Actor Aaron Johnson has revealed he spent months learning to play the guitar before filming his new movie about John Lennon.
Nowhere Boy tells the story of the late Beatle's early life in Liverpool, including his relationship with his mother Julia and his first meeting with future bandmate Paul McCartney.
However, Johnson - who stars as Lennon in the film - has admitted that he had to do a lot of preparation for the role.
"I wasn't a musician or a singer," he told the Daily Record.
"I did about two months of guitar training, banjo, harmonica, band practice."
Johnson added that he also spent lots of time familiarising himself with Lennon's favourite music, including records by Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly.
The new movie caps a highly successful 2009 for The Beatles, who split up four decades ago.
Earlier this year, all of the band's albums, singles and B-sides were released in remastered form, while interest has also been fuelled by the new Rock Band video game devoted to their music.
