Ringo Starr heard Barry Keoghan is taking drum lessons for Beatles movies

Ringo Starr is driving headlines even in 2024. First, Sam Mendes announced his ambitious project directing four biopics for each of the four Beatles all at the same time. Then, the band managed to snag two(!) Grammy nominations for their AI-assisted final song, “Now And Then.” Then today, in a conversation about said noms, Starr addressed the speculation that Barry Keoghan will indeed be playing him in the Mendes films.

“I think he’s great, and I believe he’s somewhere taking drum lessons,” Starr told Entertainment Tonight. “And I hope not too many,” he continued to the seemingly shocked interviewer. Keoghan has long been rumored to have been Mendes’ choice for Starr, but the studio has not sent out any official notice as of this writing. Other rumored castings, per Stereogum, include Harris Dickson (Babygirl) for John Lennon, Paul Mescal (Gladiator II) for Paul McCartney (not just because of the first name thing), and Charlie Rowe (Rocketman) for George Harrison. 

There’s a chance Starr realized his blunder, or was perhaps just a bit confused about the whole thing. When the interviewer followed up by asking, “What will you teach him if you could go and teach him anything?” Starr quickly veered the conversation towards the drum lesson he’d give “any kid,” including his own son when he was 10. We’ll see if Keoghan has benefited from the same lesson when (and if) he appears in the film sometime around 2028.