NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 It was after one particularly emotional premiere of the new biopic about his life that Robbie Williams resolved he couldn't be 鈥渢he crying guy鈥 at every screening.
which chronicles the life of Williams, the British pop star and former Take That singer, can hit him differently at different times. Jet lag is a factor. So is who's in the building. One screening with his band, he says, was 鈥渉ealing.鈥 But he's self-conscious enough about all the emotion that he can be defensive about it.
鈥淚n real life I don鈥檛 cry that much,鈥 Williams says and then smiles. 鈥淵ou have a (expletive) biography about you and have the world go, 鈥業鈥檝e seen you and heard you鈥 and come tell me how you deal with it.'鈥
One twist? The Williams heard in 鈥淏etter Man鈥 is Williams, himself. But the Williams seen in the movie is a computer-generated chimpanzee. Michael Gracey, who directed the 2017 musical hit had the novel idea that Williams should get the big-screen biopic treatment, but with a monkey. Relying on Weta's motion capture technology, the actor Jonno Davies stands in for Williams.
In 鈥淏etter Man,鈥 which will open in limited theaters Dec. 25 and expand nationwide Jan. 10, that makes for , partly because it's still a quite R-rated journey through the ups and downs of mega pop stardom.
Williams, who met a reporter last month on a stopover in New York, also hopes it will expand his footprint in America, where he's famously less famous than he is in Europe.
鈥淚f I want to phone Macron, I phone Macron. If I want to phone Keir Starmer, I phone Keir Starmer. If I want to phone Trump, hesa国际传媒 not taking my call," Williams says with a laugh. 鈥淢aybe he would, I don鈥檛 know.鈥
鈥淢aybe this film moves the needle for me," Williams, 50, adds. "Or if it doesn鈥檛, I鈥檒l do something else.鈥
What both a conversation with Williams and 鈥淏etter Man鈥 have in common is a frankness about the experience of fame. More than it's a litany of chart-topping successes, 鈥淏etter Man鈥 is a chronicle of fame-induced trauma, complete with drug addiction and mental breakdown.
Williams, now, though, is a reformed bad boy 鈥 a family man with four kids with all kinds of plans, like building hotels and buying sports teams.
鈥淎t the moment," he says, "I have the wide-optimism of a new artist.鈥
AP: Did your identification with monkeys predate 鈥淏etter Man鈥?
WILLAMS: Well, let me know, in the biography of your life, what animal would play you?
AP. I don鈥檛 know. A chipmunk?
WILLIAMS: I asked my friend this morning, Joey McIntyre, from New Kids on the Block, and he said, 鈥渁n owl.鈥 And I agreed with him. An owl would be good for him. Did this predate? I guess so, subconsciously. My MO has been cheeky. Whatsa国际传媒 more cheeky than a cheeky monkey? I鈥檝e been a cheeky monkey all my life. Theresa国际传媒 no more cheekier monkey than the coke-snorting, sex-addict monkey that we find in the movie.
AP: I鈥檝e never seen a monkey do so much coke.
WILLIAMS: Yeah, we鈥檝e seen a bear do a lot of coke but never a monkey.
AP: Do you think it's easier for audiences to empathize with a monkey than for you?
WILLIAMS: We care for animals more than we care for humans, most of us. I guess there is a removal, as well. Itsa国际传媒 very much a human story but if you鈥檙e watching it and someonesa国际传媒 playing Robbie Williams, you鈥檙e thinking: Does he look like him? Does he act like him? Does he talk like him?
AP: As someone whosa国际传媒 been open about difficulties in life, you鈥檙e not new to the idea that people don鈥檛 have a lot of sympathy for wealthy pop stars. You were probably suffering very human things at a time when people didn鈥檛 see you as human.
WILLIAMS: I think they have sympathy once you come through the other side and you鈥檙e talking about something in the past. Everybody loves a story of redemption. The redemption is: I was this guy who experienced this thing but I鈥檝e endured and overcome it. You throw in a word like 鈥渆ndure,鈥 and I can already hear British people going 鈥(Expletive) you! What did you endure? Knickers being thrown at you.鈥 Dude, I was mentally ill. I still am, but I鈥檓 in a good place. I couldn鈥檛 derive joy from anything because I was mentally ill. I won a sprinting race with two broken legs.
AP: It was that bad?
WILLIAMS: Yeah. My storysa国际传媒 not unusual. Theresa国际传媒 a boy band documentary thatsa国际传媒 going to be on tele in Britain that I鈥檝e taken part in, and everyonesa国际传媒 story is the same. They鈥檝e got the bends. They experienced this thing that warped them and gave them mental breakdowns.
I can鈥檛 apologize for the truth, and the truth is theresa国际传媒 something about this matrix-bending, washing-machine fame thatsa国际传媒 deeply unhealthy. No matter what job you have or what path you choose in life, you spend the second 20 years of your life sorting out the first 20 years. It just so happens I did it in public and told people exactly what was going as it was going on. And still do.
AP: When One Direction singer Liam Payne died, you seemed to understand what he might have been going through.
WILLIAMS: Heresa国际传媒 the thing: I鈥檓 always astonished 鈥 may he rest in peace, bless him, beautiful boy 鈥 that the entertainment industry isn鈥檛 littered with those types of cases, that we can鈥檛 point to 30 of them.
AP: Fame, as you describe it, would seem clearly unhealthy. But does some part of you need it?
WILLIAMS: Itsa国际传媒 different now. I (expletive) love it. I wouldn鈥檛 trade it for the world. I鈥檓 50 and I鈥檓 incredibly grateful for fame. It facilitates everything that I need and want to do with my life. I was just too young to receive it, and I wasn鈥檛 surrounded by good people. And I wasn鈥檛 good people. But now I can鈥檛 speak highly enough of it. (Laughs)
AP: Part of your appeal has always been your candor. In your experience, though, does show business work against remaining authentic?
WILLIAMS: It depends who you are. Most people I meet in the industry, they鈥檙e nice folk. But a lot of the people that I meet also are narcissists and they understand on some level that itsa国际传媒 best to cover up their true nature. So they do. Now theresa国际传媒 cancellation, so you鈥檝e got a lot of people terrified of saying the wrong thing.
The interesting that I鈥檝e carved out for me, by mistake, is that the only villain in my story when I talk is me. None of my opinions are political. None of my opinions are cancellable. The only person that can cancel me is me.
AP: So how did you turn your life around? You've often credited your wife.
WILLIAMS: Ayda was credited with saving my life before she saved my life. I was like, 鈥淵ou (expletive).鈥 I was like: I鈥檝e done a lot of work on myself here. Don鈥檛 give her all the credit. But now I can give her way more credit than I was giving her because I鈥檝e realize how much shesa国际传媒 done.
Without that grounding, my life would be a lot different. I probably wouldn鈥檛 be here. Because I have somebody in my life thatsa国际传媒 worth me being the best version of myself 24 hours out of the day, I鈥檓 better. And because theresa国际传媒 four young souls that need looking after, my purpose is a lot different. I suppose my purpose at one time, due to finding hedonism incredibly intoxicating, was to be the most (expletive) person in the room. But now I want to be the most well person in the room. I intend to be the wellest person in the mother-(expletive) room. (Laughs)
AP: When you go on a worldwide tour next year, do you do things differently to help you stay sane?
WILLLIAMS: Yeah and no. The no bit is: Itsa国际传媒 OK. I鈥檝e come to realize, I didn鈥檛 die. Theresa国际传媒 a bit more wisdom now. The lunatic that was in the car is still in the car, but he doesn鈥檛 drive anymore.
