Robbie Williams’ emotional Aussie confession
The British megastar dropped an unexpected revelation about his ties to Australia – and why he’s such a “tough sell”.
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IN LONDON
Robbie Williams’ love for Australia runs deep – and for a very personal reason.
The British megastar hit the red carpet in London on Wednesday night for the premiere of his highly-anticipated – and wildly quirky – new biopic, Better Man, where he made a startlingly emotional revelation about his ties to the land Down Under.
“They [Aussie fans] allow me to be me, and they embrace the ‘me’ that I am,” he told news.com.au with the candour he’s become famous for across his decades-long career.
“There’s a tall poppy syndrome here in the UK – my fans here have been incredible, but outside of my fans, it’s been a tough sell to sell me as a human being.
“But in Australia, I’m just like … ‘Aussie Robbie Williams’.”
Williams, 50, added: “I’m one of them. I’m one of you.”
The Angels singer’s wife, actress Ayda Field, who was there to support her husband, explained that Australia had a special significance to them both as it’s where they’d spent a good chunk of their relationship.
In fact, according to Field, they’d have even moved there with their children – Teddy, 11, Charlie, 9, Coco, 5, and Beau, 3 – if it wasn’t “so far away”.
Better Man is helmed by Australian director Michael Gracey – best known for 2018’s Hugh Jackman-led The Greatest Showman – and re-examines “the rise, fall and resurrection” of Robbie Williams … with a CGI chimpanzee (actor Jonno Davies) in the role of the best-selling pop star.
The highly unusual casting of the central figure was a massive swing by Gracey – and as he admitted to news.com.au at the London premiere, it almost didn’t even get off the ground.
“They [executives] took a lot of convincing,” Melbourne-born Gracey said.
“There were a lot of ‘no’s before there were any ‘maybe’s. It was difficult to convince people. “They were very excited about Robbie, they were very excited about me … They just weren’t excited about the monkey.”
However, one – crucial – person who was willing to give it a shot from very early on was Williams himself.
That didn’t mean he didn’t have doubts, as he told news.com.au.
“My first time seeing [Better Man], I was just terrified it was going to be cr*p.
“The idea has been seven years in the making, and the obstacles to making the film in the first place have been unbelievable – and at times, insurmountable – so I was just hoping it wasn’t cr*p.”
Williams finished gleefully: “And it wasn’t!”
Fortunately for everyone involved, while the chimpanzee reveal in the Better Man trailer last month was met with plenty of raised eyebrows, early reviews from film festival screenings have been largely positive, indicating the risk has likely paid off.
Along with Williams and Davies, the 2-hour biopic also stars Steve Pemberton, Alison Steadman, Damon Herriman and Aussie actress Raechelle Banno.
Better Man will hit Australian cinemas on Boxing Day.
It follows the release of a four-part Netflix documentary series about Williams’ life and career which was released in November last year.
Originally published as Robbie Williams’ emotional Aussie confession
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