“Beckham,” the Emmy Award-winning Netflix documentary about soccer legend David Beckham, gave fans around the world a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most polarizing athletes of this century.
However, Beckham himself told Variety that he “hated almost every moment of making it.”
“I was worried, I was nervous, and Victoria was nervous,” Beckham said of the four-part documentary, released last year.
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David Beckham “hated almost every moment” of making the documentary. (Samir Hussain/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 I wanted to make it. When I retired I wasn't ready to talk about my career or what had happened. During the pandemic, documentaries really exploded and it was coming up to 10 years since I retired from football.”
Beckham commissioned Studio 99 to produce a documentary that would not only explore his legendary footballing career, which began with Manchester United and ended with Paris Saint-Germain in 2013, but also delve into his personal life with his wife and family – and, of course, his international matches with England.
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But the four-part series delves deep into his personal and professional trials and tribulations and needed “the right director” to portray it, with Beckham ultimately choosing Fisher Stevens as director.
Variety interviewed Stevens, who said that Leonardo DiCaprio recommended him for the director role.
But Beckham wasn't looking for someone who would sugar coat his past: he wanted someone who was unabashedly raw.
“When I met Fisher I realized this was a guy who made me really uncomfortable, and I knew that in order to make the documentary that we were making, I had to make myself uncomfortable,” Beckham said.
So the hatred he felt wasn't because he didn't like the finished product, it was the content of the work that unsettled him and his family, the prospect of reliving painful personal moments and some of his most traumatic times on the pitch.
The four-part series took an in-depth look into Beckham's trials and tribulations. (Pascal Le Segretin/Getty Images)
But some criticised the lack of evidence surrounding a rumour of an affair between Beckham and his former assistant Rebecca Roos, who claimed they had a four-month affair in April 2004 while Beckham was playing for Real Madrid. Beckham later said the rumour was “absurd”, but some in his camp questioned whether it was true.
However, when it came to the documentary, Beckham said he hadn't seen the finished product until it was released.
“From day one throughout the documentary, I said, 'I don't want to see anything until it's released,'” he said of Stevens' influence on his work. “I wasn't involved in the edit. I didn't see any cuts. I wanted to give that authority to Fisher. It took me a long time to convince him.”
Ultimately, both Beckham and his wife were “pleased with the outcome,” and the documentary's critical acclaim shows just how well-received it was.
Both Beckham and his wife were “pleased with the outcome” of the documentary. (Jonathan Brady/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
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Beckham's Studio 99 is producing an untitled documentary in collaboration with Netflix that will also focus on Victoria's life.
