British pop icon Robbie Williams has by no means taken himself too severely and his upcoming biopic, Higher Man, proves that tenfold.

A trailer for the mission lately dropped and options the “Millennium” singer revisiting key areas of his life and profession… as a monkey.

Sure, you learn that appropriately.

Simply seconds into the trailer of Higher Man, Williams tells the viewers that he is not going to be taking the usual route of widespread biopics.

“That is my story,” the 50-year-old performer explains in a voiceover, “however I’m not gonna inform it in an peculiar method, as a result of I don’t see myself how others see me.”

We’re then handled to an anthropomorphic monkey dropping into middle stage. Sure, readers – this would be the illustration of the “Rock DJ” performer followers will likely be handled to for the whole thing of the film.

Williams will present singing and narrative vocals for the movie, however will likely be voiced and motion-captured by actor Jonno Davies.

“To be sincere, I’ve all the time been rather less ‘advanced,’” the singer goes on to joke.

What isn’t a joke, nonetheless, seems to be Higher Man as a complete, which just about performs Williams’ story straight.

Sure, there are a number of amplified particulars of his run with Take That, the enduring boyband the place Robbie first got here to public prominence within the early 90s, and his storied run as a solo star that often led him to the sting of sanity and life. Nonetheless, Williams, ever the storyteller, will likely be on the forefront of all the things, together with his voice and songs, together with re-recordings of “Angels” and different hits, being prominently featured.

In Higher Man, Williams doesn’t maintain again in sharing his profession highs and lows, taking part in each hero to the English viewers that made him well-known, and the villain that almost destroyed all the things he constructed.

“There have been many villains on this film, till we legally couldn’t have many villains on this film,” Williams advised Deadline earlier this month. “Now the one villain on this film is me, [which] I’m fairly completely satisfied [about].”

A kind of villains, at the least early within the script drafting course of, was Gary Barlow, a fellow Take That alum. Barlow and Williams have been identified to usually have a go at each other on the excessive of the group’s fame. Nonetheless, with time and therapeutic, each singers have mended fences.

A lot so, that when Williams shared an early draft with Barlow, he made the selection to position many of the burden on his onscreen self.

“Within the script, I communicate how I spoke and I believe how I believed again then,” Robbie shared. “We despatched [Gary] the script and he rang me [up and said], Rob, I come off worse than Darth Vader within the first Star Wars.”

Willams’ previous relationship with singer Nicole Appleton of All Saints (“By no means Ever”) fame is closely featured in Higher Man.

The 2 first met in 1997 whereas filming an episode of Prime of the Pops, a legendary music program akin to American Bandstand right here within the States. Although they have been engaged, they ended the connection in 1999.

Simply as with Barlow, Williams’ characterization in Higher Man sees him being the aggressor of their doomed pairing, though Robbie appeared to play it this manner with out amending the script.

“She didn’t deserve the model of me she obtained,” Robbie advised Deadline. “I really feel nice disgrace I didn’t signify myself in one of the best ways attainable [back then], as a result of she deserves the very best and deserves the very best me and she or he didn’t get it.”

After seeing the movie herself, Appleton and Williams shared an emotional Facetime name.

One other contentious relationship heavy featured in Williams’ Higher Man is the one together with his father. The singer alleges that his dad left him and his mother early in life, inflicting greater than a little bit of pressure between the pair.

As such, Robbie has but to indicate his father the movie, nor does he plan to.

“I don’t need him to see it,” he stated. “I’ve finished a lot work on myself. I’ve rehabbed. I’ve therapied. I’ve lived in Los Angeles for twenty-four years. I’ve picked up on how to do that and heal your self. Us Brits don’t try this. My dad hasn’t and hasn’t wanted to. We haven’t had this dialog.”

Whereas selling Higher Man with Leisure Tonight, discuss turned to Robbie’s previous points with medicine and alcohol, and the way fame usually exacerbates one’s internal demons. Over time, the singer has been extremely open about his struggles with substance abuse and psychological well being.

With the tragic passing of One Route star Liam Payne recent on his thoughts, Williams, who mentored the “Strip That Down” singer throughout his X-Issue days, as Rolling Stone reported, feels that one thing ought to be finished to assist youthful stars within the trade.

“There’s a assume tank that’s wanted, the place artistic individuals which can be emphatic and compassionate can [offer advice],” Williams said. “I believe that in case you are following [things] carefully, we’re starting to know that fame isn’t a fix-all.”

“It’s nice on the opposite aspect of the bridge,” he continued, talking of his private journey, “however most who expertise that stage of fame? Some are fortunate to get to the opposite finish [of it, but] rather a lot aren’t.”

Simply this yr, Robbie Williams launched a self-titled docuseries on Netflix. In it, he’s simply as open about his trials and tribulations, which is one thing he attributes to being neurodivergent.

“I don’t choose up on the cues the place regular individuals go, ‘I higher not share that or I higher not share that,’” he admits. “I’m good with social cues. I get them. It’s all this different stuff. I am going, ‘Listed here are my hemorrhoids.’ Individuals go, ‘Possibly you shouldn’t present your hemorrhoids.’ I am going, ‘Why? I’ve hemorrhoids. I don’t get it.’”

See how open Robbie could be in Paramount Footage’ Higher Man, coming to pick out theaters on Christmas Day, with a worldwide launch to observe on January 17, 2025.

His docuseries, Robbie Williams, could be streamed now on Netflix.