Lou Wood plays Patti Boyd, and James Norton steps into the demanding role of legendary manager Brian Epstein.

@metroentertainment Our ☘️ Linda and Paul 🥹 Saoirse Ronan has been confirmed to play Linda McCartney in the upcoming four-part Beatles biopic by director Sam Mendes. The four-time Oscar-nominated actor will star alongside Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney. Linda and Paul married in 1969. She worked alongside him as keyboardist and harmony vocalist in his post-Beatles band, Wings. Linda died from cancer in 1998 at the age of 56 ❤️‍🩹 Are you here for this casting? 🎥 #beatlesbiopic #thebeatles #saoriseronan #paulmccartney #paulmescal #movietok ♬ original sound giii - al

For Mescal, who has risen rapidly through roles in Normal People, Aftersun and Gladiator II, the weight of portraying McCartney is intensified by personal contact. He has already spent time with the former Beatle, describing him as “an extraordinary man” and admitting that preparation has become all-consuming.

“I’m obsessed with the Beatles at the moment,” Mescal has said previously. “It’s part of my job, but it’s also the way that my brain is wired.”

The history of Beatles adaptations has been uneven at best. Films like Backbeat and Nowhere Boy earned praise for performances but criticism for accuracy and tone, while many unauthorised projects were rejected outright by fans for lacking authenticity. One major exception was Peter Jackson’s 2021 documentary Get Back, which was widely hailed as definitive for its honesty and warmth.

Mendes’ project now aims to achieve that same authenticity — but through drama rather than documentary.

Production is expected to begin in 2026, with the four films overlapping in timeline and revisiting key moments — from early Liverpool days to world-changing performances — from multiple perspectives.

Whether the project can balance intimacy with enormity remains to be seen. But with the Beatles’ blessing, unprecedented access to their music, and Irish actors at the heart of the story, expectations are already sky-high.

For Mescal, though, the reality still hasn’t fully landed.

Having the quiet approval of Paul McCartney himself, he admits, is something he’s still coming to terms with.