This article was originally published on Crafting Your Home. A human contributor also wrote and edited the post.
The post Saoirse Ronan Says Stepping Into Linda McCartney’s Shoes Opposite Paul Mescal Came Naturally, Thanks to Their “Foe” Bond first appeared on Crafting Your Home
Saoirse Ronan is opening up about what it’s really like to play Linda McCartney across from her real-life friend Paul Mescal in Sam Mendes’s sprawling four-part Beatles biopic, and according to the actress, slipping into the role of Paul McCartney’s first wife felt far less daunting than fans might expect.
Much of that, she says, comes down to the history she already shares with Mescal, who plays Paul McCartney in the project.
The two previously starred together as a married couple in the 2023 sci-fi drama “Foe,” an experience Ronan credits with removing much of the guesswork that usually comes with building on-screen chemistry from scratch.
Ronan and Mescal are both Irish actors with multiple Oscar nominations between them, and their reunion for “The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event” has generated significant buzz since her casting was confirmed.
Speaking about what it meant to step back into a romantic pairing with Mescal, Ronan explained that their prior collaboration gave them a head start most co-stars never get.
Ronan Credits “Foe” for Making the Reunion Feel Effortless
“I mean, it’s a completely different world, but, like were still married,” Ronan said of reuniting with Mescal for the Beatles films. “I think we got a lot for free because we had this really intense, intimate experience making Foe years ago, and we were together every second of the day and we spent all of our time together, off camera as well.”
She continued, “And were really close friends now. There was no time that needed to be spent on like finding chemistry. I think that’s really benefited us. And the film.”
That kind of shorthand matters given the scale of what Mendes is attempting. The director is making four separate theatrical films, each one told from the point of view of a different Beatle, with the movies designed to intersect and eventually form a complete picture of the band’s rise from Liverpool to global fame and their eventual breakup in 1970.
Mescal stars as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson plays John Lennon, Joseph Quinn takes on George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan rounds out the Fab Four as Ringo Starr.
All four films are expected to arrive in theaters in April 2028, part of what Sony Pictures has described as the first binge-able theatrical event of its kind, though the studio has not detailed exactly how the release will be staggered or sequenced.
Deadline first reported Ronan’s casting as Linda Eastman McCartney before Sony made it official alongside three other key castings. Linda, a celebrated photographer, met Paul McCartney in 1967 and the pair married in 1969.
After the Beatles disbanded, she worked alongside her husband as a keyboardist and backing vocalist in his band Wings. She remained married to McCartney until her death from breast cancer in 1998, at age 56.
Sony’s casting announcement described the couple’s meeting in vivid terms, quoting McCartney’s own recollection of Linda: “The first time I saw her, I just knew.”
The Women Behind the Fab Four Take Shape
Ronan joins the cast alongside Anna Sawai, who plays Yoko Ono opposite Dickinson’s John Lennon; Aimee Lou Wood, who takes on Pattie Boyd opposite Quinn’s George Harrison; and Mia McKenna-Bruce, cast as Maureen Cox opposite Keoghan’s Ringo Starr.
Announcing the quartet’s casting, Mendes praised the women stepping into these real-life roles, noting the significance each holds in the Beatles story.
“Maureen, Linda, Yoko and Pattie are four fascinating and unique figures in their own right, and I’m thrilled that we’ve managed to persuade four of the most talented women working in film today to join this amazing adventure,” Mendes said in a statement.
The comment underscores a broader ambition behind the project: not simply to retell the well-worn story of the band’s music, but to give meaningful weight to the personal relationships that shaped the men behind it.
Mendes has spoken previously about his long-held desire to bring the Beatles’ story to the big screen, saying earlier this year, “The Beatles changed my understanding of music. I’ve been trying to make a movie about them for years.”
He added that finding the right structure took time, explaining, “There had to be a way to tell the epic story for a new generation. I can assure you there is still plenty left to explore and I think we found a way to do that.”
Beyond her comments on reuniting with Mescal, Ronan also touched on what drew her to the project, pointing to her lifelong connection to the band’s music rather than any specific research tied to Linda McCartney’s biography.
“All I will say is that I’m a huge Beatles fan, as we all are,” Ronan said, keeping her remarks focused on her enthusiasm for the material rather than offering specifics about how she is approaching the physical or emotional transformation into the role.
Her comments come as anticipation builds around the project, marking the first time the surviving members of the Beatles and the families of the late John Lennon and George Harrison have granted full life story and music rights for a scripted feature film.
A Friendship That Started Long Before Liverpool
Fans following the reunion between Ronan and Mescal have leaned into the irony of the pair playing married couples for a second time, this time under far different circumstances than their tense, isolated farmhouse dynamic in “Foe.”
Online reactions to the news of their reunion have highlighted the strange symmetry of two actors who once played a marriage falling apart now stepping into one of music history’s most enduring real-life partnerships.
That earlier project, directed by Garth Davis and based on Iain Reid’s novel of the same name, cast Ronan and Mescal as Hen and Junior, a couple whose relationship unravels under the strain of an environmental crisis and a looming space mission.
The two spent extensive time together during that shoot, an experience Ronan has repeatedly pointed to as the foundation for the ease she now feels working alongside Mescal again.
Mescal, for his part, has spoken separately about his excitement to work with Ronan again, describing her as one of his closest friends in the industry.
In comments made before their Beatles casting was confirmed, Mescal called Ronan “just one of my best friends and an unbelievable actress,” adding that he was eager to get into scenes with her once filming began.
That mutual enthusiasm appears to be translating into the kind of comfort that can be difficult to manufacture on a project of this scale, particularly one carrying the weight of portraying real people whose lives are still remembered vividly by millions of fans around the world.
With production details still emerging and the films not set to reach audiences until 2028, much about the specifics of Ronan’s performance as Linda McCartney remains unknown, including how extensively her storyline will be woven into the films centered on the other three Beatles.
Mendes has indicated that while McCartney’s film will likely feature Ronan most prominently, the extent of her presence in the other three installments has not been finalized publicly.
For now, Ronan’s comments offer a rare glimpse into the emotional groundwork already in place behind one of the most anticipated casting pairings in the entire project, built not from a fresh introduction between two strangers but from years of friendship and a shared history that began long before either of them stepped into the shoes of Paul and Linda McCartney.
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