Last summer, word hit that John Lennon’s childhood was getting the feature treatment in Nowhere Boy, penned by the impressive Matt Greenhalgh, the writer behind Control. And while just about any biopic written by Greenhalgh would be music to my ears, it all depends on the cast — which I can now share with you, courtesy of The Daily Mail.
Most important part, of course, is John Lennon, who will be played by the 18-year-old Aaron Johnson. The actor hasn’t made a heartthrob name for himself yet, but you might recognize him — whether it be as Charlie Chaplin in Shanghai Knights, the younger Ed Norton in The Illusionist, or as one of the leads in Gurinder Chadha’s latest, Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging. He’s a bit too cute for Lennon, but that’s just the way of the silver screen. Meanwhile, Anne-Marie Duff will play Lennon’s laid back mother, Julia. You might recognize her from the British series Shameless (where she happened to meet husband James McAvoy). And finally, there’s the strict and proper Aunt Mimi, who will be played by none other than Kristin Scott Thomas.
TDK has a whole slew of tidbits on the film, but here’s the overview: Nowhere Boy will start off with Lennon’s birth, and detail how he’s given to his Aunt Mimi to raise when Julia’s marriage ends. Then it will skip to Liverpool in the ’50s, when John is about to form The Quarrymen. There’s no word on how far into Lennon’s career the film will go, but it is based on sister Julia Baird’s memoir, The Private John Lennon: The Untold Story from His Sister. Whatever the case, I’m sold.
Filed under: Drama, Music & Musicals, Casting
