Paul Mescal and his co-stars brought one of music history's most famous photographs back to life this week, filming outside the same London studio where it was taken nearly 57 years ago.
On August 16, Mescal, Barry Keoghan, Joseph Quinn, and Harris Dickinson recreated the Beatles' 1969 "Abbey Road" album cover crossing outside Abbey Road Studios, shooting for Sam Mendes' four-part biopic event. Mescal plays Paul McCartney, Keoghan takes on Ringo Starr, Quinn is George Harrison, and Dickinson stars as John Lennon. The scene used roughly 80 extras and vintage cars to rebuild the crosswalk exactly as photographer Iain Macmillan captured it in 1969, after London officials initially blocked the shoot over traffic concerns.
The real McCartney has already spent time with his on-screen counterpart. In a recent interview, he described watching Mescal play "Blackbird" left-handed, the way McCartney does. "I picked up the guitar and started playing... and he played along exactly," McCartney said. "It was amazing how studied and how well-educated he was about me."
The four films, collectively titled "The Beatles - A Four-Film Cinematic Event," each tell the band's story from a different member's perspective and will release simultaneously in April 2028 - marking the first time the Beatles' estates have approved a theatrical dramatization of their lives.
Mescal has called meeting McCartney in person "a crazy sentence to say," and has said he'll do his own singing for the role. For an actor stepping into the shoes of one of music's most enduring songwriters, it's a reminder that even legendary catalogs began with someone simply willing to sit, listen, and learn.
Related: Paul McCartney Reacts to Paul Mescal Playing Him in the Beatles Biopic on Colbert's Final Show
