Premier League footballers today are known for far more than just kicking a ball.
From fashion week collaborations to influencing music, the modern day footballer has evolved into a global celebrity that often rivals Hollywood actors, but with that comes an intense level of public scrutiny.
However, for one actor who portrays Harry Maguire in the BBC’s upcoming stage adaptation Dear England, written by James Graham, the hardest part about assuming the life of a professional footballer was… well, actually kicking a ball.
‘I’m rubbish at football, so for me the football boot camp we did was hell,’ Adam Hugill told Metro ahead of his appearance as the Manchester United defender in the upcoming four-part series.
‘But I now have a real respect for the life [a footballer] leads. Yes, they get paid an astronomically crazy amount of money.
‘But their life is extremely regimented… the amount of training, the amount of hours that they have to put in is unbelievable, the physical toll on their body, their minds, the pressure. It must be unbelievable.’
Adam, who played Harry in James’s stage production, also added: ‘Even though [Maguire] is at the top of his game and he’s the captain of Manchester United, he’s getting so much hate and abuse and stress. Having to still perform with all of that must be unbelievable.’
Written by Graham and directed by Rupert Goold and Paul Whittington, Dear England chronicles Gareth Southgate’s journey as England manager, following him taking over from Sam Allardyce.
Attempting a different approach to previous managers in the past, Southgate tries to break a painful cycle of tournament failures and redefine English national identity using psychologist Pippa Grange (Jodie Whittaker).
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Discussing the challenge of playing a professional footballer, screen newcomer Lewis Shepherd talked about reprising his Dele Alli character.
‘I did as much research as I could but there’s quite limited interviews of football players where they’re not in an interview version of themselves,’ he told Metro.
‘But [footballers] are just normal people, so remembering that freed me up because there is no way in which I could perform as Dele because of what we see of him in professional interviews.’
Hostage star Josh Barrow, who plays England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and was another actor that featured in the play, also described the difficulties of moving from the stage to the screen.
‘Pickford as a player when he’s on the pitch lends himself very well to theatre. He’s quite theatrical,’ he told Metro.
‘I worked with an acting coach to take what I built on stage and bring it all down because I didn’t want to lose the essence of what I had already.
‘I don’t like to think that we’re doing impersonations of these people because I think you get into tricky territory then. But they are kind of fictionalised versions of real life people and obviously inspired by all of their mannerisms all of them.’
Josh also added that Dear England is ‘about men’s mental health through the lens of football’ and it all stems from Gareth’s personal trauma.
Opening with his infamous missed penalty in 1996, the series touches on Southgate’s appointment in 2016 through to current manager Thomas Tuchel taking over.
Within that, we also see on-pitch triumphs and heartbreaks from the 2018 and 2022 World Cup and Euro 2020 and 2024.
After opening with Southgate’s infamous missed penalty in 1996, the series touches on Southgate’s appointment in 2016 through to current manager Thomas Tuchel taking over.
Dear England is available to watch on BBC One and iPlayer at 9pm on Sunday 24th May.
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