#Fisher Stevens Says Leonardo DiCaprio Helped Him Land Director Role for ‘Beckham’

Fisher Stevens said it was actually Leonardo DiCaprio who helped him land the director role for Netflix‘s docuseries on David Beckham.

During Wednesday’s appearance on Late Night, host Seth Meyers asked the filmmaker-actor how he initially heard about the series Beckham since “you weren’t necessarily a giant fan of his.”

“Actually, I got a call on my way to that show [Succession], to work, and it was from my old pal Leonardo DiCaprio’s office,” he responded. “We had made some documentaries together, and the office said, ‘Leo suggested you to direct David Beckham’s documentary, and David wants to talk to you.’ And I was like, ‘Me? David Beckham?’”

After the call, Stevens said he “really wasn’t that excited” because he didn’t really get into soccer until after Beckham left England and went to play for Real Madrid. “[I] just thought, Brand Beckham, Posh Spice … wasn’t really that interested,” he added.

But once he started filming Succession, Stevens said his mind was changed. “People that worked on it are all English, and they’re like, ‘You have to. He’s a legend. She’s [Victoria Beckham] amazing. You don’t know what the guy went through. Great story,’” he recalled.

The filmmaker ended up getting on a Zoom call with the former professional soccer player and said, “He was very different than I thought.”

“Then met him and his wife for dinner, and they were amazing,” Stevens added. “They said, ‘Oh, Fisher, you don’t know our story. You don’t know our story.’ And I got excited, and that was it.”

Beckham, which is currently streaming on Netflix, features never-before-seen footage and follows Beckham’s rise to global soccer stardom as well as his relationship with wife Victoria Beckham.

Stevens previously told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month that he spent days with Beckham to coax him into opening up about his complicated career and personal life, since he is typically more reserved.

“I watched a lot of interviews with him and I knew that I needed to go at it a different way, shoot it a different way and make him feel comfortable. I needed a lot of time with him,” he said. “David has shut most of it down, so I knew it would take time to get it out. I think he’s just at a place in his life where he’s finally ready to relive moments that he’s pushed away.”