Anna Sawai Responds to Speculation on Her Casting as Yoko Ono in The Beatles Films

Japanese actress Anna Sawai just attended the 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards, where she won the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series award for her role in Shōgun. Backstage, she addressed recent rumors about her casting as Yoko Ono in the upcoming Beatles biopics.

“I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do, so I’m reading a lot of scripts. I’m also doing a lot of meetings and I just want to make sure that whatever I’m choosing is the right thing. It might take time for me to find the right projects, but I am trying to be selective so that I can surprise everyone who’s going to watch it.”

While she didn’t shut the rumors down specifically, it’s clear that Sawai wants to take her time before moving on to another big project. She just starred in Shōgun, which has announced its second and third seasons, and she recently wrapped filming Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.

The upcoming Beatles biopics will be directed by Sam Mendes, who decided to dedicate one movie to each member of the band. So far, Paul Mescal has been announced to play Paul McCartney, with Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, and Harris Dickinson as John Lennon.