Beatles Biopic ‘Midas Man’ Finally Sets Cast
Jonah Lees as John Lennon, Campbell Wallace as Ringo Starr, Blake Richardson as Paul McCartney and Leo Harvey-Elledge as George Harrison
James Loxley
It’s been a hard day’s night for biopic Midas Man chronicling the life of Beatles manager Brian Epstein. After numerous setbacks, the film has finally wrapped filming, with two last-minute additions to its cast.
The film is a British co-production between Studio POW and Trevor Beattie Films, directed by Joe Stephenson with a screenplay by Brigit Grant. Stephenson is the third in a line of directors to work on the project. It stars Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (The Queen’s Gambit) as Epstein.
Epstein, a British music entrepreneur, managed the Beatles from 1962 until his untimely death in 1967 at the age of 32. He saw the Beatles through the meteoric rise of their career and helped them hone their early “boy band” image and sound. Epstein’s influence extended beyond the Beatles, managing other acts including Gerry and the Pacemakers, Cilla Black, and The Big Three. Midas Man is set to focus on Epstein’s rise to fame in the music industry, including his time managing the Beatles.
The film has been beset with problems since it began filming in 2021, with first director Jonas Akerlund departing the production suddenly. His departure led to a filming hiatus while producers searched for a new director, which ran into lead actor Fortune-Lloyd’s filming schedule for other projects, causing further delays. After the film finally secured Sara Sugarman to direct, she too left the project. Neither former director has spoken about why they left, but sources have said that they departed the project over creative differences and scheduling issues.
Jonah Lees as John Lennon, Campbell Wallace as Ringo Starr, Blake Richardson as Paul McCartney and Leo Harvey-Elledge as George Harrison in Midas Man.
James Loxley
The film seems to have finally found a match in director Joe Stephenson, who was brought onboard this year to finish out filming, which reportedly wrapped in June. The directors weren’t the only key members of the film’s team that underwent some changes. Due to the filming delays, some members of the cast had to be replaced as well. As filming drew to a close, the film announced two new additions to the cast.
The two newest members of the cast are Suzy Eddie Izzard (Six Minutes to Midnight) and Ed Speelers (Outlander). Izzard plays promoter and businessman Allan Williams, the Beatles’ first agent and manager, (in)famously known as “The Man Who Gave Away The Beatles.” Speelers plays Tex Ellington, Brian Epstein’s lover.
Other key cast includes Emily Watson (Chernobyl), Eddie Marsan (Ridley Road), Darci Shaw (The Irregulars) as musician Cilla Black, Milo Parker (The Durrells in Corfu) as Epstein’s loyal assistant, Alastair Taylor, and Jay Leno (The Tonight Show) as Ed Sullivan. Of course, the cast wouldn’t be complete without the Beatles themselves, featuring Jonah Lees (The Letter for the King) as John Lennon, Blake Richardson (of the band New Hope Club) as Paul McCartney, Leo Harvey Elledge (Creation Stories) as George Harrison, and Campbell Wallace (Anne) as Ringo Starr.
Midas Man does not yet have a release date, but hopefully the production’s most turbulent days are behind it and it won’t face any more setbacks before reaching our screens.
