David Beckham Says He’s a ‘Secure Person’ Amid Public Scrutiny, Talks Late-Night Motorcycle Rides with Pal Tom Cruise

“We’d just hang, no problems,” David Beckham said of his jaunts with close friend Tom Cruise

PHOTO: ALESDAIR MCLELLAN

From world-famous soccer star to Sexiest Man Alive and style icon, David Beckham has never shied away from the spotlight – but that doesn’t make living in it any easier.

Beckham, 40, opened up to GQ, in his first cover story for the magazine’s American edition, about how he’s learned to deal with living in the public eye and constant tabloid scrutiny over the years.

“I’m a secure person, as a husband, as a dad,” he said. “I’ve gone past the point of really worrying, caring.”

Beckham said that while it can be hard to balance his hectic work schedule at times, he tries to always keep his focus on his family and home life with wife Victoria Beckham and their four children, Brooklyn, 17, Romeo, 13, Cruz, 11, and Harper, 4.

“I get physically ill when I have to leave the kids now,” he said.

But once the kids are in bed, Beckham made it clear he doesn’t mind escaping for a little while – especially on invitation from Tom Cruise.

“Talk about a hard worker. He’d call at 11 at night, and we’d just hang, no problems, just riding our bikes,” Beckham said of his late-night motorcycle excursions with the Mission Impossible star while they both lived in L.A.

In addition to motorcycles, Beckham has long loved tattoos – and says he’s probably not done getting inked.

“The tattoos are a way of me expressing deeper feelings about the things I care about and love,” said Beckham, who already has 40 tattoos. “Am I done? Probably not … Think Victoria’s given up on telling me to stop now. She used to. She used to say, ‘Do you have to?’ But she knows it makes me happy.”

But while he’s relishing fatherhood and his other passions, he often finds himself daydreaming about his first true love: soccer.

“I miss soccer every day,” he said. “I don’t know whether it’s the athlete in me, or the passion I have for the game: I always think that I can step back on the field and play.”

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Beckham admits that if it weren’t for his kids, he would consider slipping back into his soccer jersey for one more year.

“You know, maybe I could play another year in the U.S. If I was still living in L.A., I’d probably really seriously think about coming back for a year,” he said. “But we’re living in London, and the kids are happy in the school.”

That includes oldest son Brooklyn, a burgeoning photographer and model who has grown up with the perks and drawbacks of living in the spotlight – just as his parents told him he would.

“We know he’s going to make his mistakes – and we know he’ll have opportunities because of us,” he says. “But he’s making opportunities for himself, too. So far we’ve been very lucky that he’s found a passion. Whether people believe it or not, he’s got talent. He’s got a great eye – and proven that in the images he’s taken.”