David Beckham says he hated ‘almost every moment’ of filming his Netflix documentary
Beckham says director Fisher Stevens and other ‘great people’ working with him had made it possible
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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
Former England football captain David Beckham has said filming the Netflix documentary series of his life “made me feel uncomfortable” as he praised director Fisher Stevens for bringing “something different out in me”.
Speaking at the Royal Television Society (RTS) London Conference, Beckham was asked by presenter Jane Featherstone how he could make an “authentic documentary” about himself with his Studio 99 firm.
Beckham said director Fisher Stevens and other “great people” working with him had made it possible.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid winger said: “Fisher made me feel uncomfortable from the moment we sat down to talk to the moment I finished. And I really needed that because I needed a director to come at it from a different angle.
“You know, everyone kind of knows my career and my life and things like that. So I needed someone like him to bring something different out in me. I never saw any other clips. I never saw anything until the moment I watched it at the premiere.
“It was quite emotional, but it was just one of those things that I knew that I was going to make, and if I was going to make it, I was going to make it once. But it was special, it was a special, special time.”
He added that he and wife Victoria were both “nervous” about the idea of filming the documentary and opening themselves up to this kind of scrutiny.
“Because as much as people think they know everything about us, [they] don't really. We don't really let kind of those doors open to our house... I'm not going to lie, I hated probably almost every moment,” he said.
“I wouldn't say I hated it. I would just say it was very difficult ... I'll go back and say it wasn't hate, but it was really difficult because there were moments when I was talking about things that I'd never spoken about before.”
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The Independent’s Jessie Thompson gave Beckham four stars, and described it as a “cosy but candid insight into an icon”.
“There is something gripping about seeing the most famous celebrity couple of the last 25 years in such intimate proximity. We discover that Beckham likes to go around clipping candle wicks every morning. We hear that he used to drive for hours just to see Victoria for “seven minutes” at the height of her Spice Girls fame.
“The couple sound like they were totally obsessed by one another from the start, and still come across as very content today. But they only let us in so far. Although they’re happy to joke about a fan chant about how “Posh Spice takes it up the arse”, they keep it vague when talking about stories of Beckham’s alleged extra-marital affairs.”
Beckham also spoke about a new Netflix series his studio was working on, on the life of his wife Victoria, which he will produce.
The 49-year-old said: “I’m really excited about this one with Victoria, because she is an amazing woman. She is a strong, driven, passionate person that has gone from being a Spice Girl, as you all know, and to be respected in this industry is very tough.
“It’s very tough, and she’s worked hard for the last 17, 18 years on her business, and all of a sudden she’s having the success that she really deserves, and no one really sees what she does.
“No one really sees the amount of work that she puts in, she’s over everything from where people sit at the show to what they wear, to everything that goes into her business. She’s over every single piece, and I want people to see that.
“It was hard to convince her to to do this, but I think she’d been such a big part of the process with Netflix, and she was like, I love these people, and I love the way they work, and if we can work in this way, and we can do this, so it’s an exciting time.
“I think she’s going to do something that’s very special, and people are going to see her personality and just her work ethic.”
Victoria rose to fame as part of the Spice Girls, and was known as Posh Spice, and later embarked on a solo music career in the 2000s before launching her own fashion label.
The couple have been married since 1999, and the Netflix documentary Beckham enjoyed a viral moment when David was filmed interrupting Victoria talking about her childhood to instruct her to “be honest” and admit that her father drove a Rolls-Royce.
The former footballer, who owns MLS franchise Inter Miami, also spoke about setting up Studio 99, which he said was something he had “always had in mind” while playing, and added that making documentaries was something he had “always enjoyed” after his professional football retirement.
He said: “When I retired, which is 11 years ago, from playing I made two documentaries and it was Into The Unknown, For The Love Of The Game. And I love the process, so setting up the studio was something I always had in mind.”
Beckham’s Studio 99 has produced documentaries including 99, about Manchester United’s treble-winning season, Beckham, a documentary about himself, and Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge Of Everything.