Paul McCartney's Plea to Beatles Biopic Director: 'Don't Make Me Smaller'

Paul McCartney has voiced his dissatisfaction with the portrayal of his height in Sam Mendes' forthcoming four-part Beatles biopic series. The iconic musician shared his concerns during an appearance on the "Good Hang with Amy Poehler" podcast, stating that the films appear to depict him as shorter than his bandmates.

"We were all the same height, and Ringo [Starr] was a bit smaller," McCartney, 84, explained. "And if you look at photos, we’re all the same height." He noted that early glimpses of the film suggest Paul Mescal, who is playing McCartney, appears shorter than Harris Dickinson, cast as John Lennon.

McCartney revealed he contacted director Sam Mendes about the perceived inaccuracy. "I said, ‘Sam, I’ve got just one thing that I need to say to you. You know, Paul’s a bit smaller,'" McCartney recounted. He added that he texted Mendes after seeing a still image of the actors crossing Abbey Road, where the character playing him looked noticeably shorter. "Sam! Smaller? Don’t do this! You said you wouldn’t do it,” McCartney recalled texting.

Mendes reportedly responded to McCartney by attributing the apparent height difference to "the stride pattern." McCartney further stated that the director later sent another image where the characters appeared to be of equal height.

This is not the first time McCartney has taken issue with his depiction in a film regarding physical stature. He recalled a similar frustration with Sam Taylor-Johnson’s 2009 film "Nowhere Boy," where Thomas Brodie-Sangster played McCartney and Aaron Taylor-Johnson portrayed Lennon. "The John character... he’s bigger than me in the film," McCartney said. "My character is kind of wimpy. Smaller than John. John knocks me to the floor. And it’s like, ‘Sam, this is not true!’"

McCartney mentioned that Taylor-Johnson's explanation at the time was that she was making a movie, not a documentary. "And I thought, ‘Mm. Well, I don’t like that explanation,'" he said, adding that he was unable to intervene further as the film was already completed.

Mendes' project, titled "The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event," is scheduled for release in April 2028. Each film will focus on an individual member of the band. Mescal will portray McCartney, Dickinson will play Lennon, Barry Keoghan will be Ringo Starr, and Joseph Quinn will portray George Harrison.

Other cast members include Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney, Anna Sawai as Yoko Ono, Harry Lloyd as George Martin, and James Norton as Brian Epstein.

Paul Mescal had previously confirmed meeting McCartney in preparation for the role. In an interview with IndieWire last year, Mescal described McCartney as "an extraordinary man" and confirmed he would be performing his own singing for the role. McCartney also shared in May that he had taught Mescal how to play guitar, noting the actor's impressive proficiency.