Paul McCartney shared the one historical inaccuracy he cannot get past in Apple’s forthcoming four Beatles biopic films, revealing to “Good Hang” podcast host Amy Poehler that he’s texted director Sam Mendes telling him, “Don’t do this!”
McCartney appeared as a guest on the Tuesday, Oct. 13 episode of “Good Hang.” During their conversation, Poehler asked McCartney who between him and his fellow Beatles bandmates, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, was the tallest. McCartney was quick to inform her, “We were all the same height.”
“You know I’ve got a thing about that, do you?” McCartney then asked a giggling Poehler, who told him to tell her what he meant. The legendary musician explained, “We were all the same height. Ringo was a bit smaller, and if you look at photos, we’re all the same height.”
This became an issue when director Sam Taylor-Johnson directed her 2009 biopic about Lennon, “Nowhere Boy.” That film starred Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Lennon, who was taller than co-star Thomas Brodie-Sangster, who portrayed McCartney in the biopic.
“My character is kind of wimpy, smaller than John. John knocks me to the floor, and it’s like, ‘Sam, this is not true!’” McCartney recalled. “Her only explanation, bless her because she’s still a good friend, she said, ‘This is a movie. It’s not a documentary.’ I thought, ‘Well, I don’t like that explanation.’”
“But I couldn’t do anything because she [by then] she’d made the film,” McCartney continued. “There was I, little Paul, you know? John, the great big hero and it’s like, ‘No! It’s not true!’”
Poehler observed that it must be “strange” to watch actors play yourself onscreen and noted that “Hamnet” and “Aftersun” star Paul Mescal is set to play McCartney in Mendes’ forthcoming, four standalone Beatles movies. Those films, each of which will focus on the life of one Beatles member, are slated to be released simultaneously in April 2028.
Unfortunately, McCartney already has one issue with the films’ depiction of him.
“Guess what? He’s smaller than the guy who plays John!” McCartney incredulously observed. “Sam Mendes is making the film. I said, ‘Sam, I’ve got just one thing I need to say to you. You know, Paul’s a bit smaller than me!’ So I don’t know how Sam’s going to deal with it.”
“He sent me a picture, a still from the filming they were doing and they’re crossing the Abbey Road crossing, and the Paul character is markedly smaller!” McCartney shared. “So I texted him, ‘Sam! Smaller! Don’t do this! You said you wouldn’t do it!’ He said, ‘No, it’s okay. It’s just the stride pattern,’ and he sent me another one where they were equal.”
You can check out McCartney’s full “Good Hang” appearance in the video above.
