Danny Boyle didn’t want to cast Ed Sheeran in ‘Yesterday’ at first.
The ‘Shape of You’ hitmaker plays himself in the upcoming movie – which follows struggling musician Jack Malik (played by Himesh Patel) who one day wakes up to discover he’s the only person who knows The Beatles and can remember their songs – but director Danny Boyle has now revealed he actually wanted Chris Martin to star in the flick instead.
Danny says Ed "teased [him] rotten" when he discovered he was actually the second choice for the movie, but the director is pleased Ed has a "good sense of humour" which stopped the situation from becoming "unpleasant".
Speaking to NME magazine, 62-year-old Danny said: "He teased us rotten because he found out we’d asked Chris Martin first, so he never let us forget that. And he accused us of asking Harry Styles second, which isn’t true, but we did ask Chris Martin first, so he teases us rotten about that but he gives as good as he gets.
"He’s got a good sense of humour which he needed to have otherwise it could have been quite unpleasant."
Meanwhile, Danny previously admitted it was "extraordinary" to witness Ed’s sold out ‘Divide Tour’ Wembley Stadium concert from the performer’s perspective, as the star allowed scenes for the film to be shot at one of the shows.
The filmmaker said: "It’s just extraordinary to witness. One man … he’s got 80,000 people in the palm of his hand every night."
And 28-year-old Ed was also praised by lead star Himesh Patel for having a "great work ethic", which Himesh said he was "pleasantly surprised" by.
He said: "I was surprised, pleasantly surprised, and he clearly has a great work ethic. And he brought that to the challenge of doing this. It’s not easy to play yourself – perhaps it’s even harder."
Danny Boyle: Ed Sheeran wasn’t my first choice for Yesterday
