Anna Sawai excited to play Yoko Ono in ‘The Beatles’

Actor Anna Sawai is thrilled to portray the Japanese music icon Yoko Ono in Sam Mendes’ highly anticipated four-part cinematic event on the British band The Beatles.

Expressing her excitement for the role, the “Shōgun” star described Ono as an “incredible” and “inspirational” artist whose true personality remains misunderstood by the public.

For Sawai, bringing the musician’s often-misinterpreted story to the big screen is a deeply meaningful project that she hopes will finally reveal the woman behind the headlines.

“It’s just exciting because her story is so inspirational to me, and people really don’t know the true person that she was,” she said in an interview.

“She’s an incredible artist. And also, she just was an independent woman, and people didn’t like that. They wanted John for themselves, and she was an easy target. And I think it’s very meaningful for me to be able to tell her story… Just how bold she is… I love her. She’s so cool,” she added.

Also read: Farhan Akhtar to play Ravi Shankar in ‘The Beatles’

“The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event” will feature Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison.

Formed in 1960 by Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr, The Beatles became one of the most influential bands in music history with songs such as “Hey Jude”, “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, “Yesterday” and “Penny Lane”, before breaking up in 1970.

The project will chronicle the story of the iconic band through four separate films, each told from the perspective of one of its members.

Sawai will next feature in “How to Rob a Bank”, which is set to release in September. It also stars Nicholas Hoult alongside the actor.