British actor Harris Dickinson has been officially cast as John Lennon in Sam Mendes’s ambitious four-part Beatles biopic event collectively тιтled The Beatles – Four Films. Mendes, known for his celebrated work on films such as American Beauty, Skyfall, and 1917, revealed who will be playing all four members of The Beatles in his films at CinemaCon 2025. Dickinson’s Lennon portrayal will be joined by Paul Mescal’s Paul McCartney, Barry Keoghan’s Ringo Starr, and Joseph Quinn’s George Harrison. All four Beatles biopics are set to be released in April 2028.
Dickinson and Quinn are both English actors, while Mescal and Keoghan hail from Ireland. This will become the first time that such an ambitious four-part project has ever been done, particularly with all four films set to release around the same time in the not-so-distant future. Speaking at CinemaCon 2025, Mendes called The Beatles – Four Films the “first binge-able theatrical experience.” Such a project aims to entice viewers to experience this one-of-a-kind event in movie theaters and bring excitement back to going to the movies to be part of a historic cinematic feat.
Harris Dickinson’s Career & Biggest Roles To Date
He’s Best Known For The Iron Claw, Babygirl, & Triangle Of Sadness
Dickinson is a 28-year-old rising actor born and raised in London, England. He rose to prominence as Frankie in the 2017 coming-of-age drama Beach Rats, written and directed by Eliza Hittman. Hittman won the Directing Award at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, which led to further critical acclaim for Beach Rats.
Dickinson was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award (Best Male Lead) and a Gotham Award (Breakthrough Actor), which led to more opportunities for the then-21-year-old actor. Dickinson starred in the 2018 FX crime series Trust alongside Hilary Swank and the late Donald Sutherland before landing the part of Prince Philip in Maleficient: Mistress of Evil (2019).
Notable Film/TV Show |
Character |
---|---|
Beach Rats |
Frankie |
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil |
Prince Philip |
The King’s Man |
Conrad Oxford |
See How They Run |
Richard Attenborough |
Triangle Of Sadness |
Carl |
Where the Crawdads Sing |
Chase Andrews |
The Iron Claw |
David Von Erich |
A Murder at the End of the World |
Bill |
Babygirl |
Samuel |
Blitz |
Jack |
After appearing alongside Ralph Fiennes in 2021’s The King’s Man, Dickinson’s roles in critically acclaimed films continued with 2022’s Triangle of Sadness, which earned three Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Dickinson’s 2022 consisted of Where the Crawdads Sing based on the bestselling book as well as the whodunit mystery See How They Run and the supernatural horror Don’t Look at the Demon.
Dickinson then starred alongside Jeremy Allen White and Zac Efron in 2023’s The Iron Claw, which is arguably his best film, before appearing in the steamy workplace thriller Babygirl with Nicole Kidman in late 2024. His work in the Hulu mystery series A Murder at the End of the World and Steve McQueen’s Apple movie Blitz starring 4-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan is also worth mentioning.
Harris Dickinson Is A Major Rising Star
He Should Be One Of The 2020s’ Biggest Actors
Dickinson may be a bit behind the other actors confirmed for The Beatles – Four Films in terms of how well-known he is, but he is certainly on a similar trajectory as Mescal of Gladiator II acclaim, the Oscar-nominated Keoghan, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps co-star Jospeh Quinn.
Dickinson is undoubtedly projected to be a big future movie star, with rumors swirling around that he could be cast as the next James Bond. It makes total sense that he’s being cast in The Beatles’ four-part movie event.
Dickinson is undoubtedly projected to be a big future movie star, with rumors swirling around that he could be cast as the next James Bond. It makes total sense that he’s being cast in The Beatles’ four-part movie event. Babygirl, in particular, gained him a lot of recent attention.
In addition to acting, Dickinson also has directing experience. He has been in a long-term relationship with English musical artist Rose Gray and has directed several of her music videos, including “Blue” and “Afraid of Nothing.” Dickinson also wrote and directed a short film тιтled 2003 starring Dexter: Original Sin star Patrick Gibson. He is set to make his directorial feature film debut with Urchin, a film about a drifter who struggles to fit into society starring Frank Dillane, later this year.
How Harris Dickinson Compares To John Lennon (& Can He Sing?)
Dickinson Has Sung On Camera But Claims He’s “Not A Singer”
While Dickinson was born and raised in England, he is from the Highams Park district of London, whereas John Lennon and the rest of The Beatles formed in Liverpool. Standing at 6′ 2″, Dickinson is significantly taller than Lennon was at 5′ 9″. Dickinson does have a lean, narrow facial profile, which matches that of Lennon’s.
As for singing experience, Dickinson previously sang in a scene in the Hulu series A Murder at the End of the World. He also briefly mentioned in a 2024 interview with W Magazine that he used to do musicals but claims he is “not a singer.” That may have to change considering his latest casting as John Lennon in The Beatles – Four Films event.