British pop royalty Robbie Williams is poised to score a worldwide hit with his new biography Better man.
Robbie’s new biopic has steadily increased global interest, even from people who have never heard of Take That. While the new film is a traditional biopic in that it tells the singer’s life story, it also comes with a very bizarre caveat.
Instead of an actor playing Robbie (or the man even playing himself), the singer is portrayed as a CGI anthropomorphic chimpanzee, making it seem more like a Planet of the Apes film rather than Walk the Line.
Robbie uses his voice in the film, but the monkey was performed by Jonno Davies using a motion capture suit. Jonno is also doing some voice work for the film.
Before you trap Robbie Better manthere are plenty of key facts you should know about him going in.
Robbie Williams was a member of Boy Band Take That
Born in Stoke-on-Trent, Robbie began his career as an actor in school plays. In 1990 he joined the boy band Take That when he was 16 years old.
Robbie sang lead on many of the group’s early hits, such as “Could It Be Heaven” and “I Found Heaven”. As the group rose to fame, Robbie’s drug use caused a rift in the band and he left in 1995.
After leaving the group, Robbie pursued a highly successful solo career, but he rejoined Take That in 2010 for their album Progress. He toured with the band in 2011 and has performed several times at shows over the years.
Despite rejoining the band, Robbie has not appeared on any of the three Take That albums that followed in the 2010s Progress.
Robbie Williams has released 12 solo albums
After leaving Take That in the 90s, Robbie launched a solo career by covering “Freedom” by George Michael. In September 1997, he released his debut solo album Life through a lens.
Since going solo, Robbie has released an impressive 12 albums, with his most recent being 2019’s The Christmas present. Many of his records have been certified hits, and he has become one of the best-selling artists of all time.
While Robbie may not be a household name in the US, he is a true star across the globe. In 2006, he broke the Guinness World Record for the most tickets sold in one day for his world tour, but that record has since been broken by Taylor Swift, via ABC News.
Robbie has been an incredible success in the UK. He is credited with four of the 60 best-selling albums of all time in the UK, according to Official Charts. It includes both solo albums and Take That records.
Robbie has also won 18 Brit Awards, making him the person with the most of these accolades. As for American awards, he has been nominated for two Grammys, but he didn’t win either.
He was a judge on ‘X Factor’
In the same way that many singers have guided younger artists by acting as judges American Idol or The voicedid Robbie on the famous British talent show The X Factor.
In 2018, Robbie was appointed as one of the judges on the reality show alongside Simon Cowell, One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson and his own wife Ayda Field.
This wasn’t the “Angels” singer’s first appearance on The X Factor. He also appeared on the program in 2009.
He has dated the Spice Girls
As a teen idol, Robbie’s personal life certainly drummed up some public interest. 90s kids, get ready because he has dated two Spice Girls.
He had a brief romance with Melanie Chisholm (“Sporty Spice”) in 1997. He had another brief romance with Geri Halliwell (“Ginger Spice”) in 2000, per NME.
Robbie has taken some heat for making a joke about getting intimate with some Spice Girls, which he later apologized for in an interview with The sun. He clarified that it was just a “joke”.
“I was on stage and I was about to sing ‘Back For Good’ and I said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I’m very lucky, I’m one of the only people in the world who can say that they’ve been in Take Det and four out of five of the Spice Girls,” he said.
Some of the Spice Girls came forward to let the public know that they did not sleep with him. “For the record I haven’t. I really haven’t. I said four out of five because it was good for the joke,” he said.
Robbie’s other relationships over the years have also made headlines. In the late 90s, he dated and was even engaged to fellow singer Nicole Appleton.
Robbie has been married to American actress Ayda Field since 2010 and they have four children together.
Robbie Williams is a bit of a UFO fan
Robbie’s CGI chimpanzee bio may strike some viewers as odd, but the hitmaker has a penchant for the abnormal.
The pop star “Rock DJ” was featured in a documentary where he and filmmaker Jon Ronson ventured to a UFO convention in Nevada, per BBC.
Robbie has opened up about his interests in the otherworldly and experiences with the paranormal in interviews. He also claimed to have had an alien encounter in an interview in 2024 Loose Women.
Needless to say, the man’s life story makes for a very interesting biopic!