See the ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ cast, then and now

Parminder Nagra as Jess Kaur Bhamra

English actress Parminder Nagra had primarily acted on U.K. television when Chadha offered her a starring role in Bend It Like Beckham.

„Gurinder approached me and said, ‘I’m thinking of doing this film about an Indian girl who plays soccer,’ and I was just like, ‘Why would anybody want to watch that?’ Nagra recalled to EW in a 2018 retrospective.

Chadha added, „I pretty much knew when I was writing it that I wanted to cast Parminder. When I met her, she said, ‘Oh, yeah, I know how to play football.’ Of course, she didn’t. But it was fine. I bought it.“

„Pretty and petite in a homespun way, Nagra’s Jess is also, at first, a bit passive and morose,“ wrote EW’s critic at the time. „Yet that’s all by design: She’s a girl who lets out her aggression only on the field, and the movie offers the delicious 21st-century paradox of a wallflower who is fully in touch with her inner soccer bruiser yet still in search of her inner woman.“

The year after Bend It Like Beckham‘s release, Nagra scored a leading role on ER (2003–2009), playing Dr. Neela Rasgotra across six seasons.

Since then, she’s played memorable roles on popular series such as The Blacklist (2013–2014), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2016–2017), and 13 Reasons Why (2018–2020). In recent years, she’s appeared on British series such as DI Ray (2022–2024) and Maternal (2023).

In 2009, Nagra married photographer James Stenson at a ceremony officiated by her ER costar Maura Tierney. Nagra filed for divorce three years later, citing „irreconcilable differences.“ She and Stenson share a son, Kai David Singh Stenson.

Keira Knightley as Jules Paxton

Keira Knightley, the daughter of showbiz parents, worked steadily as a child actor and even snagged a small role in The Phantom Menace (1999) before her breakout as Jules in Bend It Like Beckham.

In a 2023 chat on The Tonight Show, Knightley recalled how she was as surprised as anyone by the film’s success. „I literally remember telling people I was doing it and it’s called Bend It Like Beckham, and them going, ‘Oh that’s really embarrassing,’ she told host Jimmy Fallon. „And they were all like, ‘Don’t worry. Nobody will see it. It’s fine.'“

She continued, „No, but it was the idea of it because, you know, women’s soccer was not as big back then, and so the idea of the whole thing was sort of ridiculous.“

Since then, Knightley has been nominated for two Academy Awards for her work in Pride and Prejudice (2005) and The Imitation Game (2014), as well as four Golden Globes and a Laurence Olivier Award. In 2018, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for, as the BBC put it, „services to drama and charity.“

Audiences also recognize her as Elizabeth Swann in four Pirates of the Caribbean films (2003–2017).

In recent years, Knightley has been open about her struggles navigating Hollywood as a young actress. „It was a very violent, misogynistic atmosphere,“ she told the Los Angeles Times in 2024. „It was a brutal time to be a young woman in the public eye.“

Currently, she stars on the Netflix spy series Black Doves (2024–present) and will next appear opposite Guy Pearce and Hannah Waddingham in the film The Woman in Cabin 10.

Archie Panjabi as „Pinky“ Kaur Bhamra

Archie Panjabi costarred in Bend It Like Beckham as Pinky, Jess’ older sister and bride-to-be.

„What I loved about my character was that she still ended up having an arranged marriage and was quite Indian and proud of it, but she’s also vivacious and feisty and mouthy and obsessed with boys and makeup,“ Panjabi told EW in 2018. „It kind of broke [the mold of] a lot of the Indian characters we’d seen… up to that point.“

A veteran of U.K. television before the film, Panjabi would go on to collaborate on multiple projects with acclaimed filmmaker Michael Winterbottom, including Code 46 (2003) and A Mighty Heart (2007). She’s also worked with Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener), Ridley Scott (A Good Year), and Amy Heckerling (I Could Never Be Your Woman).

