Better Man: Film critics blindsided after realising CGI monkey plays Robbie Williams in new biopic

New film depicts ‘Rock DJ’ singer in rather unusual way that was previously branded ‘top secret’

Film critics have been left blindsided after discovering who plays Robbie Williams in a biopic about his life.

The spotlight is placed on the “Let Me Entertain You” and “Rock DJ” singer in a new film titled Better Man, which premiered at Telluride Film Festival on Monday (2 September).

Almost one year after the release of a Netflix documentary series about Williams’s life, the film, whose title is taken from a single released in 2000, tells the story of his rise to fame in boyband Take That before embarking on a successful solo career.

Those sitting down to watch the film, though, were left surprised after realising that, in the film, Williams is played by a CGI monkey.

“The other thing that sets Better Man apart from the rest of its ilk – and this might be too subtle for some people to notice– is that Williams is played by a computer-generated monkey for the entire film. Please feel free to read that sentence again if you need to,” IndieWire’s David Ehrlich wrote in his review.

Writing for The Playlist, Gregory Ellwood said: “Williams is portrayed as a monkey. Everyone else in the movie is, effectively real-life human beings, but, yes, Williams is portrayed as a monkey like an actor who just walked off the digital set of any recent Planet of the Apesmovie.

The headline for Peter Debruge’s Variety review reads: “Robbie Williams Biopic Would Be a Snooze, but for the Wild Choice to Depict Him as a Chimp.”

Meanwhile, Little White Lies’s Hannah Strong wrote on X/Twitter: “Another beautiful morning thinking about the Robbie Williams Biopic Where He Is Played By A CGI Chimp.”

Director Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman), who previously teased the biopic would be “out of the ordinary”, employed the same WETA FX artists who worked on the Planet of the Apes franchise to bring the monkey to life.

For the film, Jonno Davies is the one who wore the motion-capture suit – Andy Serkis-style – to capture the monkey’s movement, while Williams himself provided the voice.

Robbie Williams takes centre stage in new biopic – but not in the way you’d expect (Netflix)

Gracey told Deadline back when the film was first announced: “As for how we represent Robbie in the film, that bit is top secret. I want to do this in a really original way. I just want the audience to… think, ‘I’ve never seen this before’.

It is said that the decision to depict him as a CGI primate is due to the singer’s belief that, when he walks on stage, he is essentially a performing monkey.

Better Man, an Australian-American production, does not yet have a UK release date. It co-stars Steve Pemberton, Alison Steadman and Damon Herriman.