Paul McCartney reveals his biggest issue with upcoming Beatles biopic: ‘Don’t do this’

See more of our coverage in your search results. Paul McCartney isn’t happy with how his height is being depicted in Sam Mendes’ upcoming four-part Beatles biopic. “We were all the same height, and Ringo [Starr] was a bit smaller,” McCartney said on the “Good Hang with Amy Poehler” podcast Wednesday. “And if you look at photos, we’re all the same height.” The legendary musician explained that from the early glimpses of the films, Paul Mescal, who is playing him, appears “smaller” than Harris Dickinson, who is portraying the late John Lennon. Paul McCartney (seen here) said on Amy Poehler’s podcast that he doesn’t like how his height is being depicted in Sam Mendes’ upcoming four-part Beatles biopic. Good Hang with Amy Poehler McCartney (seen here with the Beatles in 1964) said from the early glimpses of the films, Paul Mescal, who is playing him, appears shorter than he is. Getty Images McCartney said he texted Mendes about the height inaccuracy (Mescal, Harris Dickinson, Joseph Quinn and Barry Keoghan are seen here filming the Beatles biopic in the UK in September). MCPIX / BACKGRID “Sam Mendes is making the film. I said, ‘Sam, I’ve got just one thing that I need to say to you. You know, Paul’s a bit smaller,'” McCartney, 84, shared on the podcast. “I don’t know how Sam’s gonna deal with it,” he continued of the director. “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. I texted him: ‘Sam! Smaller? Don’t do this! You said you wouldn’t do it.’” In his reply, Mendes, according to McCartney, insisted that the apparent height inaccuracy was merely from “the stride pattern.” “And then he sent me another one where they’re equal,” McCartney said. McCartney said he texted Mendes: “‘Sam! Smaller? Don’t do this! You said you wouldn’t do it.’” (Mescal is seen here on the set of the biopic.) 🙂 / SplashNews.com But Mendes insisted to McCartney that the height was merely from “the stride pattern” (Mescal is pictured here as McCartney). CJ.PICCS / BACKGRID McCartney recalled being similarly frustrated with Sam Taylor-Johnson’s 2009 film “Nowhere Boy,” where Thomas Brodie-Sangster played McCartney, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson played Lennon. “The John character, who she later married, Aaron — he’s bigger than me in the film,” McCartney explained to Poehler. “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 said Sam’s “only explanation” for the size disparity at the time was that she was making a movie, and not a documentary. “And I thought, ‘Mm. Well, I don’t like that explanation,'” McCartney remembered, noting he “couldn’t do anything” about it because the film was already completed. “There was I, little Paul. John, the great big hero, and it’s like: ‘No! It’s not true,'” he added. The Beatles biopic will feature four movies, all set to be released in April 2028. MCPIX / BACKGRID Mescal (seen here filming with Joseph Quinn, who is playing George Harrison) previously confirmed he met McCartney before filming. SCOUSE-GHOST / BACKGRID Want more celebrity and pop culture news? Start your day with Page Six Daily. Thanks for signing up! Mendes’ “The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event” will feature four movies, each one centering on a different member of the beloved British rock band, all set to be released in April 2028. Mescal, 30, will play McCartney, Dickinson, 30, will play Lennon, Barry Keoghan will play Starr and Joseph Quinn will play George Harrison. Other confirmed cast members include Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney, Anna Sawai as Yoko Ono, Harry Lloyd as George Martin and James Norton as Brian Epstein. In an IndieWire interview last year, Mescal confirmed he met McCartney to prepare for the biopic, and called the Grammy Award winner “an extraordinary man.” “It’s a crazy sentence to say that I’ve spent time with that man, let alone play him,” the “Hamnet” star said, before confirming he “absolutely” will be doing his own singing. Mescal called McCartney (pictured here in 1966) “an extraordinary man.” Getty Images McCartney (seen here with the Beatles in 1963) revealed in May that he taught Mescal how to play guitar. Getty Images In May, McCartney told the BBC that he taught Mescal how to play guitar. “He came into this office and I thought, ‘Well, I’ll show him how to do Blackbird,'” McCartney shared. “So I picked up the guitar and started playing… and he played along exactly! I think he knew it better than I did!” “It was amazing how studied and how well-educated he was about me. So, yeah, I thought, OK, I’ll leave you to it.” Community Guidelines Welcome to the Page Six Community! 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