Robbie Williams has revealed why he is played by a CGI monkey in his upcoming biopic Better Man – and he’s quite surprised by the fan confusion.
Much has been made of the unusual choice to have the chart-topper portrayed as a monkey in the movie, when everyone else is human and it’s never commented on, but the quirky decision has really got people talking.
‘I didn’t know that I’d have to explain it, but obviously [I do]!’ smiled Williams when asked why he was up for the unexpected move, which sees actor Jonno Davies take the lead role as him via use of a performance capture suit.
But it turns out that’s exactly why he was convinced by director Michael Gracey’s idea.
‘Cos it’s unusual, right? That’s the thing,’ he continued while chatting to Metro at the film’s European premiere in London on Wednesday night.
‘I’m on the spectrum, so things that are unusual to me, aren’t that unusual – I don’t pick up on those sorts of cues. I don’t know where I am on the spectrum, by the way, I just know I am.’
‘It’s a monkey, get over it,’ he then mockingly huffed, before musing: ‘I’m sure somewhere in the world… Bob Dylan, who’s got a biopic coming out right now, is going, “Why wasn’t that a monkey?”, or something.’
Timothée Chalamet is taking the lead in more traditional Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, and is confirmed to be staying in his human form.
However, the Rock DJ star, 50, agrees that the decision to go ape, so to speak, ‘makes the film’.
‘It shouldn’t work but it actually works better than if it was me. I don’t know why,’ he responded.
Former Take That idol Williams – whose boyband days are revisited in bracingly honest detail in Better Man – previously shared on The One Show on Tuesday that ‘it made complete sense to me as soon as [Gracey] pitched it to me’.
‘I don’t know if this film would be as talked about if it hadn’t had the monkey in it. And it does, and it has. And it all makes sense when you see it.’
Gracey, who is also the filmmaker behind smash-hit musical The Greatest Showman, interviewed Williams extensively during the preparation period for the project and has explained where the spark of the idea originally came.
‘I found Rob saying often that he was just dragged up to perform, like a monkey, or it didn’t really matter. He was just up the back performing like a monkey. And he said it enough times that I was like, “Oh, that’s how he sees himself. He literally sees himself as a performing monkey.” And I thought, “That would be amazing; I would love to see that film”,’ he told Deadline in August.
Recalling the pitch to the star, Gracey said that he asked Williams if he was an animal, how would he see himself?
‘And he immediately said, “A lion, definitely a lion.” In my head, I went, “No, that’s the wrong answer.” So I said, “Really?” And he sort of smiled, and he went, “Wow, if I’m being honest, I’m more of a monkey.”’
The rest is now soon-to-be moviemaking history, with Better Man following Robbie from his childhood in Stoke-on-Trent through his turbulent time with Take That, relationship with All Saints star Nicole Appleton and goal to play Knebworth in 2003.
Williams’s wife Ayda Field was also on the red carpet promoting the film and joking that she felt she had ‘birthed’ the film with him – ‘although this time my vagina didn’t tear, so that was a plus!’.
She admitted she was sceptical over the monkey initially.
‘I remember when this whole thing started, going, “Wait, hold on, you’re going to be a monkey? And wait, what’s going to happen?” I mean, I knew the story would be amazing because Rob’s story is amazing and he’s an amazing storyteller, and I know Michael Gracey is an amazing storyteller, so I know those two things were great, but I thought, “What is this going to be?”’
But once she saw the storyboards and spoke with Gracey alongside Williams ‘it all started to kind of sink in on what this thing was’.
‘But it really wasn’t until I saw it that I felt it and got it and I’m incredibly proud of it, I’m incredibly proud of my husband and Michael,’ she added to Metro, sharing her excitement over people seeing it come release day.
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‘It’s not something you can walk away from and feel nothing, whether you love it or hate it. You feel things when you watch this movie, you understand the character, you understand his pain, you understand the journey and you walk away with an experience.
‘I’m incredibly proud of the honesty, the bravery, the uniqueness, the boldness of all if it.’
Book your ticket to see Wicked now!
Better Man hits UK cinemas on December 26. In the US, it has a limited release on December 25 before releasing widely on January 17, 2025.
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