'We all want to be seen, we all want to be loved'

Global superstar Robbie Williams tells us about his new biopic film and opens up about his past and some of the people depicted in the movie

- ADAM TANSWELL AND MITYA UNDERWOOD

Any cinema lover knows that a Boxing Day release usually means two things – a masterpiece of a film and huge box office sales for the people who made it. The date is reserved for the industry’s biggest and best offerings, and comes before the “dump months” of January and February, when sales slump.

This year, the UK list includes a perhaps unlikely contender – Robbie Williams’ semi-autobiographical film, Better Man. In it, the former Take That star is portrayed by a chimpanzee, voiced by Jonno Davies, and it tells the raw and honest story of Robbie’s life from childhood to pop stardom.

Chatting to OK! about what audiences can look forward to and what it means to him to be the star of a $110 million production, which was led by The Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey, Robbie is clearly excited.

“I’m buzzing, I’m absolutely buzzing,” he says, with no less enthusiasm than we’ve come to expect from him. “I am immensely proud and immensely grateful for this opportunity.

“The amount of warmth, empathy and genuine goodwill that this whole project has fostered has been warming for the soul – and I love that I’m now in a place to receive it without pushing it away and belittling it. In many ways, it already feels like a win before the movie’s even come out.”

At the time of going to press, Better Man hadn’t been given its official age rating, but the most recent trailer was classed PG in the UK. According to Robbie, it’s an unflinching look at his life so far, including the highs (no pun intended) and lows. It doesn’t shy away from his experiences of addiction and mental health, but, as Robbie puts it, that’s what makes it such a “human story”.