The ticket to ride wasn't needed as Paul Mescal took the long but not so winding road through a quiet Liverpool street while filming his latest scenes as Paul McCartney on Tuesday.
The Irish star is currently working with director Sam Mendes on an ambitious four film anthology about The Beatles and their meteoric rise from relative obscurity to become the biggest and most influential band in the world.
Having already filmed raucous street scenes in London, with the English capital doubling for New York City at the height of Beatlemania in 1964, Mescal, 30, appeared to turn the clocks back even further by portraying McCartney as a youthful teenager.
The actor was seen enthusiastically riding a vintage bicycle along a leafy suburban street in McCartney's home town after rejoining the crew on location following his appearance at the 79th annual BAFTA Awards.
Wearing a pair of distinctive winklepicker boots and carrying a guitar on his back, Mescal rode his early '60s period racer while a car kitted out with camera equipment followed close behind.
The actor appeared to mimic McCartney's boyish grin as he pedalled past vintage cars and extras dressed in appropriate period clothing, shortly after arriving in Liverpool.
Mescal has travelled north to continue work on the project after narrowly missing out on a BAFTA during Sunday evening's ceremony, held at London's Royal Albert Hall.
The actor's moving portrayal of 16th century playwright William Shakespeare in director Chloé Zhao's biographical drama Hamnet had earned him a Supporting Actor nomination.
But while he lost out to One Battle After Another star Sean Penn, Hamnet was named Outstanding British Film and Mescal's co-star Jessie Buckley won Leading Actress for her portrayal of the great Bard's wife, Agnes Shakespeare.
With the actor absent on Monday, Mendes and his team relocated to Liverpool suburb Allerton and number 20 Forthlin Road, McCartney's home for several years before signing his first record deal with The Beatles in 1962.
Built in 1949, the address was originally bought by McCartney's father Jim in 1955. He would remain there for a decade, until his son – by now a global star – bought him a new house in Heswell, a more prosperous part of the Wirral.
The terraced home, now a National Trust property, was a hive of activity as the street was cut off by traffic cones and diversions were created for oncoming vehicles.
With black tents and vintage cars lining either side of the road, production assistants were seen wheeling period-appropriate props and clothing onto the exterior set.
Early sixties-era bicycles, boxes and bags occupied space outside the property, as well as a variety of musical instruments – among them a replica of McCartney's first ever guitar, the Framus Zenith (Model 17) acoustic.
The legendary musician originally purchased the German-made guitar, which he still owns, from Liverpool's Rushworth Music shop in 1956, when he was 14 years old.
Extras in period costume were also seen mingling with the crew as Mendes and his team prepared to shoot scenes outside McCartney's old home, referred to by owners The National Trust as 'the birthplace of The Beatles'.
A strong supporting cast includes Aimee Lou Wood as Harrison's model wife Pattie Boyd, Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney, Anna Sawai as Yoko Ono and James Norton as the band's manager, Brian Epstein.
There will also be appearances from Mia McKenna-Bruce as Starr's first wife, Maureen Starkey, and Harry Lloyd as George Martin, the record producer with whom The Beatles worked on all of their eleven studio albums.
The Daily Mail previously revealed that the Beatles biopics will also be filmed at London's iconic Abbey Road Studios, with production getting underway in November last year despite earlier reports that plans had been blocked.
While it was claimed that Westminster Council would not allow filming at the famous zebra crossing, the council has since confirmed to the Daily Mail that production will be going ahead.
Mendes had wanted to recreate the Beatles' 1969 album cover on the crossing.
Westminster Council told the Daily Mail that they are, in fact, working closely with production teams to facilitate filming, which will involve closing the road.
Speaking at the CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas last April, an event the cast also attended, Mendes described the films as the 'first binge-able theatrical experience'.
The project marks the first time Apple Corps Ltd and The Beatles – Sir Paul, Sir Ringo, and the families of Lennon and Harrison – have granted full life story and music rights for a scripted film.
Starr previously hinted that Saltburn star Keoghan had taken on the role.
He told Entertainment Tonight: 'I believe he’s somewhere taking drum lessons, and I hope not too many.'
When Sir Ridley Scott was promoting his second Roman epic Gladiator II, he revealed leading man Mescal was joining the Beatles project, telling an industry event that the actor was 'actually stacked up, doing the Beatles next' so he may not be able to join him on his next film.
Keoghan recently admitted that he wasn't able to look Beatles legend Ringo in the eye during their first meeting because he was overcome with nerves.
While the actor described their meeting as 'lovely', he told Jimmy Kimmel Live that he was so starstruck he struggled to make eye contact with the drummer.
He recalled: 'I met him at his house, and he played the drums for me. He asked me to play, but I wasn't playing the drums for Ringo.'
Asked if he was able to 'study' the musician, he added: 'I was. And when I was talking to him, I couldn't look at him. I was nervous, like right now. But he's like, "You can look at me."'
Titled The Beatles: A Four-Film Cinematic Event, the project was announced last year.
The movies will each take the perspective of one member of The Beatles as they evolve from unknowns in Liverpool in the early 1960s to becoming the biggest band in the world and then breaking up in 1970.
It’s the first time that surviving Beatles McCartney and Starr, and the families of the late Lennon and Harrison, have given the rights to feature films about them.
All four films are to be released simultaneously on April 7, 2028
