Sam Mendes has announced the casting for his impending host of Beatles biopics. The casting has been controversial…Not everyone agrees with his version of the Fab Four. But, truly who do you get to play such monumental figures? Not many actors have been up to the task. While there isn’t a long list of choices, find four of the best portrayals of John Lennon, below. Do you think these actors did the former Beatle justice?
Videos by American Songwriter
Aaron Taylor-Johnson – Nowhere Boy
Biopics often try to tackle the entirety of a musician’s life–or at least a swift majority. While this is successful at times, it can also be overwhelming, leading to surface level films that fail to encapsulate the whole story. Sam Taylor-Johnson decided to rectify this with her Beatles film, Nowhere Boy.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson was tasked with playing a young John Lennon. While this film touches on the band’s beginnings, it has an intense focus on Lennon’s home life. He reconnects with his mother, who sparks his interest in rock. It’s an endearing–if a little devastating–look at the origin story of a musical legend. Taylor-Johnson has the perfect mix of swagger and mischievous charm to pull off a convincing Lennon portrayal.
Stephen MacKenna – Birth of the Beatles
Few films have captured Beatlemania quite as well as Birth of the Beatles. This 1979 film is the only biopic that was released while all four Beatles were still alive. Lennon would be murdered the following year, making this portrayal the final one that didn’t have the tinge of his death coloring it.
Stephen MacKenna plays a young Lennon, reveling in the success of the Beatles. It’s fairly straight-forward, and a story we’ve all heard at nauseam by now. Nevertheless, it’s well worth a watch for any Fab Four fan.
Jared Harris – Two of Us
Like Nowhere Boy, the 2000 film Two of Us zeros in on a small portion of Lennon’s life–one day to be exact. As the story goes, Lennon and Paul McCartney spent a day together several years after the Beatles disbanded. They reportedly discussed the potential of the Beatles getting back together. Unfortunately, those discussions would bear no fruit…
Jared Harris plays a jaded Lennon who has witnessed the breadths of fame–the good and the bad. He maintains Lennon’s unique comedic timing in this portrayal and warms the hearts of Beatles fans longing to see Lennon in his prime.
Robert Carlyle – Yesterday
Robert Carlyle’s depiction of Lennon is somewhat controversial–as is the film it comes from. Not everyone got on board with Danny Boyle’s “What-if” scenario. Despite this, Carlyle’s portrayal of the Beatle is deeply unique, as no one has ever played an aged Lennon before.
In the film, the main character finds himself in a world where no one remembers the Beatles. He decides to capitalize on this by borrowing their famed catalog. As he grapples with this decision, he seeks comfort in Lennon, who was consequently never murdered in 1980. It takes a great imagination to picture what someone might be like in their elder years when they died so young. Carlyle delivers a believable and comforting performance.
(Photo by CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)
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