Richard E Grant says Barry Keoghan will be ‘fantastic Ringo Starr’ in biopics

By Lauren Del Fabbro, PA Entertainment Reporter

Actor Richard E Grant has praised Barry Keoghan, his Saltburn co-star, saying he will be a “fantastic Ringo Starr” in the new Beatles biopics.

Sony Pictures has announced a collection of four films about the band members, with Keoghan cast as drummer Sir Ringo Starr.

Speaking on The One Show, Grant praised the 32-year-old Irish actor who he worked with in the 2023 Emerald Fennell thriller.

Grant said: “He’s an extraordinary actor. He’s unlike anybody else I’ve ever, ever worked with before, so completely untrained, instinctive and brilliant.

“I think he’ll be a fantastic Ringo Starr.”

Directed by Sir Sam Mendes, each of the movies will showcase one of the members of the Fab Four: John Lennon, Sir Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Starr.

Keoghan is best known for his roles in The Killing Of A Sacred Deer and The Banshees Of Inisherin, the latter winning his the Bafta for best supporting actor in 2023.

A scene from Saltburn showing his character – an Oxford University student who gets wrapped up in the charming and aristocratic world of his classmate – dancing naked around a country manor to Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Murder On The Dancefloor went viral.

The cast for the Beatles films also includes Normal People’s Paul Mescal, who will play McCartney, while Lennon will be portrayed by Babygirl actor Harris Dickinson.

Mescal’s Gladiator II co-star Joseph Quinn has been cast as Harrison.

The films are expected to be released in April 2028.