Ed Sheeran helped mold British soap actor Himesh Patel into a pop star for Danny Boyle’s new Beatles-inspired musical comedy.
In the new film Yesterday, Himesh, who once starred as geeky teenager Tamwar Masood in the BBC soap EastEnders, plays a singer-songwriter living in a world where he’s the only one who remembers that the Fab Four existed. He then borrows their tunes to become one of the biggest acts on the planet.
Ed plays himself in the movie, and he and composer Daniel Pemberton have written music for the score.
Speaking to WENN at The Ivors awards nominations on Wednesday (April 24, 2019), where he was recognized for his work on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Daniel said the Thinking Out Loud hitmaker was a huge help to Himesh, and aided him in crafting his performance.
“We went to see Ed live in Manchester which was insane,” he revealed. “Ed and Himesh had quite a lot of chats, Ed was very supportive of Himesh and it was really good for him to see Ed control this whole stadium on his own.”
Asked about how the two worked together on set, he added: “As I say, Ed was very supportive – and there’s a number of scenes where they’re acting together and they got on really well.”
Discussing the 28-year-old pop star’s contribution to the musical comedy, which is written by Love Actually creator Richard Curtis, Daniel said that his presence added a degree of realism to proceedings, as Ed’s own career shows how an ordinary guy can become a megastar.
“In the film, Ed Sheeran is such a fascinating aspect because you watch this film and go, ‘There’s no way this could ever happen, there’s no way this one guy with a guitar could become the biggest star in the world,'” he explained. “But then you go, ‘Well, there’s Ed Sheeran and this happens, he’s one of the biggest stars in the world.'”
Yesterday debuts in cinemas in June, when fans will get to hear a new song from Ed, which the movie composer confirmed is a “great track”.
