Romeo Beckham has given fans their first proper look at his acting debut, and it’s safe to say he’s not easing himself into the profession.
The 24-year-old son of Sir David Beckham and Victoria Beckham stars in the upcoming French romantic thriller Forty Love, which sees him embark on a passionate relationship with a male tennis rival.
And judging by the newly released trailer, things are about to get very steamy – and rather bloody.
The teaser, which dropped on Thursday, shows Romeo sharing a passionate kiss with co-star Paul Kircher, who plays rising tennis sensation Sacha Gallo.
Romeo plays a charismatic newcomer who threatens Sacha’s carefully planned career, although it quickly becomes clear that their rivalry extends well beyond the tennis court.
In one particularly charged exchange, Romeo’s character taunts Sacha: ‘It’s not my fault if you’re f*****g in love with me.’
Elsewhere, the pair are seen lying together in bed beneath an intense red light, while their increasingly complicated relationship appears to blur the lines between attraction and obsession.
And if the film initially sounds like a French answer to Zendaya’s raunchy tennis drama Challengers, the trailer suggests things are about to take a considerably darker turn.
At one point, Romeo’s character is shown unconscious as Sacha drags him into a hotel room.
Another disturbing sequence appears to show Romeo lying motionless on a tennis court while Sacha straddles him and seemingly devours his bloodied organs.
‘I think I killed him!’ Sacha confesses in another scene.
So, perhaps not your typical sporting romance.
The trailer also offers a glimpse of Romeo’s character’s rather ruthless competitive streak.
‘Sleep with your eyes open, I’m coming for you,’ he warns his opponent during a heated encounter.
In another scene, he delivers the cutting assessment: ‘You know, everyone does say you’re boring, and I think they’re right.’
While Kircher’s character speaks French throughout the film, Romeo delivers his dialogue in English. And although this marks his first professional acting role, the former footballer appears to be putting his sporting background to good use.
Romeo previously pursued a career in football, playing for Brentford’s B team before leaving the sport in 2024 to focus on fashion.
However, football wasn’t his only childhood sporting ambition.
The Beckham offspring also trained seriously in tennis when he was younger, with a coach reportedly describing his abilities as ‘extraordinary’ when he was just 12.
Now, more than a decade later, those lessons appear to have come in handy for his unexpected career change.
His girlfriend Kim Turnbull was among those showing their support for the project, liking the trailer after its release.
First announced in June, Forty Love follows gifted young tennis player Sacha Gallo, whose father has spent years preparing him to become a champion.
With his sights set on winning a major tournament in Paris, Sacha’s future appears mapped out until the arrival of a handsome new competitor threatens to derail everything.
As the pair’s sporting rivalry develops into an intense romantic entanglement, Sacha finds himself confronting feelings that prove considerably harder to control than his backhand.
The official synopsis explains: ‘For the first time, he faces an opponent of an entirely different nature – love. A force as exhilarating as it is destabilising – and far more dangerous than anything he has encountered on the court.’
The film is directed by fashion photographer Pierre-Ange Carlotti and also stars French cinema heavyweights Catherine Deneuve, Guillaume Canet and Benjamin Voisin.
Producer Hugo Sélignac previously described the project as a ‘sensual, romantic and deeply moving romantic fable and coming-of-age story’ exploring the pressures of professional sport.
Meanwhile, Studiocanal’s Chloé Marquet praised the director’s distinctive approach to the story.
‘Carlotti’s singular visual language gives the film a real edge, while its exploration of desire, competition and identity will resonate with audiences worldwide,’ she said.
The project also sees Romeo following a familiar Hollywood trend, with homoerotic sports dramas enjoying a surge in popularity following the success of Challengers and Heated Rivalry.
But for the middle Beckham son, Forty Love represents a particularly significant departure from his previous work.
After stepping away from football, Romeo established himself in the fashion industry, working with luxury brands including Burberry, Yves Saint Laurent and Balenciaga.
He made his runway debut at Balenciaga’s spring/summer 2025 show in Paris in October 2024, before walking for Versace at Milan Fashion Week.
Now he’s hoping to make an equally memorable impression on the big screen.
Forty Love is scheduled to arrive in French cinemas on November 25, although a UK release date has yet to be announced.
And with his first acting role involving everything from passionate kisses to apparent cannibalism, Romeo certainly can’t be accused of playing it safe.
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