Panjabi is likely best known, however, for her work on series like Life on Mars (2006–2007) and as investigator Kalinda Sharma on The Good Wife (2009–2015), the latter of which earned her three Emmy nominations and one win.

Recently, she led season 3 of TNT’s Snowpiercer (2022) and played The Rani on the latest iteration of Doctor Who (2025).

Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Joe

Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers had already worked with impressive filmmakers like Neil Jordan (Michael Collins), Todd Haynes (Velvet Goldmine), and Julie Taymor (Titus) when he starred as Coach Joe, the object of many girls’ affections, in Bend It Like Beckham.

He’d continue to appear in acclaimed movies from Oliver Stone (Alexander), Woody Allen (Match Point), and J.J. Abrams (Mission: Impossible III).

The actor truly made his name, however, with a pair of TV performances. In 2006, he won a Golden Globe for his leading turn as Elvis Presley in the CBS miniseries Elvis (2005). The following year, he scored the role of King Henry VIII on Showtime’s The Tudors (2007–2010), for which he was nominated for two additional Golden Globes.

In the years since, Rhys Meyers starred as the titular bloodsucker on NBC’s Dracula (2013–2014), and recurred as Bishop Heahmund on the History Channel’s Vikings (2017–2019). He also remains active in film, recently starring in The Clean Up Crew and Operation Blood Hunt, both released in 2024.

Shaznay Lewis as Mel Goines

Shaznay Lewis has only appeared in two films: Hideous Man and Bend It Like Beckham, both released in 2002. She’s best known as a singer, songwriter, and veteran of the chart-topping girl group All Saints, which she formed with Melanie Blatt in 1993.

Chadha spoke about casting Lewis as Hounslow Harriers’ captain Mel Goines in a 2002 chat with the BBC. „I’m very particular about casting and I pay a lot of attention to it,“ she said. „With Shaznay, I’d read that she’d played a bit of football and sent her the script. She really loved it and wanted to start off with a small role. I was really impressed with her, she did a fabulous job and was there training with everyone else in the hot sun.“

Lewis released her first solo album, Open, in 2004, though she later lamented to Line of Best Fit that it was a disappointing experience, as the album was „under so many constraints.“ She added, „I was quite lost, when I look back. I didn’t really know what I was doing.”

She would go on to reunite with All Saints, releasing three more LPs, headlining multiple tours, and opening for the likes of the Backstreet Boys and Take That. She also penned several singles for various artists, including a collaboration with actor Idris Elba on the theme song to Netflix’s 2019 series Turn Up Charlie.

In 2024, two decades after the release of One, she dropped her second solo album, Pages.

She shares two children, a boy and a girl, with husband Christian Horsfall.

Anupam Kher as Mohaan Singh Bhamra

Anupam Kher’s long career in Hindi cinema spans over 540 films. He’s also received numerous awards from the Government of India for his work in the arts.

He’d been acting in Hindi films and TV for two decades when he costarred in Bend It Like Beckham as the overprotective father of Jess and Pinky, who EW’s critic described in their review as „[sitting] around in his uniform and red turban, the outfit an emblem of his torn cultural allegiance.“

In a 2024 interview, the actor admitted that Bend It Like Beckham was a „tough“ role for him, if only because he had to perform in English. „I think in Hindi and my thought process is a reflection of the language I speak,“ he explained. „To climb mountains in Uunchai was also a task. Every movie is difficult. Sometimes, it is also difficult to play the role of a common man.”

Kher has remained prolific in Hindi films in the decades since Bend It Like Beckham. He also appeared in Western projects like Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution (2007) and David O. Russell’s Oscar-winning Silver Linings Playbook (2012).

Shaheen Khan as Sukhi Kaur Bhamra

English actress Shaheen Khan, who features as Jess and Pinky’s mother, had previously worked with Chadha on 1993’s Bhaji on the Beach.

The pair would reunite on future projects, including The Mistress of Spices (2005) and It’s a Wonderful Afterlife (2010). Khan, too, recently costarred with Nagra on the 2023 ITV series Maternal.

