Julia Baird said she’s “exhausted” by the number of new John Lennon projects emerging every year
Julia Baird with an image of her brother John Lennon
There’s a fair bit of excitement in the air regarding Sam Mendes’ four upcoming Beatles biopics starring Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn and Barry Keoghan as the Fab Four. However, not everyone is happy about the films with the producers coming under fire for their casting decisions.
Many have pointed out the fact that the actors look nothing like their characters, saying that the cast has been selected ahead of people who may be better suited to the role.
In a recent interview with NME, John Lennon’s sister Julia Baird recently spoke about the lack of actors from Liverpool that star in the biopics.
Julia described how she’s grown exhausted by new John Lennon projects emerging every year. She said: “It’s never-ending: people finding things.
“I obviously have no and want no control over any of that. But I have to say, I despair whenever I hear about the next thing.
“Biopics, four of them – what are you doing? Leave us alone! I saw ‘us’ because it affects me, my sister, my cousins. I open the paper and think, ‘What have they found now?’ I can’t think of anything that hasn’t been done.
John Lennon’s sister Julia Baird
“John isn’t the only one affected by it and he isn’t affected by it. We are. But does anyone ever ask us? The answer would be no. Sam Mendes isn’t even coming to Liverpool. I don’t know if he’s ever been there or if he ever would come so far North.”
Speaking about the cast of the films, she continued: “We have actors in Liverpool, you know?” We have acting schools and young lads that could do John like that. Is he going to meet them? No.
“We all know that no one can do a Scouse accent without sounding stupid. They roll their Rs to a ridiculous extent as if they’re in Mexico or something. That’s not right.
Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison(Image: John Russo/PA Wire )
“Just come to Liverpool and get an actor from Liverpool.”
Talking about the likelihood of the Lennon biopic being an accurate portrayal of his childhood, Baird replied: “Wouldn’t that be wonderful? How are they going to do that?
“I bet they don’t talk to me. They’ll talk to somebody who knew somebody who’s American who has a dog that barks ‘John Lennon’.”
Sam Mendes’ project will see four films released focusing on each member of The Beatles. It is tipped for release in ‘proximity’ in 2028.