To celebrate the release of Better Man, the intoxicating new musical/biopic of Robbie Williams and his career, we had the pleasure of sitting down with the man himself, the film’s visionary director, and the film’s leads to find out more about the new film.
From visionary director Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman) Better Man looks at the rise, falll, and resurrection of Robbie Williams – one of the UK’s bestselling artists of all time. Gracey shines a light on the incredible highs and lows of celebrity and the journey to stardom in a unique way, inspired by Williams’ life and how he sees himself. With stunning visual effects created by the Academy Award® winning team at Weta FX (Avatar, Lord of the Rings trilogy) the cast includes Jonno Davies (Hunters, Kingsman: The Secret Service), BAFTA® Award winner Steve Pemberton (Inside No. 9, Killing Eve), BAFTA® nominee Alison Steadman (The Kings Man, Roald & Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse), Raechelle Banno (Home and Away, The Ruby Landry Saga) and Robbie Williams.
Chatting first to Williams and Gracey, we talk about Gracey’s pitch to Williams and why his unique, almost unheard-of approach to a biopic was impossible to turn down, re-recording some of his famous tracks with different emotions and tones, the casting of the leads and Davies’ unbelievable portrayal under the dots and CGI “mask”, his soft spot for Tottenham and Ange Postecoglu, and their excitement for sharing the film with audiences, who are fans and who are not.
Next, Davies and Banno tell us about auditions, the unique acting challenges the film presented, working with Gracey and Williams to make the best musical-hybrid, their working relationship and bringing Williams and Nicole Appleton’s story to the screen, and much more in between.
You can watch our interviews below:
Better Man opens in UK cinemas on Boxing Day
