David Beckham is an internationally recognized and celebrated figure. He’s an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, a member of the English Football Hall of Fame, and he consistently ranks high on lists of the world’s most “influential” people. What’s crowded out by the honorifics is Beckham’s backstory—and what a story it is. Born of humble origins in Leytonstone, London, he had few advantages. But his immense talent, combined with a measure of luck and an uncommon tenacity, kickstarted a career that is arguably the greatest in all of English football (despite a fair share of hiccups, both on-field and in the public arena, which he overcame not without strain). Beckham, a new docuseries directed by the Academy Award-winning Fisher Stevens, covers the former footballer’s life and career. The show stars Beckham himself and includes never-before-seen archival footage. —Jack Sullivan