A candid moment that captivated millions: The Beckham documentary
The unexpected charm of authenticity
The moment that truly captivated millions of viewers in the four-part David Beckham documentary series on Netflix wasn’t the glitz or glamour. It wasn’t even the rare footage from the Spice Girls’ world tour or the opening shots of Beckham beekeeping in a bespoke suit with his initials “DB” embroidered on the side. What really hooked audiences was a completely candid moment that shocked both the director and his interview subject, Victoria Beckham, as her husband barged in mid-recording to fact-check his wife. This off-camera (gentle) prodding showcased something magazine photo shoots, arena stages, and fashion catwalks could never reveal: a real couple. That pure, unfiltered exchange between a husband and wife lifted the veil behind the Beckhams, instantly going viral.
The magic of banter
Despite the grand homes and hobbies, it was the banter that brought the Beckhams into everyone’s living room. It added a layer of relatability and humor that resonates with audiences and underscores the documentary series’ success and five Emmy nominations. By humanizing this larger-than-life couple, the director was able to tell the complete story of David’s rise to fame and shed a little light on who this man truly is behind the tattoos and the jerseys.
Building trust and capturing moments
Building a rapport with Victoria took some time for the director. “She was quite nervous during the first interview,” he admits. “Getting her to sit down and talk about her husband… she wasn’t so excited to tell me all this.” Scheduling was also a challenge, coupled with the need for hair and makeup, something no other subject in the documentary required. “But she’s Victoria, of course, fine,” says the director.
To make the fashion designer more comfortable, the director shot on a day when David would be away from their home in Holland Park, London. The conversation began smoothly, with Victoria discussing her early upbringing. “I was thinking, ‘God, she’s really sweet and she’s really open,'” the director recalls. “And she starts to talk and telling me, ‘We came from kind of modest…’ Then David opens the door and he goes, ‘Be honest. Be honest.’ And I’m like, ‘What?'”
The pivotal interruption
Shocked, the director immediately texted his producing partner, who was listening in from the next room, “What the heck is David doing here?” “[Victoria] was very embarrassed and nervous because clearly, he’s been watching, and I was mortified myself,” explains the director. After making sure David had left, the director resumed the interview, not starting until he heard the door close and saw David’s “beautiful car” bail out.
So why did David, despite the careful planning, sneak into his wife’s interview? “I think he was nervous for her,” the director says. His interruption wasn’t meant to derail the interview but to encourage Victoria to be her true self. Although David often downplayed his intelligence to the director in a self-deprecating manner, the director noted how perceptive and intuitive his subject was. After several one-on-one interviews, David realized this documentary was something deeper and different. “He understood that this couldn’t be a puff piece. It couldn’t be brand Beckham nonsense. And that was my pitch.”
The impact of authenticity
David’s unexpected presence turned out to be a pivotal moment. “It was affecting him, and I think he wanted his wife to not do the typical thing, and that just freed her because then the next interview, that’s when she was like, ‘Ready, go.’ This interview changed everything. So it was kind of great he was there in a way, and it was a great moment for the movie, clearly. But it pissed me off.”
The director was particularly appreciative of his camera operator, whose quick instincts captured the moment a cheeky David peeked out from behind the door. The camera operator’s ability to swiftly pivot the camera was made possible by his quick thinking and the director’s preference for handheld shots over tripods. “All my interviews are handheld, which is really tough on a cameraman because we shoot with these very heavy cameras,” the director explains. This approach allowed them to capture the authenticity that became a hallmark of the documentary.
A love story at its core
These little love stories threaded through “Beckham” weren’t the initial story the director was looking to uncover. His vision for the docuseries was originally framed around working-class England and football and the parallels. The director found childhood footballers who played with Beckham and interviewed them all, but ultimately, those conversations were cut to refocus on a different element: love.
“I realized anytime I went away from David, the story was nonsense,” says the director. “Then David started to really open up to me much more and the interviews started getting much more intricate and deeper. Then I was like, ‘Oh heck, I don’t need any of that stuff. I just need him and his wife.'”
“It’s a love story,” the director continues. “This is a love story about him and his wife, him and his dad, him and his ex-manager, Alex Ferguson.”
The essence of the film
Focusing the lens on these narratives allowed the audience to experience the highs and lows of the iconic elements of David’s life. Knowing the man almost made witnessing the infamous England versus Argentina red card during the 1998 World Cup even more brutal, especially after the director filmed his reaction to watching the footage in real-time. The effect of projecting the archival football footage across David’s face (and various other players the director interviewed) took 40 or 50 tries just to master for a few shots with the graphic designer.
The director also credits the editor with helping find the language of “Beckham.” Having just wrapped another major project, the editor was not fully ready to take on another project, but the director was insistent. “I started editing with other editors, great editors, but we were struggling a bit to find the essence of the film,” says the director. “I just had a feeling about this guy, and I hounded. I stalked the editor because I just knew, no matter where we were, I wanted him to come in.”
The editor and the crew knew the Victoria and David exchange was dynamite, but finding exactly where to land this reveal was integral to the story and an important puzzle to solve. Immediately following its streaming debut, “Beckham” spent six weeks at the top of Netflix’s Top 10 English-language TV chart. The director credits this series’ success to his team, from the composer to the camera operator, and also to “David and Victoria trusting me, for sure,” he says. “They really trusted me.”
Explore more
For those who want to dive deeper into the world of David Beckham, you can watch the trailer for the documentary series Beckham. This series offers a unique glimpse into the life of one of the most iconic footballers of our time, blending personal moments with professional triumphs and challenges.