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Robbie Williams candidly talks Better Man, family, and mental health: ‘My whole life terrified me’
23 December 2024, 09:52
Better Man charts the former Take That star’s life story from childhood to his successful solo career.
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Robbie Williams has candidly opened up about how having poor mental health affected his ability to enjoy some of the biggest moments of his career.
Speaking with Smooth’s Jenni Falconer ahead of the December 26 release of the ‘Angels’ singer’s biopic Better Man, Robbie didn’t shy away from discussing how the film is a journey through the highs and lows of his career.
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Opening up about his struggles, Robbie explained how even incredible career achievements such as his famous Knebworth concerts in 2003 were difficult for him to enjoy because of his mental health struggles.
Watch Robbie Williams’ interview with Jenni below:
Robbie Williams candidly talks 'Better Man', family, and mental health: ‘My whole life terrified me’
“I’ll be honest with you, I’ve been mentally ill for a very long time, I couldn’t derive any joy from anything [then],” Robbie said.
“My whole life terrified me, and that was just another episode of my life terrifying me because I didn’t feel big enough to do it.”
However, the 50-year-old is proud of his younger self’s ability to keep going despite the challenges he faced in his life.
“I turned up and I gave a performance, and people that were there haven’t forgotten that performance and what it meant to them,” Robbie reflected.
“[I performed] even when I was broken inside, much like Taylor Swift’s song ‘I Can Do It With a Broken Heart’. I’m proud of that more than I’m proud of [the concert itself].
“But the fact that I’ve done it, it’s not lost on me that these are massive achievements and I am grateful that it happened to me," he added.
‘Billy Elliot meets Planet of the Apes’
Robbie’s upcoming biopic Better Man has caused quite a stir since it was revealed the former Take That star would be portrayed as a monkey in the film.
Watch the new Better Man trailer
“I didn’t know or understand that people would find it odd,” the singer explained when asked about the creative choice. “Even my wife when I told her the idea was like ‘Nah, don’t do that.’ But now she’s totally on board.
“It’s an eccentric choice,” Robbie conceded. “[But] for whatever reason it is, it completely works.”
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The biopic has been described by critics as Billy Elliot meets Planet of the Apes, a comparison Robbie doesn’t disagree with.
While in the Smooth studio, he also described the film as: “Basically 45 minutes of me being the artful Dodger from Stoke-on-Trent, and then it’s Trainspotting.”
Behind the Visual Effects of Better Man (2024 Movie) – Robbie Williams, Michael Gracey
Working on Better Man has seen Robbie fall in love with working within the film industry, and the singer has even been involved in the early days of awards-related events.
“If our name is mentioned in a nomination of any sort, I’ll be incredibly proud and pleased,” he told Jenni.
“And then if anything else happens on top of that it’ll be the icing on the cake. But just that we’re in the conversation – whether we win anything or not – is amazing.”
So far, Better Man has been nominated for a record-breaking 16 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts awards, and also appears twice in the shortlist for the Oscars 2025.
Family life on tour
Following Better Man’s release on December 26 this year, Robbie’s life shows no signs of slowing down as the singer prepares to head off on a UK and Europe tour in 2025.
Asked whether he will be bringing his children Teddy, 12, Charlie, 10, Coco, six, and Beau, four, with him for the adventure, Robbie shared: “I want them to [come along].
“It’s the summer and they’ve got time off. And unless they come on tour with me Daddy won’t be able to see them much. So it’s imperative that they come really.”
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However, so far the ‘Rock DJ’ singer has found that his and his wife Ayda FIeld’s four kids are hilariously uninterested in their dad’s rockstar career.
Robbie Williams sends his eldest son a message live in concert
“My son Charlie has been to see me loads, but literally, I’ll come on during ‘Let Me Entertain You’ and I’ll look over to the family enclosure, and he’s got his head down on an iPad!” he joked.
That said, Charlie was much more engaged and amazed by the spectacle of Robbie’s BST Hyde Park set last summer.
“He watched the whole gig and it was like it was the first time he’d experienced his dad and been like ‘Wow, oh. Okay, this is something. What is this?’”
It’s likely Robbie will be able to look forward to celebrating his tour life with his children more in the near future.
What are Robbie Williams’ 2025 UK and Europe tour dates?
MAY 2025
May 31 - Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, UK
JUNE 2025
June 4 - Come Together Festival, Newcastle, UK
June 6 - Emirates Stadium, London, UK
June 7 - Emirates Stadium, London, UK
June 10 - Co-op Live, Manchester, UK
June 11 - Co-op Live, Manchester, UK
June 13 - Royal Crescent, Bath, UK
June 14 - Royal Crescent, Bath, UK
June 19 - Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark
June 22 - Johan Cruyff ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands
June 23 - Johan Cruyff ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands
June 25 - VELTINS-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
June 28 - Werchter TW Classic, Belgium
June 30 - Heinz von Heiden Arena, Hanover, Germany
JULY 2025
July 2 - La Défense Arena, Paris, France
July 5 - RCDE Stadium, Barcelona, Spain
July 9 - Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Germany
July 12 - Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria
July 17 - Stadio Nereo Rocco, Trieste, Italy
July 21 - Waldbühne, Berlin, Germany
July 22 - Waldbühne, Berlin, Germany
July 26 - Olympiastadion, Munich, Germany
AUGUST 2025
August 1 - Darius and Girėnas Stadium, Kaunas, Lithuania
August 3 - Mežaparks, Riga, Latvia
August 7 - Stockholm Stadion, Stockholm, Sweden
August 10 - Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt, Germany
August 13 - Forus Travbane, Stavanger, Norway
August 16 - Granåsen, Trondheim, Norway
August 23 - Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland
SEPTEMBER 2025
September 7 - O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic
September 9 - TAURON Arena, Kraków, Kraków, Poland
September 12 - MVM Dome, Budapest, Hungary
September 20 - Olympiastadion, Helsinki, Finland
Robbie Williams' biopic Better Man will be released in cinemas in the UK on December 26, 2024.
