Celebrities have always struggled with their perceived public image, which is always on display to their fans and critics. This seems to be the case with Paul McCartney, a member of The Beatles who recently revealed how hard it was to live with his normal self against the stereotype he had already been labeled with.
Like all other band members, Paul also earned a nickname — in his case “the Cute Beatle” — from fans, which he usually disliked.
Paul McCartney comments on his role in ‘A Hard Day’s Night’
The songwriter claimed that the only time he did not resent his moniker was when he played himself in the 1964 movie, A Hard Day’s Night.
“No, I didn’t mind it. No, no; I still don’t, I was in a film. I don’t care what they picture me as,” he told Rolling Stone. “So far as I’m concerned, I’m just doing a job in a film. If the film calls for me to be a cheerful chap, well, great; I’ll be a cheerful chap.”
RELATED: Paul McCartney Says This Beatles Song Gave John Lennon The Inspiration For “Imagine”
Paul McCartney speaks about his internal struggles
Paul expressed his displeasure at the moniker that seemed to reduce his skills and talents as a musician. “They had to just say, ‘He’s the cute one; he’s the quiet one [George Harrison]; he’s the witty one [John Lennon]; and he’s the drummer [Ringo Starr],” he said in an interview on The Howard Stern Show. “I just can’t help being cute, Howard.”
For Paul, his desire was to be popular for his music, not his looks. “I hated that,” Stern replied. “That’s what happens — just, ‘He’s the cute one.’ I’d go, ‘No, I’m not! Don’t call me that. I hate that!’ But once it’s said, it kind of sticks.”
He explain how he tried to be better than his bandmates
The 80-year-old living legend revealed that to overcome the typecast that came with his looks, he had to strive daily to put in more effort than other members of The Beatles.
“It does seem to have fallen in my role to be kind of a bit more that than others. I was always known in the Beatle thing as being the one who would kind of sit the press down and say, ‘Hello, how are you? Do you want a drink?’ and make them comfortable,” he revealed in his 1974 interview with Rolling Stone. “I guess that’s me. My family loop was like that. So I kind of used to do that, plus a little more polished than I might normally have done, but you’re aware you’re talking to the press … You want a good article, don’t you, so you don’t want to go sluggin’ the guys of?”