He enters the room and discovers the group of journalists placed in an arc around a sofa. He then says, laughing: “Thank you friends for all being here. My name is Rob and I am an alcoholic! » The tone is set. Visiting Paris to support Better Manby Michael Gracey, his phenomenal biopic in which he is represented in the guise of a monkey, Robbie Williams is in a jovial mood and ready to fight, without tongue in cheek.
The JDD. Why did you decide to release a full-length film rather than an album?
Robbie Williams. I’m 50 years old! I’ve been in the business a long time, so I have to find ways to remind people that I still exist, whether it’s through a book or a movie. The universe one day presented me with a wonderful opportunity: Michael Gracey, the director of The Greatest Showman (2017), asked for my agreement to direct my biopic for the cinema, involving me in the production process. Obviously, I said yes.
I assure you: there is nothing more than in the Netflix documentary series, I am just abusing my privileges to draw attention to myself and I am a pro at this. I’m as ambitious as before, I have a hole that I can’t fill so I persevere. I often thought that I didn’t deserve the good things that came my way, I was devaluing myself and I was doomed to failure. Today, I no longer ask myself these kinds of questions. I’m in charge and damn, I’m here!
Why this urgent need for introspection? Should we be worried about you?
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No, you had to worry about me from 1990 to 2016, when I felt bad. Now everything is fine: I am focused on myself, extremely narcissistic. With the compulsion to tell you everything about my life to justify my place on Earth and explain who I am, in the hope that you will forgive me. I have long thought that popularity and success are bad luck. I don’t recommend fame to a 15 or 16 year old kid. Particularly if it’s a boy: we are idiots until the age of 25, creatures governed by our completely crazy impulses. We don’t know who we are, so if the star system comes into the equation, we’re not heading in the right direction at all! After two and a half decades, I am finally putting the past behind me.
“If I met young Robbie Williams today, I would say to him: ‘Who the fuck do you think you are?’ »
Now there is joy, contentment, happiness, meaning. My story is nothing special, I am a particularly vulnerable person who reacted badly, like everyone else! I am now taking full advantage of this gift and I am grateful: destiny has given me a family and it is wonderful. If I met young Robbie Williams today, I would say to him: “Who the fuck do you think you are? » I don’t know if what I just told you meets your expectations, but I think my answer is wonderful!
Why do you identify with a monkey on screen?
This eccentric and courageous take greatly excited me as a spectator: no one has ever seen this before. Generally, when we watch a biopic, we criticize the actor’s performance. Good or bad, we make the comparison, even unconsciously, with the original. Afterwards, we remain animals immersed in a terrible feeling of insecurity. We see how chaos takes over our society when we behave like what we really are: savages! I was involved when writing the script. If there are things missing, it’s not censorship on my part, but because the film couldn’t last five hours!
Sometimes a particular episode didn’t fit into the plot. Some passages have been condensed. What matters? Let my feelings be strictly accurate. Before filming, I locked myself in a cage equipped with 150 cameras that scanned my entire body. And I performed 120 facial expressions which were captured in the same way. The images were based on Jonno Davies, who gives me his physique on screen. I performed some scenes, but I don’t remember which ones. The magic of cinema, even for me! Then again, Jonno has a really nice ass, so I’m going to pretend it’s mine.
-The last sentence of Better Man East : “Fuck you all. I love you ! » A bit paradoxical, no?
I am the cure to my own curse. I reject you, and at the same time I need your affection. I am insolent and fragile. I’m sabotaging myself. Impulsive, I cross limits and boast. My arrogance has only one goal: to provoke reactions. I became the creature I always wanted to be. I keep my feet on the ground, I have fun in my sandbox with my plastic toys. As a human being, I want to be loved, seen, heard, embraced, approved of. Yes, I screwed up years ago, I screwed up my brain when I did a lot of drugs at a very young age.
I then had a very complicated inner life, and the impression of being schizophrenic, with a lot of negativity in my head. The noise that reigned there has now given way to silence. I’m healed, I’m at peace. People finally accepted me for what I am, despite my… assertive temperament! I was in bad shape psychologically, I refined myself. It annoys me when you ask someone if they have any regrets and they say “no”, that they would do everything the same again. Anything ! I could write an entire book on the subject…
“Each new generation brings progress. I hope I am a good father to my children”
Was it important for you to pay tribute to your beloved grandmother?
She was the epitome of unconditional support and love. Because the other members of my family only gave me their affection if I was good. I could have killed someone in the street, she would certainly have argued that he deserved it. Each new generation brings progress. I hope I am a good father to my children.
Have your parents seen the film?
No, I fear their reaction. Because they are divorced and this is my mother’s view of my father! (Laughs.) Afterwards, if I am in front of you today, it is because of him because he made me dream as an artist [sous le pseudonyme Peter Conway, NDLR]. I understood that everything was possible. If he had been a police officer, perhaps I would have become one too.
You will be in concert on July 2 at Paris La Défense Arena. Do you have other plans?
I want to build hotels, performance halls, universities designed to promote entertainment, buy a football club, optimize my creativity with all my heart! Gandhi said: “Be the change in the world you want to see. » I left school with no qualifications. My best grade was a D. For a long time I thought I was really stupid. This is my revenge on the education system on a very large scale. (Laughs.) If I can make a little money, that’s not bad. I’ve been around music. I am entering the third act of my life, I am throwing myself into it head on and I will face the consequences later. I risk burnout, but I chose it. No one is forcing me to do it except me, that’s the big difference!
