‘He wasn’t supposed to be home,’ Director Fisher Stevens says
Beckham director Fisher Stevens may admire David Beckham, but that didn’t stop him from being annoyed with the soccer legend during filming.
While attending the opening of the Broadway musical Buena Vista Social Club on Wednesday, March 19, the 61-year-old documentary filmmaker told PEOPLE that he was “quite upset” when Beckham interrupted his wife Victoria Beckham in what became a viral moment.
“In that moment, I was quite upset with him for breaking into the scene when he wasn’t supposed to be home,” Stevens said at the New York City premiere at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre.
Stevens was referring to the clip in which David, 49, jumped in during Victoria’s interview for Beckham, the Netflix documentary that aired in October 2023.
In the clip, the Spice Girls star, 50, said that she and David came from families that were “very working class.” Before she could finish, David playfully interrupted her. “Be honest,” he responded, laughing, as he poked his head into the room during Victoria’s interview. The clip got a wave of attention as the documentary aired to great fanfare.
At the time, Stevens said he was less than pleased with the soccer legend, who was worried what his wife might reveal about him.
“He wasn’t supposed to be home, and he kind of hoodwinked me and eavesdropped because he was so insecure about what Victoria would say about him,” said Stevens. “But it all worked out in the end, thank God. It actually worked.”
Beckham, a four-part series, delves into the former Manchester United star’s history-making career, as well as his more private journey as he navigates stardom and fatherhood. (The couple share sons Brooklyn Peltz Beckham, Cruz Beckham, Romeo Beckham and their youngest, daughter Harper.)
Leading up to the documentary’s release, Stevens, a soccer fan, told PEOPLE that he was unaware of the star’s full prowess on the field until he started interviewing him.
“I started digging around and then I met with him and I said basically, ‘You were really good,’” Stevens told PEOPLE in October 2023.
He added, “He wasn’t what I expected at all. He was so open. He’s like, I’m ready. I want to tell my story before someone else does. And then I started doing research and I was like, ‘Jesus, this guy’s life is nuts. Nuts.’ ”
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For Stevens, it was important to talk to the central figures in David’s life. He was immediately impressed with his relationship his wife.
“When I met with him and Victoria, I was like, ‘Oh my God, they’re going to be fun. They’re going to be good.’ ” he remembered. “ ‘They’re going to be fun and they’re going to be difficult and it’s going to be great.’ ”