Watch Robbie Williams in the trailer for his biopic ‘Better Man’

To a certain generation of Americans, Robbie Williams may be best known as the cheeky singer who ripped off his skin in a roller disco for his video “Rock DJ” (or maybe for his 1997 hit “Angels”?).

To other generations of Americans, Williams may be best known as “Who?” but a new imaginative biopic intends to change that — but the new trailer, below, reveals a bit of a twist in his story, where Williams is portrayed as a monkey (via performance capture by Jonno Davies).

According to the film’s logline, Better Man is based on the true story of “the meteoric rise, dramatic fall, and remarkable resurgence of British pop superstar Robbie Williams, one of the greatest entertainers of all time.” Director Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman) uniquely tells the film from Williams’ perspective, “capturing his signature wit and indomitable spirit.”

While Davies did all of the motion capture and provides Williams’ speaking voice, the former Take That member narrates the film and, of course, does his own singing. In many of their conversations together, Williams told Gracey he often felt like a monkey performing for the enjoyment of others, so Gracey took that simile and ran with it.

Like any other biopic, save the talking monkey at its center, Better Man follows Robbie’s journey from childhood to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That, through his career as a record-breaking solo artist — all the while confronting the challenges that stratospheric fame and success can bring.

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Williams was basically the Harry Styles of his day, and Take That the One Direction, except bigger. With 12 No. 1 singles in the U.K. and more than 14 million albums sold, Take That is the most successful boy band in U.K. chart history. The band, formed in 1990, went their separate ways after Williams left Take That in 1995, no doubt breaking many a teenage heart.

Williams went on to chart seven No. 1s in the U.K. himself, and knocked out 13 No. 1 solo albums, six of which are among the top 100 biggest-selling albums in the U.K. As with many a troubled superstar, Williams also had his fair share of demons, including battles with mental illness, obesity, self-esteem issues, alcoholism, and substance abuse.

Still, U.S. audiences would be forgiven for not being able to name any of Take That’s or Williams’ songs, as neither they nor he managed to break through the way, say, the Spice Girls did later in the ’90s. But Take That walked so the Spice Girls could “Hai si ja hold tight!” And Williams stripped down to his literal bones so Harry Styles could one day steal Album of the Year from Beyoncé. So…thanks, Robbie?

Check out the trailer for Better Man — in select theaters Dec. 25 and nationwide Jan. 17, 2025 — above