Actors Harris Dickinson, Barry Keoghan, Paul Mescal and Joseph Quinn have filmed tense confrontation scenes in London while portraying the Beatles for four upcoming biopics.
Filming in the capital this week hinted at the simmering friction that took place within the band before their eventual breakup. Behind the scenes moments captured Dickinson, playing John Lennon, wrapping his hand around the neck of Keoghan, who portrays drummer Ringo Starr.
Mescal, who appeared barely recognisable in his costume as Paul McCartney, was also locked in a heated row as he wagged his finger at Keoghan. Dickinson was later seen looking more friendly with Keoghan as he held his face between takes.
The four actors were also spotted shooting scenes recreating the Beatles' famous 1969 Abbey Road album cover on the now iconic zebra crossing. Dickinson led the way dressed in a striking white suit and shirt, closely followed by Keoghan in a black suit with a shirt and scarf tie.
Mescal walked barefoot across the road to replicate McCartney's look on the original album sleeve, while Quinn followed closely behind as guitarist George Harrison. The shoot took place just outside the studios where the Beatles recorded almost all of their songs.
Simmering band friction and Abbey Road history
While serious tensions existed within the Beatles around this period, the better-documented conflicts involved Lennon and McCartney alongside wider disagreements among all four members over the band's future. Lennon and McCartney had a heated confrontation during the Abbey Road period, but there is nothing recorded about friction between Lennon and Starr, making it possible Dickinson and Keoghan were larking about on set.
Lennon and McCartney held contrasting personalities and musical approaches during their time together. McCartney tended to be highly involved in organising the group and pushing them to keep working, while Lennon increasingly sought greater independence.
The original album cover image was taken by Scottish photographer Iain Macmillan, a close friend of Lennon, who balanced precariously on a ladder in the middle of the north London road. Macmillan had just ten minutes to get his shot, so he got the Fab Four to walk back and forth continuously over the now famous zebra crossing. McCartney picked the shot to be used as the album cover, while the rest were discarded.
Abbey Road was the penultimate album released by the Beatles. However, their final album, Let It Be, had largely been recorded before the material on Abbey Road was tracked.
Westminster filming permissions and vintage setting
Director Sam Mendes had wanted to recreate the 1969 album cover on location, but it was reported at the time that Westminster Council would not allow filming to take place there. The council later confirmed to the Daily Mail that filming would go ahead in the location and that officials were working closely with production teams to facilitate filming.
The street was filled with vintage cars and an old-style red bus to recreate the era for the cameras. Among the vehicles on set was a blue Morris Mini, a car model famously associated with the Beatles alongside other connections to British automobiles.
The set also featured a replica of Lennon's famous psychedelic Rolls-Royce Phantom V, which is hugely significant to the Beatles' story. Lennon originally had the vehicle painted black, but in 1967 he had it completely transformed into bright yellow with elaborate red, blue, green and gold designs inspired by Romani decorative motifs.
Supporting cast and four-film cinematic project
Actress Saoirse Ronan was also on set playing McCartney's first wife, Linda McCartney. Ronan appeared to be sporting a fake baby bump for the scene, reflecting Linda's pregnancy with her and Paul's daughter, Mary, during the recording of Abbey Road.
Actor Daniel Hoffmann-Gill was also seen on set as his character Mal Evans, who was the Beatles' main roadie and formerly a bouncer at the Cavern Club. Manager Brian Epstein hired Evans to assist the band, after which he became indispensable and present for all of the Beatles' tours and nearly all of their recording sessions.
The iconic album cover scene was recreated with characters portraying Linda McCartney and Mal Evans standing by to watch the group cross the road. The cast were surrounded by cameramen and members of the crew throughout the shoot.
Entitled The Beatles: A Four-Film Cinematic Event, the project was announced last year. In the ambitious four-film anthology, each instalment will tell the story of the Beatles from a different band member's perspective as they evolve from unknowns in Liverpool in the early 1960s to becoming the biggest band in the world and then breaking up in 1970.
The project marks the first time that surviving Beatles McCartney and Starr, along with the families of the late Lennon and Harrison, have given the rights to feature films about them. Mendes' project, described as the first "bingeable theatrical experience", also stars Aimee Lou Wood, 32, as Harrison's model wife Pattie Boyd, Anna Sawai, 34, as Yoko Ono, and James Norton, 41, as the band's manager, Brian Epstein.
Mia McKenna-Bruce, 29, will appear as Starr's first wife, Maureen Starkey, while Harry Lloyd, 42, plays George Martin, the producer who became known as the "fifth Beatle". All four biopics based on each of the members are set for simultaneous release next year in 2028.
