Netflix's Emmy Award-winning documentary “Beckham,” about soccer legend David Beckham, took fans around the world behind the scenes of one of the most polarizing athletes of the century.
But Beckham himself revealed to Variety that “I hated almost every moment of filming.”
“It worried me, it made me nervous and it made Victoria nervous too,” Beckham said of the documentary, which was split into four parts last year.
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David Beckham “hated almost every moment of making” the documentary. (Samir Hussein/WireImage)
“It took me a long time to accept the fact that I was going to make it, but there were a few reasons why we wanted to do it. When I retired, I wasn't ready to talk about my career and what had happened. During the pandemic, that's when documentaries really exploded, and it was coming up to the 10th anniversary of my retirement from football.”
Beckham had his Studio 99 produce the documentary, which delved deep into his personal life with his wife and family, as well as his legendary football career, which began at Manchester United and ended with Paris Saint-Germain in 2013. And of course, his international caps for England were also shown.
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But the four-part series delved deep into his trials and tribulations, both personal and professional, that required “a proper director” to portray him, and Beckham ended up choosing Fisher Stevens to do it.
Variety spoke to Stevens, who said Leonardo DiCaprio recommended him for the director role.
But Beckham wasn't looking for someone to sugarcoat his life path up to that point. He wanted someone unmistakably raw.
“When I met Fisher, I knew this was the man who would make me feel really uncomfortable and I knew I had to feel uncomfortable to make the documentary that we made,” Beckham said.
So the hatred he felt was not due to not liking the final product, but to the material, to the reflection on difficult personal moments and the reliving of his most traumatic moments on the court, which made him and his family nervous.
The four-part series delved deep into Beckham's trials and tribulations. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
However, some criticised the lack of substance surrounding Beckham's rumoured romance with his former assistant Rebecca Loos, who, in April 2004, claimed that she and he had a four-month relationship during his time at Real Madrid. Beckham went on to say that the rumours were “ridiculous” but there are still doubts in some quarters that this was the case.
But for this documentary, Beckham said he didn't see the finished product until it was released.
“Throughout the documentary, from day one I said, 'I don't want to see anything until it's out,'” he said of his influence on Stevens' work. “I didn't participate in the editing. I didn't see any cuts. I wanted to give Fisher that control. It took a lot of convincing.”
In the end, both Beckham and his wife “loved the results,” and the fact that the documentary was critically acclaimed is a testament to how well it was received.
Both Beckham and his wife “loved the results” of the documentary. (JONATHAN BRADY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
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Beckham's Studio 99 has an untitled documentary in the works with Netflix that also focuses on Victoria's life.
