KB ENTREVISTAS / INTERVIEWS

 

In an exclusive interview with FIFA, Kuno Becker gives us his unique insight on Goal 2 – and why he feels that David Beckham would be his ideal team-mate.

Sitting in the luxurious surroundings of a first-floor suite at the Dorchester Hotel in London, Kuno Becker looks relaxed and happy. The success of the first part of Goal! has made him globally recognised and his excitement at the release of this new film is plain for all to see.

In an exclusive interview with FIFA, the Mexico City born actor and star of the film gives us his unique insight on the second part of the trilogy – and why he feels that David Beckham would be his ideal team-mate.

FIFA: Kuno, you looked as though you had a lot of fun in making the film…
Kuno Becker: That’s because I did! Thanks to FIFA we got amazing access to Real Madrid – and people will see that when they come to watch the film. I really believe that we’re making history with this film, because it’s the first time somebody has done something like this – especially as it includes so many well-known football stars who are playing today including David Beckham, Raul and Ronaldo.

In our interview just before the first part was released – you said that you thought the second part was going to be better than the first – do you stand by that?
I’m gonna tell you why the second film is better than the first – there’s more conflict in this film – and so it’s more realistic. The football sequences are beautiful, the soundtrack is amazing and the whole thing has come together to create a very special film. I think the audience is really going to get into this – the relationships between Santiago and Roz and Santiago and his mother are really quite intense – and Jaime, the director, has brought that out really well.

The film brings out the whole spectrum of emotions for Santiago – how difficult was that to do?
Playing Santiago is a real challenge, but also what I liked about this film is that Santiago loses his innocence. He loses his grounding, he loses his sense of perspective and he’s quite clearly not able to cope with the money and fame which comes from being a football star. He’s also not able to deal with conflict – so, when relationships change – he struggles to adapt. It makes it very interesting for the audience.

Before the first film you broke both of your ankles, suffered countless bruises and muscle tears. Was the second part as tough on your body?
Thankfully not! I trained for about two and a half months for the first film and I spent about the same amount of time getting in shape for this one. It was tough. For me, the training has been the most difficult thing about appearing in the two films. When I was young, I didn’t play too much football and now I have to play as though I’m as good as Real Madrid’s star striker! I’m nowhere near as good of course, but it’s been fun trying.

What's easier - learning to speak English - or learning to play professional football?
Trying to learn soccer skills is way, way more difficult than learning English. I grew up studying music and learning to play the violin. Learning English was something fun for me – I’d already learnt how to speak German, so that helped incredibly. Football was tough, but I do love the game now. I’d always liked it, but now I like it because I understand it more, much more because of these films

You can say a line and the director may ask you to repeat it - but how difficult is it to repeat a good piece of play?
It was extremely difficult for me to do things on demand, but in the second film I did a lot more things than in the first one...and so I kept training, kept training and kept training.

What was it like training alongside the Real Madrid players?
It was great – incredibly fun. They were open, relaxed and they were really humble and nice people. To have them in the film gives it an amazing sense of realism, that has never been seen before in a football film, because this is a fusion of fiction and reality – which is something that has never been seen before.

If you could pick one to be in a team with you, who would it be?
It would be David Beckham, because I think he’d be a really good team-mate. I know he’s one of the world’s most famous footballers, but he is incredibly down to earth. He’s easy to talk to – and he was extremely helpful to the team when we made this film. But I have to stress that he’s not just a good guy, he’s also an amazing footballer. Every time we were there, he would do something amazing for Real Madrid – he’d provide an excellent cross for the strikers or score a great goal. I hope people appreciate his talent.

There's a lot of talk in England about David Beckham moving to Hollywood - as well as being a fantastic footballer, do you think he has what it takes to be a movie star?
Why not? I wanted to be an actor when I was a musician. I started playing the violin when I was six years old and I did it for ten years. When I said that I wanted to be an actor, people thought I was crazy, but look at me now – I’ve been lucky, I’m here now – so why not? He’s done a good job in Goal. He’s used to the cameras and you’ll never know. He’s got more chance of making it as an actor than I have of being a footballer.

Can you see similarities between famous footballers and film stars?
Fame, popularity, money – and how they deal with it, especially for a guy who comes from a simple background, like Santiago. It’s difficult. It would really change them – and distract them from what’s really important in life.

I have a lot more respect for footballers now. They work so hard in perfecting their talent – and it is a beautiful game. It’s a bit like chess – you have to put a lot of thought into the tactics and you need to make the right moves. It’s not just about running with a ball. It’s about technique, different skills and a lot of heart.

 

Goal!2 – Living The Dream follows the adventures of footballing prodigy Santiago Munez (Kuno Becker) as he secures a dream move from Newcastle United to Real Madrid. Reunited with former teammate Gavin Harris (Alessandro Nivola) this change puts a strain on his relationship with girlfriend Ros (Anna Friel), just one of the pressures he has to contend with as he achieves superstar status.

