Football Muse Meets: Anson Boon – MobLand actor talks Tottenham and becoming mates with Thomas Tuchel

The latest guest in our Football Muse series is actor Anson Boon, whose star is on the rise after leading parts in Disney+ series Pistol and the Paramount+ hit MobLand.

Away from the screen, Boon is a Tottenham Hotspur fan and joined us to talk about his football memories, support for Spurs, and becoming friends with Thomas Tuchel.

Why did you start supporting Tottenham and what are your earliest football memories? Any childhood heroes?

My Mum’s family are all from Tottenham, and my late Grandad was a Spurs fan. I felt a real connection to the club through my family.

I grew up out of London and whenever I went to a football match it was my local club - Peterborough United.

My Dad and brother actually support Aston Villa, so it was better as a family to gather and support our local team. I started going to White Hart Lane regularly alone when I was 16, and it was all about Harry Kane.

What’s your most vivid memory as a Tottenham fan?

I have a few, but there are two highlights. The first is our 2018/19 Champions League campaign. The journey to the final was just incredible. Obviously we all know how it sadly ended. My second has to be going to watch the England team train at Hotspur Way earlier this year.

I became mates with Thomas Tuchel after sitting near him on a flight back to London after filming MobLand in Mallorca, and he was a big fan of the show.

After telling him I was a Spurs fan he invited me to watch the squad train at Spurs’ training facilities. It was incredible to see the set-up Spurs have, it’s extraordinary, and getting to see Kane and all the boys train up close and chat to them afterwards was an experience I will never forget.

How happy were you to see Harry Kane win the Ballon d'Or?

Ecstatic! There is nobody more deserving. The GOAT.

It's been a tough couple of seasons for Spurs, are you confident Roberto De Zerbi can get things right? What did you make of the summer spending and signings?

I’ve spent many years as a Spurs fan perfecting the art of optimism! Our last few performances have been really encouraging, and De Zerbi is obviously a top manager.

We have a great squad, and I’m particularly excited about our younger players. It was great that we held on to Van De Ven, Bergvall and Archie Gray. They are all top players and they’re going to play a big part in the club’s future.

An opposition player you secretly admire?

Not necessarily an opposition player, but Jack Grealish was my favourite footballer growing up. I was always excited when I saw rumours of Spurs eyeing him up over the years.

If you could score any goal in football history, which one would you choose?

I was stood right behind the goal in 2019 when Heung-Min Son ran the length of the pitch in a game against Burnley at White Hart Lane (I’ll always call our stadium that) and scored that incredible solo goal.

I’ll never forget it - pure magic.

If you could have watched any football game in history live, which one and why?

I have loads of photos at home of my Mum and her huge family celebrating Tottenham’s successes in the ‘80s on the Tottenham High Road at the victory parades. It would’ve been great to be there and see those games live, and watch players like Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa.

If you could portray anyone in football for a project, who would it be?

Gazza springs to mind. Although I always get told I look like Frenkie De Jong…