Backbeat is a 1994 independent drama film directed by Iain Softley. It chronicles the early days of The Beatles in Hamburg, West Germany. The film focuses primarily on the relationship between Stuart Sutcliffe and John Lennon, and also with Sutcliffe's German girlfriend Astrid Kirchherr. It has subsequently been made into a stage production.

Stephen Hartley Dorff Jr. is an American actor. Starting his film career as a child appearing in the cult horror film The Gate (1987), Dorff first rose to prominence playing Stuart Sutcliffe in Backbeat (1994) and then gained further mainstream attention for portraying Deacon Frost in Blade (1998). Other notable lead roles include Bob Rafelson's Blood and Wine (1997), the titular character in John Waters' Cecil B. DeMented (2000) and Johnny Marco in Sofia Coppola's Somewhere (2010), as well as Britney Spears’ boyfriend in her 2004 music video for "Everytime".