When it comes to famous people, they will often want to support a football club for one of two reasons: they have some sort of connection to the area or the club that they support has been successful in the past. With that in mind, you are going to struggle to find a football club able to win over people to support it better than Liverpool Football Club, which is the most successful club side in England. Not only that, but Liverpool as a city has produced its fair share of celebrities over the years, making it the ideal candidate for a famous supporter.
It is fair to say that no list about famous supporters of a football club will ever be exhaustive. Aside from anything else, each person’s idea of what makes someone ‘famous’ will differ from one to the next, whilst the level to which people support a club will also never be the same. Even so, here is a look at some of the most obvious and well-known candidates in the category of ‘Famous Liverpool Fans’, offering an explanation of why they support the Reds if that information is available:
Daniel Craig
If you want to talk about famous then you might well struggle to find someone better-known than an actor who played James Bond on film. Craig, many might not realise, actually grew up on the Wirral, having been born in Chester. He played Bond five times, starting with Casino Royale and lasting through to No Time to Die. He had been a Liverpool supporter since well before that, however, having been taken onto the Kop when he was five or six and going along to Anfield countless times since.
Damian Lewis
Actor Damian Lewis was born in London, but when he was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s the team that was winning the First Division on an almost yearly basis was Liverpool FC. As a result, he began supporting the club and continued to do so throughout his life. Even as he made it as an actor, appearing in the likes of Band of Brothers and Billions, he continued to follow the Reds and has been able to attend matches at Anfield on numerous occasions. He was even in Kyiv when Liverpool lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League final.
Liam Neeson
Whilst Liverpool might wish that they sometimes had players with a specific set of skills and supporters will shower the club with love, actually, actor Liam Neeson has been a long-term supporter of the Reds. Although the exact rationale behind him becoming a Liverpool fan isn’t clear, the reality is that most Irish people tend to end up supporting either the Merseyside club or else Manchester United. In fact, in an interview with ESPN many years ago he even said he might’ve been a Red Devils supporter if not for his kids.
Sanjeev Bhaskar
British-Indian actor, comedian and television presenter Sanjeev Bhaskar was born in Ealing, but decided to ignore all of his friends who supported Chelsea when he was growing up in West London. The fact that the club played its matches in Red, his favourite colour, alongside his love of The Beatles meant that he began supporting Liverpool when he was around five or six-years-old, continuing to support them for the rest of his life. He has been to Anfield several times and, like all good fans, indoctrinated his son too.
Mike Myers
Although Mike Myers is one of the most famous products of Canada, the actor and comedian was brought up in a household of parents from the Old Swan area of Liverpool. As a result, the idea of supporting the Reds was drilled into him from an early age, with Myers falling in love with the club and often watching them play. The star of the likes of Wayne’s World and Austin Powers has been known to drop into the likes of Carragher’s Bar in New York City to watch Liverpool matches with fellow supporters.
Jason Isaacs
If you want to know about famous Liverpool supporters then you might just want to say hello to Jason Isaacs. The star of films and TV shows like the Harry Potter series and The West Wing was born in Liverpool, following the club’s fortunes as he grew up. When the Reds eventually won the Premier League for the first time, securing the English top-flight title for the first time in 30 years, Isaacs was chosen by the BBC to narrate a documentary about the club’s fight to get back to the top.
Clive Owen
When it comes to narrating documentaries about Liverpool FC, Jason Isaacs isn’t the only actor to have done so. When the ill-fated Being: Liverpool was released not long after Fenway Sports Group had bought the club, Clive Owen was asked to voice the piece. That wasn’t just because of his smooth-sounding tones, but rather because he is one of the club’s most well-known supporters and a real one at that; no passing fad from Mr. Owen. The Golden Globe winning actor has been a life-long supporter, after all.
Elvis Costello
Although he was born and raised in London, Elvis Costello is considered by some to be an adopted Scouser. The musician, who was born into a musical family, can attribute his support for the Reds to the fact that both of his parents were from Liverpool. His father actually supported Tranmere Rovers, leading some to mistakenly believe that he also liked the Prenton Park club, but when he visited the Liverpool FC Museum and Tour Centre in 2000 he confirmed that he’s always been a Red.
Samuel L. Jackson
If you aren’t born in Liverpool then there might well be another reason why it is that you end up supporting the club, which is very much the case with Samuel L. Jackson. The star of films like Pulp Fiction and Shaft, Jackson spent a long period in the city when he was filming 51st State and fell in love with the area, the people and the football club. He had never been to a proper football match until he lived on Merseyside, going to Anfield and loving the club from that point onwards.
Millie Bobby Brown
The star of the Netflix smash hit Stranger Things, playing the role of Eleven, Millie Bobby Brown grew up in a household filled with Liverpool supporters. Although she was born in Spain, the family moved here there and everywhere when she was younger and her dad, Robert, indoctrinated her into the world of the Reds from an early age. That included getting her a full Liverpool kit, joining her brother in watching the club play matches even if they were on as early as 4am when they were in the USA.
John Lithgow
Sometimes you don’t necessarily support a club because of where you’re from or what they have done but because of who you know. In the case of John Lithgow, it was his friendship with Tom Werner, the Chairman of the club after FSG’s takeover, that led to him following the Reds. The star of TV shows such as 3rd Rock From the Sun, Dexter and The Crown and films like Cliffhanger, Interstellar and Conclave regularly Tweeted about his love of the club.
John Oliver
In spite of the fact that he was born in Birmingham, John Oliver ended up supporting the Reds thanks to the fact that his mum was from Liverpool and his dad was from the Wirral. The result was that supporting the club was ‘very much not a choice’ for him, getting involved as a fan from when he was young. The star of Last Week Tonight on HBO in America, Oliver was called by his dad on the day that the Reds won the Champions League thanks to the ‘Miracle of Istanbul’ who told him to ‘remember this day’.
Will Arnett
Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Will Arnett would go on to become a household name thanks to his appearances in the TV show Arrested Development. Although he had always been a general sports fan, it wasn’t until he was working with his long-term writing partner, who supported Liverpool, that he began to get into following the club. He later did an interview with the LFC-themed podcast The Anfield Wrap on their show What Football Means to Me, explaining how his love of the Reds has grown and developed since that point.
🗣Will Arnett: What Football Means To Me | #TAWSpecial | #LFC
@Adam_Smith_82 hosts @arnettwill to tell us all about the role football has played in his life…
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3️⃣ Listen📱👉https://t.co/yTcwWTZN7t👈📱 pic.twitter.com/ExtMfS1guQ
— The Anfield Wrap (@TheAnfieldWrap) August 24, 2022
Calvin Harris
There are numerous other musicians that we could’ve included here, such as Lana Del Rey, but the fact that Calvin Harris was asked to DJ Liverpool’s victory parade that took place after the Reds won a League Cup and FA Cup double at the end of the 2021-2022 season is reason enough for him to take our final spot.
When the boss met @CalvinHarris 🤣
Inside our 2022 Parade 🔜 pic.twitter.com/kkKQsmFv4u
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 31, 2022
Born in Dumfries in Scotland in 1984, it isn’t just that Scottish captain Andy Robertson played for the Reds that Harris ended up supporting them. He is also a fan of his hometown club Queen of the South.