Overview
- McCartney raised the issue on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, saying he is bothered by films that portray him as physically smaller than John Lennon.
- He singled out the 2009 Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy, saying its casting and staging left his on-screen character looking “wimpy” and smaller than Aaron Taylor‑Johnson’s John.
- McCartney says he texted director Sam Mendes about a production still from the Apple four‑film Beatles project showing the Paul character as “markedly smaller,” writing, “Sam! Smaller! Don’t do this!”
- Mendes replied that the apparent gap came from a stride pattern in the shot and then sent McCartney an alternate still where the two characters appear equal in height.
- The dispute highlights a larger tension between filmmakers’ dramatic choices and factual detail, with McCartney warning that small visual cues can alter public memory as the Mendes films starring Paul Mescal and Harris Dickinson continue production for a reported simultaneous April 2028 release.