Jane Asher, the actress and author who was once engaged to Sir Paul McCartney, has given a blunt response to the upcoming four-part Beatles film project. Asked for her thoughts on the biopics, she said simply: “I won’t watch it.”
Asher, now 80, is set to be portrayed in Sam Mendes’ The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, scheduled for release in 2028. The films will tell the story of the band from the perspective of each member, and Asher’s relationship with McCartney — which inspired songs including ‘And I Love Her’ — will feature on screen.
Asher’s doubts about being portrayed
Speaking in the Daily Mail’s Eden Confidential, Asher expressed scepticism about the project. “Nobody knows what you were really like. I think it's a funny idea that somebody's going to pretend to be me. I don't know what I'm really like. How are they going to know?”
She was approached by filmmakers but told them she no longer discusses her relationship with McCartney. Explaining why, she told The Telegraph: “People would offer me money to talk about it, all sorts of things. But I won’t discuss it. It was so long ago.”
Cast and McCartney’s reaction
Paul Mescal will play McCartney, with Lucy Boynton portraying Asher. Harris Dickinson takes on the role of John Lennon, Joseph Quinn plays George Harrison and Barry Keoghan stars as Ringo Starr. Saoirse Ronan is set to play Linda McCartney, Paul’s first wife, who died in 1998.
Mescal previously described McCartney as an “extraordinary man” and told IndieWire: “It’s a crazy sentence to say that I’ve spent time with that man, let alone play him.”
Mendes announced the project in 2024, saying: “I’m honoured to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time, and excited to challenge the notion of what constitutes a trip to the movies.”
McCartney, 84, shared a critique of the director after seeing a still from filming. He said: “He sent me a picture — a still from the filming they were doing, and they’re crossing the Abbey Road crossing. The Paul character is markedly smaller!” He joked that he texted Mendes to say: “Don’t do this.” McCartney added that the band members were all the same height, with Ringo a “bit smaller”.
