The soccer legend, pop culture icon and owner of Miami FC talks to Variety about his relentless drive and receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
During one of David Beckham’s first trips to America in the 1990s, he took a stroll down Hollywood Boulevard and marveled at all the stars lining the sidewalks. For a working-class bloke from the East End of London, being immortalized in such a fashion seemed like a pipe dream. But Beckham has never been one to let obstacles get in his way.
His “militant” work ethic he inherited from his parents — his father was a repairman; his mother a hairstylist — guided him to six Premier League titles, UEFA Champions League and La Liga titles, two MLS Cups and England captaincy on the pitch, and cultural-icon status off it. He’s married to a Spice Girl, owns the Inter Miami CF, was the subject of a hit Netflix docuseries, and his twisting free kicks are so arresting they inspired a hit film, “Bend It Like Beckham.” He’s not terrible to look at, either.
And now, he’s been given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“I actually can’t believe it,” Beckham tells Variety. “I remember walking in Hollywood and looking for the stars, and all these years later, knowing that I’ll have my own star, it’s a huge honor. America has always meant so much to me.”
Beckham, 51, is quick to stress that none of this was part of the plan. His parents were die-hard fans of Manchester United, traveling some 200 miles from London to Old Trafford to take in matches, and they passed it on to him. All he wanted to be as a kid was a successful soccer player for Man U, and, hopefully, represent his country in the World Cup. He not only achieved those goals but has, in the past year, been knighted by the king of England, become the U.K.’s first billionaire sportsman, had a rose officially named after him and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — achievements that feel nothing short of surreal.
In a candid chat with Variety, Beckham discussed his legendary journey.
Absolutely not. All I wanted to be was a successful soccer player for Manchester United and England. That’s all I cared about. I didn’t care about the fame, the wealth, all the admiration you get. All I cared about was being a soccer player. So now, having a star, becoming a ‘sir,’ all these things that have come with the career that I’ve had, I feel very lucky.
Fourteen. To receive one of the highest honors and become a ‘sir,’ as a kid, is something I never could have dreamt of. The fact that I stood there with the king, being knighted with my parents, wife and kids there, it was the most special day of my life — without a doubt. My grandmother and grandfather were huge royalists. Every Christmas, they would sit us down and make us watch the queen’s speech. So now, I sit my kids down and make us watch the king’s speech. We used to go to the changing of the guard and all the things that we’re famous for in our monarchy, and it just carried on. I’ve always been a proud Englishman, and I’ve always loved our royal family.
I’ve never really had any offers from Hollywood. I like to stay in my lane, in all honesty. I’ve played a couple of roles in Guy Ritchie’s movies, but that was just for fun. That was me and him having a glass of wine and him saying, “Do you want to be in this movie?” That’s really how that happened. For the last 25 years, I’ve been doing campaigns for different partners and ads for different things, and that requires a little bit of acting, but Hollywood? I’m not sure I’m there yet. [Laughs]
It manifests as soon as I see a mess; that’s how it all starts. It’s something that I’ve had for, probably, my whole life. I’ve always been tidy and liked things in the right places. Even when I was growing up in the East End of London, I would organize my mom’s fridge, and that’s continued through my whole life. I need things tidy. But it affects me in a good way on the pitch. Firstly, my preparation for a game is very militant because I like everything in the right place, so the way I lace my boots up and wear my kit and take the free kicks, I have this very regimented process.
To be honest, I wasn’t actually meant to be in the house at that time. It was my wife’s first day of filming, and Fisher Stevens, the director, wanted to make sure I wasn’t in the house. But I was in the house making a coffee and about to leave, and I heard her start saying, “We were a working-class family,” and I was like, “OK, no, no, no…” So, I opened the door, popped my head in, and said, “Be honest,” and it took off from there. Fisher was quite angry with me for being in the house, and as soon as I closed that door, I left. But it turned into being one of people’s favorite moments in the documentary. It was a funny moment, I must admit.
Obviously, I’m going to have to say Leo. But I also would like to think that Leo would say me. Leo is one of those players where if he decides to do something, he can do it; he’s that special of a talent. We want to continue to build the team, bring more championships, bring the best players from around the world and build home-grown talent through the academy system. That’s one of the most important things for me in Miami and for the future of the game in America.
To have it in the U.S., Canada and Mexico is very exciting. There’s more interest in soccer now than there’s ever been, and it continues to grow. I’d like to hope that the U.S. has a good World Cup — for the game and for the country. Who do I think is going to win it? I’d like to say England, obviously, but I do think the French have an incredibly strong team — Spain, Brazil and you can never count out the world champions in Argentina. They’re going to come into this tournament with a huge amount of expectations. And you have Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappe, Leo Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar making the squad. All of these things all add to the excitement of the World Cup.
Ugh. Please don’t remind me! It’s not easy winning the World Cup. I always went into World Cups, especially being England captain, really believing we were going to win the World Cup. Unfortunately, we didn’t. But I understand how special it all is.
Some people have asked me that in the past, and I’ve said, well, maybe it might have interested me at some point. But I love doing what I’m doing and owning a club. Someone asked me if I’d become England manager, and it became a big story just because I said, “I would never turn down my country.” I’ve never wanted to be a coach, but coaching your country is one of the highest honors.
I was brought up in a household that was kind in general. I’ve got two sisters, my mom was a hairdresser and my dad worked in kitchens. Over the years, I think I did things throughout my career — like posing on the covers of certain magazines — that soccer players really weren’t doing around that time, and it got a certain amount of attention that pushed me into the spotlight. I was always very excited to do things like that — to wear different clothes, try different outfits and have different haircuts. That gave me that audience in different parts of the world.
To be honest, I don’t know. I’d like to think that we live in a world now where if there was a soccer player that is gay, they’d feel comfortable to come out and say that because in all honesty, that’s where it should be. No footballer should feel embarrassed or not want to come out and say that he’s gay. In the women’s game, it’s something that is more common and more open. And I don’t know why it’s not in the men’s game. But we do live in a world and in an era where it should be acceptable because it is, 100%, acceptable.
Look, I’m a Spice Girls fan and always have been. I ended up marrying a Spice Girl, so now I’m even more of a Spice Girls fan than I was back in the day. Everyone was a Spice Girls fan! It doesn’t surprise me but still shocks me a little bit just how popular they are all over the world. I’m not sure there’s many girl bands that have been together for that long that have that much of a following. I’ve always tried to get my wife to perform again. I think they’re all doing their own thing and are busy, but I’m always hoping for the girls to get back together and perform at some point.
“Say You’ll Be There.” That was the song that I first saw Victoria performing and I turned around to my friend and said, “I’m going to marry that girl.” And I did it! I stalked her down and I did it. [Laughs]
We’ve been married for 27 years this July. We’ve been together for 29 years. We’ve got four incredible kids. We’ve got businesses that we work hard on. But we always make time for each other, and we always have. I want Victoria to be the best version of herself, and vice versa. And as busy as we are, our family always comes first. That’s our priority, and that’s what makes it work when you’ve been together for so long. Our priority will always be our family.
To be honest, I’m sorry to stop you there, but that’s a private matter. That’s the one thing that I don’t want to talk about.
Every day there’s a mountain to climb. I’ve got a life where I’m very busy with what I do. I’ve got four grown kids, the businesses, the club in Miami, but I always want to achieve more. I’ve been like that from a very young age; I was like that as a player and I’ll always be like that. I’ll continue to strive for more.