It’s A Playground For Me

Work on Sam Mendes’ ambitious plan for The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event is underway, and Barry Keoghan has detailed his preparations to assume the role of Ringo Starr. First announced in February 2024, speculation was rife about which actors would be tapped to play the four members of The Beatles until the official casting announcement was finally made in April this year. While Keoghan has been picked to play the band’s infamous drummer, he will also be joined by Paul Mescal (Paul McCartney), Harris Dickinson (John Lennon), and Joseph Quinn (George Harrison).

Speaking at the Fastnet Film Festival (via The Sun) Keoghan revealed that the movie’s main cast has been involved in an intensive bootcamp for the past 16 to 17 weeks, and he has not only been involved in trying to perfect his drumming technique but has even been working on approaching Ringo’s distinct accent, walk, and facial expressions. Check out his comments below:

It’s just an absolute joy. The camp is like bootcamp and it’s a place where you have time and you try things. For Ringo, you get to approach the walk, the accent, play around with the face.

It’s a place of failing, a place of learning and trying. That’s the process I’m in now. It’s a playground for me. The drumming is going great. I’ve been doing it for like six, seven months. I’ve got blisters on my hands now.

Keoghan also revealed that he had the opportunity to meet with Starr himself, and admitted that he was so nervous to meet the famous musician that he was afraid to look at him directly. Suggesting that he was not there to quiz the drummer about his life, the actor instead revealed that he was more interested in discovering what made Starr the man he is and the contrast in returning to Liverpool after the rise of Beatlemania. Keoghan also spoke about how his sobriety is aiding his approach to the films. Check out his additional comments below:

He gave me so much ammunition to go forward. I sat opposite [Ringo] and I could not look at him because I was nervous and his wife Barbara was there and she said, ‘You can look at him.’ Every time I looked at him I saw myself in his glasses. I said to him: ‘I am not coming here to quiz you. I am coming to find out what made you and how the contrast was going back to Liverpool after Beatlemania.’

We can all do imitation but I wanted to know where it came from. He was so on the money. My approach to The Beatles movie is entirely different to anything I have ever done. Being sober has now allowed me artistically to go down a constructive way and kind of bring back emotions and control. Rather than be erratic. There is a whole new approach to it.

These Movies Need To Stand Out From The Plethora Of Other Beatles Projects

Ever since their monumental rise to fame in the early 1960s, there has been no shortage of movies, documentaries and other media that have attempted to explore various aspects of The Beatles phenomenon. From their own Beatles movies made during the height of their fame, to more recent documentaries such as Peter Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Back, the story of the world’s most famous band has already been retold countless times. However, Keoghan’s comments reveal the Mendes’ cast are undertaking an enormous amount of preparation in order to get this latest project right.

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With the Oscar-nominated A Complete Unknown recently showcasing the musical talent of stars such as Timothée Chalamet, all eyes will be on the cast of The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event to see whether they too can do justice to the original band. Keoghan’s assertion that he has been practicing his drumming to the point of getting blisters on his hands is a good sign, but as he rightly points out, his performance will hinge on more than just doing a passable impression of Starr.

Our Take On Ringo Starr Helping Barry Keoghan Prepare

Not All Of His Co-Stars Have The Same Advantage

Unfortunately, not all of Keoghan’s fellow co-stars will have the benefit of being able to meet with and learn from the musicians they are playing. While Mescal may also be able to glean similar insight directly from McCartney, both Dickinson and Quinn will have to base their preparations on secondary sources close to Lennon and Harrison. Nonetheless, Ringo’s willingness to lend his insight into the developing project is a promising sign of how The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event will differ from the extensive number of other projects that have already charted the lives of the Fab Four.

Source: The Sun

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