Robbie Williams' Biopic Depicts Him as a Singing CGI Monkey: See the Surreal Trailer for “Better Man”

From the director of 'The Greatest Showman,' 'Better Man' is in select theaters Dec. 25 then nationwide Jan. 17

Robbie Williams' upcoming biopic has an unusual twist.

In the first trailer for Better Man, the pop star, 50, is visually portrayed as a monkey by actor Jonno Davies in director Michael Gracey's (The Greatest Showman) take on Williams' life story. Davies, 32, performed the motion-capture required for the role and voices the character, while Williams himself sings in the upcoming musical.

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," reads a synopsis.

The synopsis adds that the movie "is uniquely told from Williams' perspective, capturing his signature wit and indomitable spirit."

Related: Robbie Williams Was Accidentally 'Rude' to Cher in an Airport by Walking Away Before She 'Finished Talking'

"It follows Robbie's journey from childhood, to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That, through to his unparalleled achievements as a record-breaking solo artist — all the while confronting the challenges that stratospheric fame and success can bring," the synopsis adds.

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"To see himself as a performing monkey wasn’t just whilst he was famous — it was his whole life," director Gracey told Vanity Fair of the decision to visualize Williams as a monkey in an August interview, shortly after the movie premiered at the Telluride Film Festival.

"He was always putting on a performance at [his hometown] Stoke for the other kids, at home for his parents. And it made it so powerful for me because I was like, You're going to fall in love with this character, this little monkey. And you’re going to invest emotionally in this little monkey. As long as you set that contract at the start of the film, you’re in, and you will go with that monkey through the entire journey."

Related: Robbie Williams Says He's Taking 'Something Like Ozempic': 'It's Like a Christmas Miracle'

The new film makes for director Gracey's first movie since his 2021 Pink documentary P!nk: All I Know So Far. In addition to that and 2017's The Greatest Showman, he is also known for directing music videos for Pink and musicians like Natasha Bedingfield and Alesha Dixon.

In addition to Davies in his CGI role, Better Man also stars Steve Pemberton, Damon Herriman, Raechelle Banno, Alison Steadman, Kate Mulvaney, Frazer Hadfield, Tom Budge and Anthony Hayes.

Better Man is in select theaters Dec. 25, then nationwide Jan. 17.

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