David Beckham Talks Family, Victoria Doc and How Leonardo DiCaprio Helped Him Win an Emmy

NEW YORK — David Beckham’s four-part Netflix documentary of the same name has won an Emmy. And it owes it to Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio.

“I messaged Leo and just asked for advice,” Beckham, 49, recalled to USA TODAY. At the time he reached out to DiCaprio, Beckham’s Studio 99 was still looking for a documentary filmmaker. “(DiCaprio) said, ‘You should meet Fisher (Stevens).’ And as soon as I met Fisher, I was like, ‘OK, this is the guy.’ Because I felt like he was going to tell the story in a different way than people were expecting, and that’s exactly what he did.”

DiCaprio and Stevens worked on the 2016 documentary “Before the Flood.” Hearing Stevens’ voice throughout the documentary might also remind “Succession” fans of something: He played the character of Hugo Baker, a communications executive, on the HBO drama series.

“I think one of the members of Succession was a Manchester United fan,” Beckham says, referring to the professional team he played for from 1991 to 2003. “Fisher had obviously discussed it with them and they said, ‘If you don’t do this, you’re stupid.’ That’s how it all came together.”

Busy as Beckham: Super Bowl, Lionel Messi and giving back

Beckham retired from soccer in 2013 and says he’s “probably busier” now than he was as a player. This year, he starred alongside his wife Victoria in an Uber Eats Super Bowl ad; he co-owns two soccer clubs, including MLS side Inter Miami FC, helping bring soccer great Lionel Messi to the U.S.; and he spent the summer working with Stella Artois on the brand’s “Moments Worth More” campaign.

The soccer star is in New York City, specifically at Cipriani in the Financial District, for Stella’s “Let’s Do Dinner” event, which combines celebrity and philanthropy for Matt Damon’s nonprofit, Water.org, which claims to have provided access to clean water to more than 70 million people in developing countries since 2009.

Beckham “is a galactically famous human being,” Damon says. “Any help we can get to move things in that direction is helpful and he’s obviously a huge help in that regard.”

“I’ve traveled to many places with UNICEF and seen children all over the world who don’t have clean water,” Beckham says. “(Water) is something we take for granted. I think it’s really important to give back when you can.”

Beckham is also a “huge fan” of Damon, and the two met several times before Thursday night’s event.

“I’ve always loved Damon as an actor, as a person, as a family man,” Beckham says. “I think he’s doing incredibly well and he has an incredible family.”

What makes David and Victoria Beckham ‘most proud’

Beckham can certainly relate to public figures who put their families’ well-being first. The father of four says he and wife Victoria Beckham are “very proud” of their children. Beckham grew up in London’s East End in what he describes as a “working-class environment: very hard-working parents, two very hard-working sisters.” Despite the circumstances surrounding their fame, he and Victoria have tried to instill that same passion in their children.

“They might be different than they are, but we’re very lucky,” Beckham says of his children Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper.

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Romeo even made a surprise appearance at the dinner alongside his father. “They’re kind, humble, hardworking and just good human beings. That’s the thing we’re most proud of.”

Beckham said he and Victoria were equally proud of their respective careers. His wife’s accomplishments will be highlighted in an upcoming documentary currently in production by Beckham’s studio.

“Victoria is an incredibly hard-working woman,” he says. “She’s had her fashion business for almost 18 years and I’ve seen how hard she’s worked. So when I told her about making this documentary, she was both excited and nervous.”

Ultimately, Beckham credits the studio’s relationship with Netflix for convincing the former Spice Girl to move forward with the project.

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“I just want to be able to show people how hard she works and how involved she is in every detail of everything that goes on in her business,” he continues. “It’s a completely different documentary than my life story, of course. But it’s the time leading up to (her entertainment career) and it’s also about her business. I think people are going to love it.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: David Beckham on what he and Victoria are ‘most proud of’