Paul McCartney raised Paul Mescal height concern over Beatles film still
McCartney said an Abbey Road recreation made Paul Mescal look smaller than John Lennon actor Harris Dickinson.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
2 min read
Paul McCartney Paul Mescal height concerns came down to one image, according to McCartney. The former Beatle said a still from Sam Mendes’ recreation of the Abbey Road crossing appeared to make Mescal, who plays him, look noticeably smaller than Harris Dickinson’s John Lennon.
McCartney discussed the moment on Good Hang with Amy Poehler, as reported by Deadline and the BBC. He said he had flagged the apparent difference to Mendes after seeing the image from filming.
“The Paul character is markedly smaller,” McCartney said of the still. He recalled texting the director: “Sam! Smaller! Don’t do this!”
According to McCartney’s retelling, Mendes said the visual effect was down to “just the stride pattern” and that the performers were equal. McCartney said Mendes later sent another image in which the two looked the same height.
Why did Paul McCartney contact Sam Mendes about the Abbey Road still?
McCartney’s objection was about how he was framed in that particular Abbey Road-crossing recreation, rather than a broad criticism of Mescal’s casting. He said he and Lennon had been similar in height in real life and did not want the screen version to suggest otherwise.
The exchange was presented as a joke during McCartney’s podcast appearance, not as a reported dispute over the production. There is no indication in the available reports that Mendes changed the shot or altered the actors’ appearance.
McCartney said the picture brought back an older frustration with Nowhere Boy, the 2009 film about Lennon’s early life. He told Poehler that its portrayal made his character seem “wimpy and smaller than John,” and said he had also contacted that film’s director, Sam Taylor-Wood, about it.
Who is playing the Beatles in Sam Mendes’ films?
The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event is a connected series directed by Mendes, with each installment set to tell the band’s story from a different member’s point of view, Deadline reported. The BBC and Telegraph report the films are due in 2028.
- Paul Mescal plays Paul McCartney.
- Harris Dickinson plays John Lennon.
- Barry Keoghan plays Ringo Starr.
- Joseph Quinn plays George Harrison.
The Abbey Road image at the centre of McCartney’s comments recreated the band’s famous crossing scene. For McCartney, the sightline was enough to revive a familiar concern: he did not want the on-screen Paul to look like the shorter Beatle next to Lennon.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.