I saved a Messi penalty at the World Cup but now I’m a film director

FORMER World Cup goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson has swapped clearances for clapperboards… by becoming a MOVIE DIRECTOR.

The Iceland star saved a penalty from Lionel Messi as his country held Argentina to a 1-1 draw at the 2018 finals.

And Halldorsson played as minnows Iceland infamously beat England 2-1 at Euro 2016 on their way to the quarter-finals.

Now 39, his career has included clubs in Norway, Holland, Denmark and Azerbaijan as well as Iceland.

But the Reykjavik-born keeper has combined his twin loves of football and filmmaking.

He recently directed police drama Cop Secret, having previously helmed the video for Iceland's 2012 Eurovision Song Contest entry.

Other film work included a Coca-Cola commercial and an ad for the Uefa Women's Euro 2022.

Halldorsson said: "I got back into filmmaking during the Covid pandemic. That year was now or never for me, as I had the chance to get a grant.

"We filmed Cop Secret in just 19 days, on a budget of $800,000 [£660,000].

"I had a very full timetable, as I was playing football at the same time.

"We would sometimes start shooting at 4am so we could be finished by 4pm.

"Then I would get changed in my car and drive to training. Sometimes I would even film on match days."

Halldorsson said he kept his second career a secret from his team-mates until deciding to invite them to a VIP preview screening.

He also told So Film magazine that he landed a surprise invite to the prestigious Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland.

"I felt out of place when they invited me to the festival," the keeper recalled.

"I can't compete with all those movie buffs, who have seen it all."