5 Unlikely Celebrity Supporters of Liverpool

Anyone who supports a football team without growing up in the territory of the club is often bombarded with questions about the reasons for their choice.

As someone who grew up in Milton Keynes but supported Liverpool, I was often accused of being a glory supporter. This was until I pointed out two facts. First, that one side of my family originate from and live in Liverpool. The second is that since following the Reds from age eight, I could hardly be a glory supporter for a team that never won anything.

You may have been quizzed in the same way. Here I will take a look at the celebrity fans all around the world who may not have come from the Mersey but still hold Liverpool Football Club close to their hearts. 

Honorable mentions go to Manchester United players of past and present, such as Rio Ferdinand, John O'Shea and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who reportedly grew up supporting the Anfield side. 

Former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson also grew up watching the Reds, a fact that was deliberately forgotten upon his hiring as England's manager. 

Also actor/singer Donnie Wahlberg deserves a mention for being brave enough to wear a Liverpool top whilst touring in the UK, even failing to back down when performing at the M.E.N. Manchester arena.

Clive Owen: The Red Interpreter

It is a sin that the Coventry-born actor never played Agent 007. Women are attracted to him, and men want to be him. He is the ultimate action actor. 

Owen's love for Liverpool has sometimes been regarded as a borderline obsession. There has been previous speculation that the "Children of Men" actor demands coverage for Liverpool games when he is in the UK. "They know it's important to me," were his exact words. 

He also didn't hesitate to criticise last season's opening to the campaign in an interview with the Guardian newspaper, when he was meant to be discussing a new film. 

Even better is that his kids are in on the act, having once greeted their dad wearing matching Liverpool. 

Mike Myers: Going Back to His Swamp

Yeeeeeeeeah, baby! Austin Powers himself supports Liverpool.

Although the voice of "Shrek" is Canadian-born, his parents come from the Swan Lane area of Liverpool. No surprise then that he keeps a close eye on the exploits of the Merseyside outfit.  

In the past he has spoken of his outsider status while growing up in Toronto, being the only child to wear a Liverpool shirt while the rest of his class stuck with Canadian locals. Still, it's not as risky as walking through Old Trafford in nothing but a Liverpool kit. 

The John Barnes Effect: Dr. Dre & Nelson Mandela

Not necessarily hardcore fans—but still followers of Liverpool—both rapper/producer Dr. Dre and former South African president Nelson Mandela cite former Reds player John Barnes as their motivation for supporting Liverpool. 

Dr. Dre admired the contribution John Barnes made to the English game and watches from a distance. He even referred to cult favourite Patrick Berger as "the bomb."

Nelson Mandela on the other hand became one of the Anfield faithful after an inspired interview with Barnes. The Liverpool skipper presented Mandela with a shirt, and the leader was hooked.

Whether he still has the shirt is a mystery, but the "Barnes Effect" ensured that the former black rights campaigner would never walk alone. 

Samuel L. Jackson

There may have been a time when Samuel L. Jackson knew nothing about Anfield, the Kop and the song "You'll Never Walk Alone."

That ideal went out the window when he attended a Merseyside derby while shooting a movie in the city.

Now an ardent fan, he was witnessed arms in the air belting out the team's signature track at the top of his lungs. 

And to add fuel to the fire, he did not shy away from insulting the population of Manchester. Now that is some fiction with pulp!

Angelia Jolie: Girl, Red Interrupted

She may have a reputation as a cold-blooded home wrecker, but Angelina is a true Red at heart.  

For those of you with a good memory of British television in the 1990's, her love of Anfield was born out of her friendship with former Gladiators winner Eunice Huthart.  

Huthart secured multiple victories in the aforementioned and Ulrika Johnson-fronted game show, edging herself into a stunt double career in films like "Titanic" and, subsequently, Jolie's "Tomb Raider."

Ms. Jolie states that her feisty Liverpudlian pal passed her passion for the city's football club onto her son, Maddox.

Since then, Maddox has proclaimed that his heart is set on playing for Liverpool in the future. Maybe then he could be "Wanted" some day soon.