Khan’s other notable credits include the British sitcom The Reluctant Landlord (2018) and over 70 episodes of the BBC drama Apple Tree House (2019).

Juliet Stevenson as Paula Paxton

The Emmy- and BAFTA-nominated actress Juliet Stevenson steals scenes in Bend It Like Beckham as Jules’ mother, Paula. EW’s critic lauded the „sublime terror“ played by Stevenson when she frets that Jules and Jess are lesbians.

In a 2024 interview with The Guardian, Stevenson named the film as one of the projects she’s most proud of being in. „I loved being in Bend It Like Beckham, where I play Keira Knightley’s mum – I based her on a mum I was very fond of at the school my kids went to, who was always turning up late in a panic, always made up to the nines,“ she said. „I think Gurinder Chadha genuinely made a huge contribution to the way that girls’ football is perceived in this country 20-odd years ago. To do so in a film that was also a fascinating exploration of what it is to grow up as a British Asian kid [in a Sikh family] was brilliant too. All credit to her.“

Stevenson has worked steadily in film, TV, and theater in the decades since Bend It Like Beckham. Her highlights include a starring role as Mother Teresa in 2014’s The Letters and leading turns on British series The Village (2013–2014) and Atlantis (2013–2015).

In recent years, she appeared on episodes of Showtime’s The Man Who Fell to Earth (2022) and Marvel’s Secret Invasion (2023), and won a Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for her acclaimed turn in the 2019 play The Doctor.

She’ll next star opposite Game of Thrones‘ Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Emma of Normandy on the BBC One historical series King and Conquerer.

Frank Harper as Alan Paxton

Frank Harper costarred as Jules’ soccer-loving dad, Alan, in Bend It Like Beckham.

In the years since, the English performer has played several tough-as-nails characters on popular British series like Waking the Dead (2005), Collision (2009), and Ripper Street (2013). He’s also known for his leading turn in the 2004 sports drama The Football Factory, on which he was also an associate producer.

In 2012, he wrote, directed, and starred in St. George’s Day, a gangster film costarring the likes of Charles Dance, Dexter Fletcher, and Keeley Hazell.

Ameet Chana as Tony

Actor and DJ Ameet Chana costarred in Bend It Like Beckham as Tony, a soccer pal of Jess’ whom her family sees as a potential suitor. Neither of them is interested, however, and Tony later comes out as gay.

In a 2023 interview with Metro, Chana called the film „magically timeless,“ adding, „On the surface, it’s about a young Indian girl who wants to play football but, subliminally, that film is about anyone who’s wanted to do something, who had restrictions in doing it, chasing their dream.“

A year after Bend It Like Beckham, Chana scored the role of Adi Ferreira on the long-running BBC One soap opera EastEnders (2003–2005). He also appeared in David Schwimmer’s 2007 comedy Run, Fat Boy, Run and a 2015 British horror film, Unhallowed Ground.

Since 2000, Chana has worked with the Rifco Theatre Company, where he currently serves as its associate director. He’s also the host of Bhangra Showdown on Sunrise Radio.

Kulvinder Ghir as Teetu

Prolific stage and screen actor Kulvinder Ghir appeared in Bend It Like Beckham as Teetu, the soon-to-be-husband of Panjabi’s Pinky.

„The story was… very simply and beautifully told,“ he said of the film in a 2003 BBC interview. „It worked on many different levels but it wasn’t being shoved down your throat. I really enjoyed dancing as well!“

Ghir is best known in the U.K. for the BBC sketch show Goodness Gracious Me (1998–2015), though he’s also a successful voice actor with credits on Postman Pat (2004–2017), Bob the Builder (2015–2017), and Thomas & Friends (2018–2020).

The performer reunited with Chana on her 2019 ITV series Beecham House, as well as the film Blinded By the Light, which was released the same year.

He’s taken on more live-action roles in recent years, with appearances on FX’s Black Narcissus (2020) and Apple TV+’s Foundation (2023).