Despite his matinee-idol looks, David Beckham's acting skills have hitherto lain deeply buried. Now, however, it has been revealed that the footballing star is to appear on the silver screen in the $100m football trilogy Goal!

He and fellow Real Madrid galacticos Zinedine Zidane and Raul are, admittedly, not being asked to stretch their acting imaginations terribly far: they will play themselves in the films.

The trilogy charts a talented footballer from east Los Angeles, played by Y Tu Mamá También star Diego Luna, as he rises from the barrio to the giddy heights of Newcastle United, before being transferred to Real Madrid. The final part takes place during the 2006 World Cup.

"I want to be involved in youth coaching when I finally hang up my boots, and I believe that the Goal! trilogy will provide a positive message to kids around the world," Beckham told Variety magazine.

St James' Park forms the backdrop to a significant portion of the trilogy, and the Mexico City-born Luna, apparently already an accomplished amateur footballer, has been training with the players in advance of filming, which begins in January.

The first movie will be released next August, as the season starts, and the second just before the World Cup. The finale will be shot during that tournament.

Directing the movie is Briton Danny Cannon (a keen footballer himself), who was brought on board at the last minute after Michael Winterbottom amicably withdrew from the £56m films this summer after it became clear that his pseudo-documentary style was out of kilter with the glossier product required by the producers.