The cast of Sam Mendes’ four-part Beatles film continues to grow, and in one of the strangest twists, a relative of the Fab Four’s first drummer, Pete Best , is set to appear in the film.

Best’s niece, the actress Leanne Best, has been tapped to play John Lennon ’s aunt, Mimi, who raised the young musician after his father left and his mother, Julia, moved in with another man. While Lennon reunited with his mother, Mimi continued to look after him after Julia was killed in a traffic accident when Lennon was a teenager.

Mimi was a commanding force, and Lennon later incorporated some of her sayings into the lyrics of “She’s Leaving Home” (“Sacrificed most of our lives,” “We gave her everything money could buy,” “Never a thought for ourselves”). Lennon once jokingly recalled h

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