4 Times Members of the Beatles Took on Acting Roles

All four of The Beatles took on various acting roles throughout their careers. Some of those roles were small and cheeky, while others were actually quite serious and impressive. Let’s take a look at just four times the members of The Beatles stepped outside of music and took on acting roles!

Videos by American Songwriter

1. George Harrison in ‘Life Of Brian’

Out of all of The Beatles’ acting roles in their respective filmographies, this is probably the smallest one. George Harrison only plays a minor background role in Monty Python’s Life Of Brian, but his role in the film as a whole is much larger than his brief appearance as Mr. Papadopoulos. Few might know that Harrison had his own film production company called HandMade Films, which produced the entire film.

2. John Lennon in ‘How I Won The War’

This 1967 film stars none other than John Lennon. How I Won The War is a British dark comedy movie that explores the similarities between war and games, and features John Lennon in the role of Gripweed. Out of all of the Beatles, Lennon took on acting the least number of times. Gripweed was his only non-musical role as an actor.

3. Ringo Starr in ‘Caveman’

It may be cheesy, and (arguably) not a very good film, but we’d be damned if we said it wasn’t hilarious to watch. Caveman is a prehistoric comedy about the various rivalries between cavemen. This 1981 comedy film features quite a few stars from the 1980s, from Dennis Quaid to Shelley Long. The Beatles’ own Ringo Starr also plays a role in the film, too. 

Starr plays the bullied and pathetic Atouk who seeks to become the new tribe leader. He discovers drugs, abominable snowmen, and fire along the way.

4. Paul McCartney in ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’

Paul McCartney has been in quite a few films, mostly documentaries in which he appears as himself. It was surprising when he first popped up on the screen in the 2017 film Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, where he portrayed Uncle Jack. It was a brief cameo, but it was certainly memorable. He hasn’t played a cameo role since then.

Photo by John Pratt/Keystone/Getty Images

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.