"Showbiz" Beckham goes all "Mickey Mouse"!!

Bronco Becks has a knight out at Disney

By RICHARD SIMPSON - More by this author » Last updated at 00:15am on 27th January 2007 Comments

Clutching a sword in one hand and a lucrative contract - sorry, shield - in the other, David Beckham gallops straight into a high-profile American endorsement deal.

Although playing down accusations that his impending move to Los Angeles owes more to showbusiness than football, here he is on a white charger all dressed up in doublet and hose to advertise Disney.

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In the picture, by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz, Beckham portrays the dragon-slaying Prince Philip from Sleeping Beauty.

The 31-year-old former England captain - who two weeks ago signed a £127 million deal with the LA Galaxy soccer club - appears with singer Beyonce Knowles, country star Lyle Lovett and actors Scarlett Johansson and Oliver Platt in the Disney campaign.

It will be featured in the March issues of U.S. magazines including Vanity Fair, GQ, Vogue, W, The New Yorker, Conde Nast Traveler and Cookie.

As Beckham's equestrian extravaganza was unveiled, friends revealed that he has been taking lessons to lower the pitch of his voice and is studying method acting.

It was also reported that he and his wife Victoria are considering an offer to star in their own fly-on-the-wall TV show when they move to Los Angeles.

It would be modelled on The Osbournes, which featured rocker Ozzy Osbourne and his dysfunctional family.