House of Guinness's James Norton confirmed to play major role in The Beatles biopic films

James Norton is the latest big-name actor to join Sam Mendes's upcoming quartet of Beatles movies, with the House of Guinness star set to play the Fab Four's manager Brian Epstein in the ambitious project.

Norton confirmed the news with a post on his Instagram page, sharing a screenshot of the Deadline report announcing his casting with a caption which simply read "Brian" alongside a love heart emoji.

Epstein served as the band's manager from their very early days in 1961 until his tragic death at the age of just 32 in 1967, and is widely regarded as a key figure in their rise to superstardom.

According to the report, Norton is expected to star in all four films – which will each unfold from the perspective of a different member of the legendary band.

News of Norton's casting comes after a couple of previous announcements in the past week or so, with other high profile stars who have recently been added to the ensemble including Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney and Mia McKenna-Bruce as Maureen Starkey.

Meanwhile, there have also been strong rumours that Shogun star Anna Sawai is set to play Yoko Ono and that Sex Education and The White Lotus Star Aimee Lou Wood will be portraying Pattie Boyd, although we're still awaiting confirmation on that front for now.

Of course, the four actors who would be starring as the Fab Four themselves were named back in April, with Paul Mescal set to play Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr.

They were officially unveiled during a surprise appearance at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, in which they recited lyrics from the band’s song Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and then took a Beatles-style synchronised bow.

More recently, Dickinson spoke exclusively to RadioTimes.com about the process of getting into character as Lennon, explaining that it was "such a unique experience to play someone of that calibre".

He added: "I mean, it's intimidating, but it’s enriching, it's like an opportunity to delve into something incredibly complex and challenging, which I've loved."

The official longline for The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event reads: "Each man has his own story, but together they are legendary."

The Beatles films will be released in April 2028.

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