For the past decade, streamers, producers and fans have been asking for a David Beckham documentary.
But the professional athlete wasn’t ready until now — and neither was his family. And ultimately, that’s where decisions lie.
“Family has always come first,” Beckham says. It’s a theme echoed throughout our interview and through the entirety of “Beckham,”
Netflix’s four-episode docuseries about one of soccer’s all-time greats.
Victoria Beckham and their four children — Brooklyn, 25; Romeo, 21; Cruz, 19; and Harper, 12 — were a big part of the process from start to finish.
But, at first, he wasn’t sure that he wanted that.
“It changed along the way, honestly. At one point, I thought, ‘Do I really want too much of the kids in there and Victoria?’” he admits. But he quickly realized that it was unavoidable in addressing his career. “My career was about my kids, and it was about my wife, because we’ve been together now for 27 years. The kids lived through the whole thing. I wanted them to be part of it, but I didn’t want to put too much pressure on having them in there and having them speak.”
David has said it multiple times, but the main reason he made the doc was to compile everything — both the ups and downs — for his family. And from the start, he and Victoria decided to dive in headfirst with the same vision: “If we’re gonna do this, we do it. Like we do everything else, we throw everything into it.”
While their adult sons were more aware of their parents’ whirlwind journey, he was a bit concerned about Harper’s reaction.
“I was a little bit worried about my daughter seeing some of the things that were being said about me over the years and how she would react,” he says. But nothing surprised her. “I’ve been telling my daughter for a long time that Mommy used to wear very, very short skirts. And then she was like, ‘Daddy, Mommy did really wear really, really short skirts!’ But she loved it.”
The Posh Spice days are also examined in the doc, providing a closer look at Victoria, both as a member of Spice Girls — the biggest girl group of all time — and now, as a fashion mogul.
“I think Victoria came out with this documentary and everyone was like, ‘Oh, my God, that person that David’s been saying about for the last 27 years, that is her,’” he says. “It’s not just about the non-smile and the pout. That’s what I see every single day.”
The media saw the pout — and capitalized on it, as documented in the series. In the ’90s, “Posh and Becks” became the headline on every magazine and tabloid, and the couple couldn’t go anywhere without cameras following.
“I think that my takeaway from my documentary was how important mental health is. Because, 20 years ago, nobody was talking about it. And nobody was taking it seriously,” says David. “Now, it’s so great that people can actually talk about their feelings… There were many things said about us over the 27 years. It can be hurtful.”
“I was never one of these people that was going to sit back and complain,” he continues. “I was very fortunate to live the life that I did through my career. And I’m so thankful for that. I’m never going to moan about that because, at times, when I played a great game, it was splashed all over the news and all over the papers, and that’s really a good thing. But it wasn’t easy.”
The treatment of women in the media, especially when it comes to dating a famous athlete, skews negative and sexist, even as of late, as shown in the coverage of Taylor Swift at Travis Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs games.
“Hopefully that’s improved. It’s ridiculous that we’re even talking about it,” says David. “I think back in the day with Victoria going to games, the fans were quite brutal. They sang songs about her. But I’m sure Taylor’s strong enough to handle whatever.”
Overall, however, the respect level is higher when it comes to the media — in part, thanks to the documentary.
Recently, David and Victoria were in a pub and came outside to see a note on the windshield of their car, with no name and no address. “It read, ‘We’re sorry how you were treated.’ I’ve got the letter still. But that’s how people, I think, felt after the documentary.”
Another response to the documentary: the desire to see the Spice Girls back on tour. (No, it wasn’t just me.) In fact, this interview was done later than planned since David was busy coordinating Victoria’s 50th birthday, which included a reunion of the group. He shared a video of that on his Instagram and it blew up.
“I know it’s what people want, but in all honesty, I think I was the most excited of anyone. The fact that, obviously, we had all of the girls in one room. All of the girls haven’t been on a stage together for over 15 years. So, to have them all there, to have them all up on stage, to have our youngest son playing guitar?” he says with a giant smile on his face. “The whole reason why the girls are actually up there was I didn’t want to do a traditional video of old clips and people saying, ‘Happy birthday, Victoria!’ My idea was to re-create the ‘Mama’ video, but I wanted it of just Victoria.”
While the re-creation was being shown, Cruz was playing “Mama” on the guitar and all five women got up on the stage.
“It was an amazing moment,” David says. But don’t expect to see Posh, Baby, Sporty, Scary and Ginger Spice back in an arena. “Unfortunately, that’s not happening. Victoria was so pleased to see the girls, and it was a massive part of her life, the girls, but obviously, all the girls have got their own things going on. They will do certain things together at certain times. But Victoria’s full on with her beauty and fashion businesses. If anyone’s busier than me, it’s her.”
Before we move on, however, he adds, “There’s nothing more that I’d like to see than the girls on stage again, so I’ll still work at it, don’t worry!”
Since retiring in 2013, David Beckham hasn’t taken time off. Instead, he brought Major League Soccer to Miami, and Inter Miami made its MLS debut in 2020. The sport, overall, has become more popular in the last two decades. He is a large part of that, as is a more elevated view of soccer, thanks to series like “Ted Lasso” and Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s “Welcome to Wrexham.”
“I do think they play into it. That’s why I moved to America in 2007 with my family to join the MLS and to join the Galaxy — because I knew that there was potential. It was always going to be a challenge, and I’m glad that I played a small role in making the league as big as it is now, but it takes moments like what we’ve just done. It takes things like ‘Ted Lasso,’ and it takes people like Ryan and Rob to give it that bit of air,” he says. “I’ve always said it: America wants to be the best at everything. I love that and that’s why I wanted to live in America, because I love that culture, that positivity.”
Studio 99, the company that produced “Beckham,” was co-founded by Nicola Howson, Beckham and David Gardner. Together, the group are constantly looking for new stories to tell and are interested in diving into women’s sports.
“Within the studio, we’re always looking for different projects. If something comes up within the women’s game or in women’s sports, then absolutely, we will be doing it,” Beckham says. “When I moved to L.A. in 2007, I wouldn’t say I was jealous, but had a bit of an envy at how big the women’s game is here. I’d drive and see different fields around L.A. and it was loads of young girls playing the game. I was like, that’s the bar we have to reach.”
He continues, “Also, we’re looking to start a women’s team in Miami, but it’s been a tough few years. We have a lot going on. But that’s our plan.”
Still, despite the busy schedule — especially after bringing superstar Lionel Messi to Miami last year — David stays humble, as does his wife, he asserts.
But “she’s not so working class,” he says with a laugh, referencing that moment in the doc during which she says she grew up working class only for him to call her out and reveal that her father drove a Rolls Royce. “But we’re very grounded people. We were brought up by really hardworking parents that had the right values and the right manners.”
The fact that they were able to pass that along to their children, he says, is his biggest accomplishment. “They’re humble, hardworking, passionate. They’ve got drive. And ultimately, they’re good human beings,” he says. “Living the life that they’ve lived, living in different countries, being around the whole circus that went on for our life, they could have been a lot different.”
Along with humble nature comes the perks of success. Case in point: David drove himself to our photo shoot and interview … in a Rolls Royce.
Follow us to see more useful information, as well as to give us more motivation to update more useful information for you.
Source: USA Today
