The 34 surprising famous faces who support Sunderland AFC - including TV, music and film stars: photo gallery
From sports stars to TV personalities and musicians to local heroes, the Black Cats have a number of famous fans – including some surprising and international names. Over the years, we have seen many celebrities come out and publicly announce their support of the Wearside club. Here, we take a look at the famous faces who support Sunderland:
5. Steve Cram
Known as the 'Jarrow Arrow', Cram is an avid Sunderland fan - and regularly supports the club's charity arm, the Foundation of Light. Photo: Ian Walton
![The football manager, who went onto take charge at the Stadium of Light later in his career, was a Sunderland fan growing up. He recently stated: "I was growing up as a kid, don’t know where it came from probably because Charlie Hurley played for them, I was a big Sunderland fanatic. So I went to Sunderland as a manager based on this romantic notion of where Sunderland were based, the crowds that they got at the old stadium, which was Roker Park. They’d not moved to the Stadium of Light when I was up there [as a fan]. This idea that ‘do you want Sunderland to be all the things when you were supporting them’ that they never were."](https://www.sunderlandecho.com/webimg/b25lY21zOjMzOTk4NmM1LTgwMTItNDRlMS05ZmQyLWZhMjE1NDQ1ZjJhMDo0OTAzZDk3Mi1kYWY1LTRlNzUtYjg1YS03YTdjZGJhMjA5MmI=.jpg?crop=3:2&width=640)
6. Martin O'Neill
The football manager, who went onto take charge at the Stadium of Light later in his career, was a Sunderland fan growing up. He recently stated: "I was growing up as a kid, don’t know where it came from probably because Charlie Hurley played for them, I was a big Sunderland fanatic. So I went to Sunderland as a manager based on this romantic notion of where Sunderland were based, the crowds that they got at the old stadium, which was Roker Park. They’d not moved to the Stadium of Light when I was up there [as a fan]. This idea that ‘do you want Sunderland to be all the things when you were supporting them’ that they never were." Photo: Ross Kinnaird
7. Peter O'Toole
Peter O’Toole was in fact a Sunderland fan. Renowned for his portrayal of T.E Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, the London-born actor holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations without winning the award. O’Toole became a Black Cats supporter through his father who worked as a labourer in the city. However, the actor sadly passed away in December 2013. Photo: Robert Mora
8. Sir Tim Rice
Best known for working on a number of West End musicals with Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rice may have been born in Warwickshire - but he counts Sunderland as his football team. Photo: Daniel Berehulak