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Reports are circulating this week that suggest David Beckham is being lined up to take on the role of James Bond after the current 007 Daniel Craig steps down.
Such is the intensity of these rumours that if you go to Google the former England captain right now, “David Beckham James Bond” is the first suggested search result. Yes, a lot of people are starting to believe that there is some credibility to these reports, which is a little concerning when you consider that Beckham isn’t an actor.
Everybody loves Beckham, but a prerequisite to landing such a major acting role would surely be to possess acting talent. While he has appeared in Comic Relief sketches every now and again, it’s a big jump from providing a cameo appearance in a TV charity event to taking on one of the biggest acting jobs in the world. “Ex-footballer” and “once appeared in a T-Mobile commercial” wouldn’t really cut the mustard when he’s up against the likes of Idris Elba for the part.
The rumours started to spread following the news that he will have a speaking role in Guy Ritchie’s upcoming film Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur. Beckham will have 13 lines in the movie, which is his largest acting role to date but still a considerable step below playing Bond. Speaking of his part in the movie, Beckham said: “I had 13 lines and I practised a huge amount beforehand. Guy had someone come and rehearse with me and I did an hour of it every day.” He added: “It was nerve-racking delivering the lines but I enjoyed it massively.”
Inevitably, these reports are cited as coming from “sources close to the Beckham camp,” which is tabloid lingo for “we asked one of our writers to come up with preposterous story that we could run to keep traffic up on a slow news day.” If you’re one of those who have been fooled by these reports and considered that Beckham may become Bond, then rest assured that will almost definitely not be the case, and that the role will go to an actual actor instead.
