becker bends it
Kuno Becker had to train like a professional footballer to play the lead in the movie Goal!
EVERY bellow was greeted by an echo.
That was strange, given that the stadium was St James' Park.
Normally the home ground of English club Newcastle United is packed to the rafters on match day.
But on this February day, it was near empty.
It was not the freezing temperature that kept the fans away.
Only a 100-odd fans were there.
But they were all gathered around the Milburn Stand.
They were the extras recruited for the filming of the movie Goal! - the first chapter of a trilogy depicting the rags-to-riches tale of a young Latino who makes it big as a footballer with Newcastle United.
The filming crew, braving the cold since morning, were on their fourth take of a scene which had Newcastle and Liverpool players (doubles, of course) streaming out of the tunnel for the kick-off.
Kuno Becker (right), who plays the lead role of Santiago Munez, jogged onto the pitch to the thumbs-up sign from the gaffer, essayed by Marcel Iures.
Newcastle's current manager, Graeme Souness, was present to observe the filming along with the club's chairman, Freddy Shepherd.
Becker, an actor since 1996, largely in Mexican TV series, found the going tough.
It was because he wasn't a professional football player.
Like the other actors, he had to undergo football training sessions to look the part of a professional player.
Consultant and choreographer Andy Ansah, who played professional football in England for 12 years, helped him and the other actors.
Becker, of course, had to work harder than the rest.
He said he worked out regularly in the gym and trained on the pitch for five weeks, putting in more than five hours a day.
'It is hard for me. I last played football in school,' said Mexico-born Becker, 27.
'When you work with professional players, it's a different story.
'They really train hard and their technique is wonderful.
'My body is just not used to it. I have to accept that I will never be able to play like them.'
He added: 'For the movie, I had to try and attain a level close to theirs.
'I have tried hard to improve my technique, learn the basics and make it look real.
'But my body is beginning to question what I am doing.'
'This is a story not just about football, it is also about dreams and feelings.'
Becker is hoping that Goal! will take his acting career to a new high.
He is optimistic the movie will be a box-office hit.
The actor, who moved from Mexico to live in Los Angeles about two years ago, said: 'You never know what's going to happen.
'I have done my best.
'At the end of the day, you may think a movie that you have done will be super big. But for some reason, that may not be the case.'
Given his boyish looks, Becker has no dearth of female fans seeking a date with him. But he is reluctant to talk about his personal life.
'I've been in this business for a few years now,' he said. 'The one thing that I have learnt is to not talk about my personal life.'
For sure, he does not want to become a professional footballer.
'No way! Acting is enough for me!' he said.
He gets his kicks from playing the violin and acting
KUNO Becker will never become a top professional footballer.
That's because his talent lies in the arts.
He has been playing the violin since the age of five and sharpened his skills on the instrument in Salzburg, Austria, and the Nacional de Musica in Mexico.
He learned acting at the CEA of Televisa in Mexico.
Becker said: 'I watch the sport on TV sometimes but I have never wanted to be a footballer.
'I studied classical music, rode horses and the like.
'The arts appeal to me naturally.'
Football, though, is not a new experience to Becker.
As a kid, he played the sport in school.
His hero was Hugo Sanchez, the legendary Mexican striker who used to play for Spanish club Real Madrid.
But as he grew up, the arts caught his imagination more.
Acting in Goal! has stirred his passion for the game again.
The Playstation 2 fanatic even got his name included in the starting lineup in the game Fifa 2005.
But the filming took a heavy toll on his body.
He sustained a bad ankle injury, among several minor ones.
Like a professional footballer, however, he shrugged off the injury and got on with business.
Breaking into a smile, he said: 'I love this job. I want to do as many scenes as I can.
'The fact that this is a trilogy makes it even more enjoyable.'
