The perils of switching from sports field to silver screen as David Beckham 'considers' role in spy film

David Beckham is said to be considering a film role in The Secret Service (Getty)

As if David Beckham didn’t have enough opportunities to show off his image, he is now said to be considering a film role in The Secret Service.

According to The Sun, Colin Firth approached him to appear in the new Matthew Vaughn spy thriller. Before that, he was also praised by the producer Harvey Weinstein. “I am a real fan,” he said. “I think he could do anything he wants in TV and film.”

Although this is only for a one-off cameo at the moment, if Beckham, right, makes a go of it, he would join a long list of other athletes-turned-actors. He could take counsel from Vinnie Jones, who went from footballer to actor and is still going strong 15 years after his debut in Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Johnny Weissmuller won six Olympic swimming medals before finding even more fame as Tarzan in the 1930s and 40s. Ben Johnson was a former rodeo performer who went on to win an Oscar in 1972 for The Last Picture Show. And Steven Seagal and Chuck Norris were both martial artists before movie stars.

There are also the cautionary tales. Take Bruce Jenner, who went from being an Olympian to a reality star as the stepfather of the Kardashian daughters.

Or former American football star OJ Simpson, whose last movie scene sees him being chased by Lt Frank Drebin through a hospital in Naked Gun 33 1/3. Not long after, he was back on screens being chased by police in real life, who were investigating the death of his estranged wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman.