Mia McKenna-Bruce, cast as Ringo Starr's wife in the upcoming Beatles biopics, has admitted she wasn't a fan of the band when she accepted the role. The 28-year-old actor, known for her work in 'How To Have Sex,' discovered the music later while filming another project. The four-film series, directed by Sam Mendes, is set for release in April 2028.
Mia McKenna-Bruce will portray Maureen Starkey, the first wife of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, in Sam Mendes' ambitious four-film project about the band. Each movie will center on one member: Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr. The casting announcements began earlier this year, with additional roles including Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney, Aimee Lou Wood as Pattie Boyd, Anna Sawai as Yoko Ono, David Morrissey as Jim McCartney, Leanne Best as Lennon's Aunt Mimi, and James Norton as manager Brian Epstein.
In an interview with Tatler, reported via the Independent, McKenna-Bruce shared that her familiarity with The Beatles was minimal at the time of her casting in October. "We sang ‘Eleanor Rigby’ and ‘Yellow Submarine’ at school, but it wasn’t my jam," she said. The BAFTA Rising Star winner, best known for leading the indie drama 'How To Have Sex,' only delved deeper into the band's catalog while working on the Netflix series 'Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials' alongside Martin Freeman.
Freeman quizzed her on band members, prompting her realization. "On Seven Dials, Martin Freeman was asking me to name all The Beatles – I didn’t know. Then he’d ask me, ‘what band was Mick Jagger in?’ I was like, ‘I have no idea, Martin’," she recounted. Now, her view has shifted: "The Beatles are underrated. This is good. It’s music I’d sit and listen to on the train."
Maureen Starkey met Ringo in 1962 at age 16 while working as a hairdresser; they married in 1965 and divorced in 1975. She died in 1994. Separately, Barry Keoghan, who plays Ringo, described his meeting with the real drummer: "When I was talking to him, I couldn’t look at him. I was nervous... My job is to observe and kinda take in mannerisms and study him. I want to humanise him." The project builds on Mendes' acclaimed films like '1917' and 'Skyfall.'
