An English actress set to star in the upcoming Beatles biopic films has admitted she previously had no clue of the names of any of the band members.
Earlier this year, the core cast of Sam Mendes’ upcoming series of movies –The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event – was announced.
Based on the lives and careers of the legendary music group, all four films will be released on April 7, 2028, and told from the perspective of each band member.
John Lennon will be played by Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal is Paul McCartney, while Joseph Quinn will portray George Harrison and Barry Keoghan will be Ringo Starr.
A few months on it was then revealed that the cast would also include Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney, Anna Sawai as Yoko Ono, Aimee Lou Wood as Pattie Boyd, and Mia McKenna-Bruce as Maureen Starkey.
However, the latter has now confessed that before being cast as Starr’s first wife, she ‘didn’t know much’ about the iconic band.
Mia, 28, first had acting roles in shows including Holby City, EastEnders, The Bills and Doctors, before being cast in Tracy Beaker Returns, which she starred in from 2010 until 2012.
She then appeared in the spin-off series The Dumping Ground, the Netflix film Persuasion and the fantasy series Vampire Academy, before gaining critical acclaim in the 2021 film How to Have Sex.
The actress will next star in the upcoming Netflix series The Seven Dials Mystery, based on Agatha Christie’s novels, before taking on the role of Starkey in the Beatles’ films.
However, in a recent interview with Tatler, Mia revealed her previous knowledge of the band was severely lacking.
Speaking to the publication soon after her casting was announced, the actress declared: ‘Finally, I can talk about it! 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.’
Starkey, who died aged 48 of complications from leukaemia in 1994, was a 16-year-old hairdresser when she met Starr soon after he joined The Beatles.
The couple were married for a decade and shared three children but divorced due to his escalating alcoholism and cheating. She then went on to have an affair with Harrison.
Starkey then remarried Isaac Tigrett, one of the founders of the Hard Rock Cafe. When she died, Starr was among the family members at her bedside.
Speaking playing Starkey on screen, Mia shared: ‘I haven’t met Ringo, but apparently, to this day, when he talks about Maureen, he gets this brightness behind his eyes.
‘Ringo went through so much – all of the Beatles did – and Maureen really grounded him, so it’s important to me to keep her as human and warm as possible.’
However, the actress went on to share that her awareness of the band was previously limited.
‘We sang Eleanor Rigby and Yellow Submarine at school, but it wasn’t my jam. On Seven Dials, Martin [Freeman, who plays Superintendent Battle] was asking me to name all the Beatles – I didn’t know,’ she shared.
‘Then he’d ask me, “What band was Mick Jagger in?” I was, like, “I have no idea, Martin” and he was, like “Aargh!”. Yet 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.’
Formed in Liverpool in 1960, The Beatles are the best-selling musical act of all time, achieving 18 UK number one singles and 16 UK number one albums.
Earlier this month, Lennon’s son Sean Ono Lennon spoke about wanting to do his best ensure young people don’t forget about The Beatles.
Discussing the responsibility he felt during an interview on CBS’s Sunday Morning, he explained: ‘Obviously the world is also the custodian of his legacy, I would say…but I’m just doing my best to help make sure that the younger generation doesn’t forget about The Beatles and John and Yoko. That’s how I look at it.’
Then asked whether he held concerns that his father’s work could one day be forgotten, he admitted: ‘To forget about it? I do, actually. And I never did before.’
He then went on to explain why he chose to try and protect his parent’s life work: ‘My parents gave me so much that I think it’s the least I can do to try and support their legacy in my lifetime. I feel like I just owe it to them. It’s a personal thing.’
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