David Beckham was among the stars celebrating with British snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan at the UK premiere of his new documentary.
Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge Of Everything tells the behind-the-scenes story of his quest to claim a record-equalling seventh World Snooker Championship and was produced by former England footballer Beckham’s Studio 99.
It is set for release on Prime Video on November 23.
Wearing a navy suit, Beckham led the star-studded premiere at the Odeon Luxe West End in London’s Leicester Square on Tuesday, alongside his son Cruz Beckham, England footballer Alessia Russo and The Rolling Stones singer Ronnie Wood.
Wood, 76, said “some people are born with a magic touch” when describing his friend O’Sullivan.
“I love his spirit, the way he keeps coming back and he may get depressed from time to time but he has a magic way of handling life on life’s terms and funnelling his energy into the sport that only he knows,” he told the PA news agency.
“The way he plays is just so special.
“We all know he’s had his ups and downs, but none of us know exactly to what extent and I think this documentary will explain that a bit.”
Wood appeared at the event on the same day The Rolling Stones announced a tour through North America off the back of their recent album, Hackney Diamonds.
Russo said O’Sullivan has “left a legacy for years” having consistently performed under “the highest pressure”.
On making the documentary, O’Sullivan said there were “challenging times” when he was asked about what he was feeling at the time but he feels “comfortable” putting it out for the world to see.
“I broke down, there was a lot of moments that you’ve forgotten about and you don’t really talk about, but once it’s brought up it hits home to you,” he told PA.
Meanwhile director Sam Blair, who was behind the Maradona 86 short film, said O’Sullivan was “top” of the list of people he wanted to make a documentary about – “sportspeople or otherwise”.
He told PA: “It’s just all the contradictions in Ronnie, the work of genius mixed with the down-to-earth-ness, the love and the hate of his sport.
“I think people have sort of puzzled over Ronnie for decades now, fascinated by him, entertained by him, confused by him. So for me as a filmmaker it just felt like there was so much to explore.”
The UK premiere comes after defending champion O’Sullivan withdrew from snooker’s Champion of Champions event on the eve of his opening match in Bolton last week.
The seven-time world champion wrote on X, former known as Twitter, that he was feeling “drained and stressed” and wanted to look after his mental health and body.