Here’s David Beckham’s surprise cameo in King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword explained. Since his directorial debut with 1998’s Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels - which also marked the first screen appearance of future action star Jason Statham - Guy Ritchie’s career has been anything but dull. He’s weathered critically panned flops like Swept Away and Revolver to scale blockbuster heights with 2019’s Aladdin or his Sherlock Holmes duology.

Guy Ritchie also occasionally returns to his gangster film roots with projects like RocknRolla or The Gentlemen. King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword was intended to be the first chapter in a six-part franchise from the filmmaker, but despite having a quality cast that included Jude Law and Charlie Hunnam, the movie was a bomb upon release. It offered Ritchie’s flair for visuals but the story was lacking.

While Guy Ritchie’s 2015 take on The Man From U.N.C.L.E. underperformed, it’s built a real following since its release, with fans still calling for a sequel. While he’s not terribly visible during his cameo, football star David Beckham made an appearance in the spy film as a projectionist during a briefing scene. Beckham obviously enjoyed working with Ritchie, as he reappeared in a slightly bigger role in King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword.

Early on in King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword, Arthur (Charlie Hunnam) is forced - alongside all men in his age range - by King Vortigern’s Blacklegs to try and remove a magical sword from a stone. Arthur pushes through the line to get this over with and asks the Blackleg’s leader Trigger what he’s supposed to do. Trigger is played by David Beckham in prosthetics, and while Ritchie intended for the famously handsome football star to be nearly unrecognizable, his distinct voice gives him away. He tells Arthur to use both hands on the sword’s hilt and pull, though the last thing he, his men, or Arthur himself were expecting was that he’d actually succeed in retrieving it.

While David Beckham’s cameo in King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword was distracting to some and even received some bad reviews, he’s fine in the role. Trigger is ultimately a tiny part and for what’s he’s given to do, he does a decent job. Beckham hasn’t done much in the way of acting work since, though he has appeared as himself in an episode of Modern Family and an advert for Deadpool 2, where he dares to insult Ryan Reynold’s comic “masterpiece” Boltneck.

Next: Where King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword Was Filmed (All Locations)