Irish actor Louis McCartney to play Ringo Starr in Beatles drama

Northern Irish actor Louis McCartney has been cast as Ringo Starr in upcoming BBC drama Hamburg Days, which will chart The Beatles' formative years in Germany.  McCartney, from Helen’s Bay in County Down, is best known for playing Henry Creel in the West End and Broadway productions of Stranger Things: The First Shadow.

The six-part series will explore the band’s time in Hamburg in the early 1960s, before they became one of the biggest acts in music history.  Sex Education star Asa Butterfield, Trainspotting actor Jonny Lee Miller and Adolescence actress Christine Tremarco are also among the newly announced cast.

Butterfield will play Beatles manager Brian Epstein, who guided the group from 1961 until he died in 1967. Miller will portray Jim McCartney, Paul McCartney’s father, while Tremarco will play John Lennon’s aunt and guardian, Mimi Smith. McCartney joins Rhys Mannion as Lennon, Ellis Murphy as Paul McCartney, and Harvey Brett as George Harrison. Louis Landau will play the band’s original bassist Stuart Sutcliffe, while Patrick Gilmore will portray their first drummer, Pete Best.

A Thousand Blows actress Darci Shaw has been cast as Cynthia Lennon, while Ryan Sampson will play Liverpool promoter Allan Williams and Jorden Myrie will portray music promoter Lord Woodbine.

Casper von Bülow will play German artist and musician Klaus Voormann, while Luna Jordan will portray photographer Astrid Kirchherr.

Voormann, who designed the cover of The Beatles’ 1966 album Revolver and later played on several of the band members’ solo records, is acting as a consultant on the series.

Hamburg Days is based on the book of the same name by Voormann and Kirchherr. It will follow The Beatles’ residencies at venues in Hamburg’s St Pauli district, a crucial period in the group’s development before their breakthrough.
Christine Tremarco attends the 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards on January 04, 2026 in Santa Monica, California.
Adolescence actress Christine Tremarco will also star in the BBC drama

The series is being made for BBC One. A transmission date has yet to be announced.

A separate set of four Beatles films directed by Sam Mendes is also in development, with Paul Mescal cast as McCartney, Barry Keoghan as Ringo, Harris Dickinson as Lennon and Joseph Quinn as Harrison.

Source: Press Association