Goal! 2 is the second film in a trilogy of footballing dramas, and is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, whose previous feature credit is House of Wax.  

So what changes do we see in Santiago as he's transferred from Newcastle United to Real Madrid in Goal! 2: Live The Dream?

Well this is when he becomes a major soccer star, this is edgier and a little bit more of a realistic film. I think it's a lot better. [Director] Jaume [Collet-Serra] is doing an amazing job, he's a lot more visual. In the story there's always something happening, there's a lot of conflict. It's a little bit of the dark side of what happens in football. It's obviously not so extreme, but that's the kind of thing we want to show.

Does that means your character loses his innocence a little?

“Yeah, well we have to show something of what really happens, which is going a little bit crazy with all these things that come with being a famous footballer. Like getting all the money, and dealing with it. The girls and the cars and everything, the mansion. It’s not always so easy, people think it’s great and it’s fun but it’s a lot more complicated than that. We wanted to show that a little bit more.”

Is this then, with all that conflict and drama, more of an adventure for you second time around?

The first one is very nice because it's like a fairytale, and it's very positive, just a nice film. And it's a lot of fun, which I think is great. The second one is also that but it's a little bit more the other side, which is the dark side. Going a little bit crazy with the fame and popularity and all that.

Do we get to see you in action on the pitch?

Yeah, a lot more than I wanted to! We're going to see my character on the field, and Alessandro [Nivola – cast as Gavin Harris] a lot more. We have a couple of new characters too, so it's going to be a lot more fun for the audience.

Did you ask some of the footballers you worked with for their stories, as any kind of research?

I didn't have to, just by watching them and just by being around them a little bit before we starting shooting the first one, you saw it. And when we shot this second one in Madrid you can see a lot of things happening, you see attitudes and you can see people changing a little bit. I thought it was more interesting to see my character change than to see him become successful and everything be alright. So I think this is something good.

Has your involvement in these films improved your footballing skills?

I did improve. I really sucked when I started and now I'm just bad. That's something, I suppose, I'm not at the same super bad level.

Had the Real Madrid players seen the first film?

Yeah, and they loved it actually. It's funny, once people see it they like it, so that's a good thing. The problem is taking them to see it. Everybody thinks that it's just about football but it's not, it's a story about relationships, it's about what happens inside the world of football but we have great football action also. It's just not all about that.

Does Santiago's relationship with Ros – played by Anna Friel – change too then?

She has a much bigger role now, she's great, and yes there is a little bit more conflict. The first one was more about falling in love, and everything is cool and achieving that goal. Now in the second one it's about what happens with one of these guys when he becomes a huge star. Most of the time they come from very simple backgrounds, which makes it a lot more interesting I think. They're thrown into a totally different environment. This guy I play was a gardener from East Los Angeles a little more than a year ago, and then he becomes a super successful millionaire with cars and everything. All the women want to be with him, and that brings a lot more trouble to his life than in the first one.

There was a story, of course, when David Beckham was signed by Real Madrid that Victoria wasn't keen on moving...

It's exactly the same in our story. We were supposed to be living in Newcastle and then we have to move to Madrid and that brings more conflict to the relationship, it changes everything. And if you really think about it that's the way it is. It's not just becoming successful and everything being cool, there's a lot more to it than that. I think that's the great thing about the second film, we have that conflict, the other women, the money, we have him changing in his personality and that's also a conflict. I think that's more interesting for people to watch.

Is Beckham in this film?

Yeah he's going to be in it, as – briefly – are Ronaldo, Zidane, Raul and others.

Jonathan Woodgate, famously, was signed by Real Madrid from Newcastle United – did you speak with him at all?

We spoke, it's fun because it's a little bit like his story. And Michael Owen moved from Madrid to Newcastle, which is sort of vice versa. It's what happens.

Which footballers do you admire?

That's a good question. I've never been a football fan. I can say it now, but to get the part I had to lie to the director and the producers and say I was a fan. But what I love about this project is when I read the script I liked the story, that's what was wonderful about it. You don't have to like football to like the story, which is great. Otherwise why make a football film? You can watch it on tv. I read the script and I thought it was great and that's why I wanted to do it. I also wanted to do it because the character is very different from me.

You obviously had to work hard at your football to convince the producers on the first film then, did you?

I really had to train – I broke my ankle, nose, pulled every muscle you can imagine, and I still can't play, but I'm improving. Physically it was the hardest thing I've ever done, that's why I had to lie to everybody. When I first met them I was like ‘yeah I love football'. They said ‘what do you play?' I said ‘err, football'. I didn't know what positions there were or anything. I had to go and see a friend and get him to tell me everything about it because I didn't know. I had to really lie.

But you were not completely ignorant, were you?

I saw football when I was a kid. I'm from Mexico and everybody loves football there, but I couldn't really play. They asked me a question, and I said yes. But they didn't say ‘are you a professional footballer?'. That's a whole different question, right? So actually I didn't lie at all.