Jacob Fortune-Lloyd Says Meeting 'Larger Than Life Figure' Jay Leno to FilmMidas Man'Was Surreal' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Jacob Fortune-Lloyd and Jay Leno in ‘Midas Man’.Photo:Midas Man Studio Pow

Midas Man Studio Pow

Jacob Fortune-Lloydhad a special experience working withJay Lenoon the set of his new Brian Epstein biopicMidas Man.“It was a trip. It was surreal,” Fortune-Lloyd, 37, tells PEOPLE of meeting Leno, 74, to film a key portion of the movie;Midas Manstars the British actor as Beatles manager Brian Epstein in a film that tracks Epstein’s life and career from the time he discoveredthe Beatlesat a Liverpool club in 1961 to his death at 32 in 1967.“I grew up in the U.K. watching his show and occasionally fantasizing, ‘Maybe one day I’ll be on it, you never know.’ And so it was surreal sitting down with him,” Fortune-Lloyd says of formerTonight Showhost Leno, who appears in the movie briefly as Ed Sullivan, who famously hosted the Fab Four for theirtheir first concert in the United Stateslive on television in 1964.In the film, Fortune-Lloyd’s Epstein and Leno’s Sullivan sit down together to hash out the particulars of the Beatles' deal to perform onThe Ed Sullivan Show— Leno can also be seen recreating the famous moment when Sullivan introduced the group to American television audiences.Jacob Fortune-Lloyd and Blake Richardson in ‘Midas Man’.Kerry Spicer/Midas Man Studio Pow"He is a larger than life figure," Fortune-Lloyd adds of Leno; he notes he watched Leno perform standup the night after they filmed their scene together. “I thought it was an inspired piece of casting. It’s hard to find someone who can occupy that kind of role — this huge cultural maker and career breaker and maker. So I thought it was inspired. And he was lovely and he was great; he told stories and made jokes.“WhileMidas Mandoes depict the Beatles' rise to fame in Liverpool in the early 1960s and the band’s arrival in the United States, the movie is first and foremost a depiction of Epstein’s equally tremendous rise from furniture and record store manager to music entrepreneur. By the time of Epstein’s death in 1967 — he died of an accidental overdose — he was also managing acts like Gerry and the Pacemakers and Cilla Black; in the movie, he is depicted as a workaholic while feeling like an outsider as a gay man in the 1960s.“Understanding that side of him is kind of key to unlocking the story,” Fortune-Lloyd adds of Epstein. “We’re all full of contradictions, but when you read stuff about Brian and why people say about him was that he was sort of an exceptional case of someone who was living between extremes of personalities,“Jacob Fortune-Lloyd in ‘Midas Man’.Kerry Spicer/Midas Man Studio PowEpstein seems likely to receive another turn on the big screen inSam Mendes' upcoming four intertwining Beatles movies, which will eachcenter around one member of the band.  “I mean, [Epstein] should be at least have a cameo in each of them,” Fortune-Lloyd says when asked if he would be interested in reprising the role for a future Beatles project. “I’m open to it. If Sam comes calling, I’m down.“Midas Manis available to watch on the movie’swebsite here.

Jacob Fortune-Lloydhad a special experience working withJay Lenoon the set of his new Brian Epstein biopicMidas Man.

“It was a trip. It was surreal,” Fortune-Lloyd, 37, tells PEOPLE of meeting Leno, 74, to film a key portion of the movie;Midas Manstars the British actor as Beatles manager Brian Epstein in a film that tracks Epstein’s life and career from the time he discoveredthe Beatlesat a Liverpool club in 1961 to his death at 32 in 1967.

“I grew up in the U.K. watching his show and occasionally fantasizing, ‘Maybe one day I’ll be on it, you never know.’ And so it was surreal sitting down with him,” Fortune-Lloyd says of formerTonight Showhost Leno, who appears in the movie briefly as Ed Sullivan, who famously hosted the Fab Four for theirtheir first concert in the United Stateslive on television in 1964.

In the film, Fortune-Lloyd’s Epstein and Leno’s Sullivan sit down together to hash out the particulars of the Beatles' deal to perform onThe Ed Sullivan Show— Leno can also be seen recreating the famous moment when Sullivan introduced the group to American television audiences.

Jacob Fortune-Lloyd and Blake Richardson in ‘Midas Man’.Kerry Spicer/Midas Man Studio Pow

Kerry Spicer/Midas Man Studio Pow

“He is a larger than life figure,” Fortune-Lloyd adds of Leno; he notes he watched Leno perform standup the night after they filmed their scene together. “I thought it was an inspired piece of casting. It’s hard to find someone who can occupy that kind of role — this huge cultural maker and career breaker and maker. So I thought it was inspired. And he was lovely and he was great; he told stories and made jokes.”

WhileMidas Mandoes depict the Beatles' rise to fame in Liverpool in the early 1960s and the band’s arrival in the United States, the movie is first and foremost a depiction of Epstein’s equally tremendous rise from furniture and record store manager to music entrepreneur. By the time of Epstein’s death in 1967 — he died of an accidental overdose — he was also managing acts like Gerry and the Pacemakers and Cilla Black; in the movie, he is depicted as a workaholic while feeling like an outsider as a gay man in the 1960s.

“Understanding that side of him is kind of key to unlocking the story,” Fortune-Lloyd adds of Epstein. “We’re all full of contradictions, but when you read stuff about Brian and why people say about him was that he was sort of an exceptional case of someone who was living between extremes of personalities,”

Jacob Fortune-Lloyd in ‘Midas Man’.Kerry Spicer/Midas Man Studio Pow

Epstein seems likely to receive another turn on the big screen inSam Mendes' upcoming four intertwining Beatles movies, which will eachcenter around one member of the band.  “I mean, [Epstein] should be at least have a cameo in each of them,” Fortune-Lloyd says when asked if he would be interested in reprising the role for a future Beatles project. “I’m open to it. If Sam comes calling, I’m down.”

Midas Manis available to watch on the movie’swebsite here.

source: people.com