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Golden Balls And Golden Skills: Guy Ritchie Defends David Beckham After Disastrous 'King Arthur' Reviews

It looks like the soccer player's first steps into the cruel world of acting may have knocked the celebrity superstar down a peg or two.

By Tom ChapmanPublished 6 years ago 2 min read
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'King Arthur: The Legend of the Sword' [Credit: Warner Bros.]

Can you hear the boos from the crowd? It is a crushing defeat and an early shower for sports star #DavidBeckham. It looks like the soccer player's first steps into the cruel world of acting may have knocked the celebrity superstar down a peg or two. Appearing in #GuyRitchie's #KingArthur, the casting of old Golden Balls was just one of many "missed shots" from the man who brought us Snatch and the Robert Downey Jr. era of Sherlock Holmes.

It seems that getting anyone to say anything positive about the 2017 retelling of the medieval legend was more like pulling blood from a stone than a sword. Despite an all-star cast of #JudeLaw, #CharlieHunnam, and #DjimonHounsou, this one has been dropped to the bottom the lake where it will likely languish in box office takings.

Falling On Your Sword

With the film taking flack all round, Beckham's role has been singled out as one of the worst parts of the flashy gangster reimagining of Excalibur. However, it looks like Beckham's part has at least one supporter — it is just a shame that is the director himself.

Speaking to Sky News, Ritchie defend the soccer player's acting talent. There are many words that people have used to describe Beckham's small role, but Ritchie might be alone in saying it was fabulous. Audiences have so far dubbed the cameo as "wooden" and "cringeworthy," but never fabulous. Although Ritchie admits that the OBE-winner had to have a little coaching from a hired professional, he still stands by Beckham's first on-screen role:

"He was fantastic, I love old Becksy. He is a fabulous actor and a real pleasure to be with."

Could that be anything to do with the fact that you both share the odd pint of beer off set as close friends? Elsewhere, lead actor Hunnan said Beckham was "humble" and equally easy to get along with:

"It was lovely [working with Beckham], he did an amazing job. He is very quiet and humble and serious. I thought it was a lark, I thought he was just going to show up for a laugh because he is Guy's friend, but he took it all very, very seriously."

Sporting a faux-nose and some grisly prosthetics, most people may not recognize the handsome 42-year-old under his get-up, but look out for the surly henchman named Trigger. It was a part that saw Beckham impart some worldly wisdom to Hunnam's Arthur on how to remove that sword from the stone.

When approaching the legendary Excalibur, Hunnam turns to Beckham to ask, "Where do you want me?" Beckham's Trigger then responds with, "Bouncing on me knee — where do ya think I want ya? Hands on the heel, stupid."

It may have been classic Ritchie scripting, but it isn't going to be winning any Oscars.

Balls To The Critics

It is safe to say that Twitter has been less than kind to David, while social media troll Piers Morgan is quoted as saying "he could be the third Mitchell brother!" in reference to UK soap Eastenders:

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Image Source

Image Source

Being compared to resident gobsh*te Danny Dyer is sure to go down like a foul goal for Beckham, who had probably expected a warmer reception to his first foray into acting.

The slew of negativity may have already cut short the idea of Golden Balls treading the boards, while Ritchie remained unsure whether King Arthur could be the first role in a long-line of Beckham belters, saying, "I don't know yet, one step at a time." The film's director also shunned critics of Beckham, saying that they are just using his celebrity status to grab headlines — to be honest, the same could be said for you, Guy!

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About the Creator

Tom Chapman

Tom is a Manchester-based writer with square eyes and the love of a good pun. Raised on a diet of Jurassic Park, this ’90s boy has VHS flowing in his blood. No topic is too big for this freelancer by day, crime-fighting vigilante by night.

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