Robbie Williams will play himself in his upcoming movie biopic ‘Better Man’.
The singer will be the subject of the feature film, directed by Michael Gracey, who tells the Daily Mail the film will be “surreal” and “a bit like a fever dream”.
Opening up about the project, he says,”[Robbie Williams] will be played and driven by Robbie Williams,” while confirming the singer’s tracks will will be “re-contextualised” and re-recorded for inclusion in the film.
When asked about rumours film buyers were shown a teaser which showed Robbie as a computer-generated monkey, Michael reportedly shrugged and explained the movie will be about “how the rock star sees himself”.
He added that they would use a “combination of methods” to help the star “achieve his performance”.
Gracey previously explained he’s spent several hours speaking to Williams to get a feel for the project, and hinted the biopic will be approached “in a really original way”.
“I remember going to the cinema as a kid and there were films that blew me away and made me say as I sat there in the cinema, ‘I’ve never seen this before’. I just want the audience to have that feeling,” he explained.
“All I can say is the approach is top secret, but the goal is to generate that feeling I just described. It’s this fantastical story, and I want to represent it in its harsh reality all the way to these moments of pure fantasy.
“Unlike some people who were born prodigies or musical geniuses and you follow the narrative of the world catching up to their brilliance, this isn’t that story.”
And the filmmaker, who also directed the ‘P!nk: All I Know So Far’ concert documentary movie, confessed he was drawn to the project as he’s interested by the former Take That star being an “every man” who “dreamed big and followed those dreams and they took him to an incredible place”.
“He’s not the best singer, or dancer, and yet, he managed to sell 80 million records worldwide,” continued Gracey. “You can relate to the guy who doesn’t see himself as having any extraordinary talent, even though of course, he does.
“What he did have is the will, vision and confidence to say, ‘I’m going to pursue my dream’.”
