Pop icon portrayed as just a CGI monkey in groundbreaking new biopic

Almost every music biopic follows the same formula: It shows the rise and fall of a particular musician or band and tells how the hits are created. It is somewhat overdue to change this formula.

Director Michael Gracey (“The Greatest Showman”) and British pop star Robbie Williams think they may have a strange formula to fix that with the upcoming film “Better Man.”

Williams, 50, is not depicted in human form. Instead, a CGI monkey will play the role of Williams, for whom 32-year-old actor Jonno Davies did all of the motion capture. Davies provides the character's voice and Williams does all of the singing.

Yes, it's a bit of a stretch, but Williams and Gracey opened up about the reasons behind the decision in an interview Vanity Fair.

“Seeing himself as a performing monkey was not just the time he was famous, but throughout his life. He was always doing a gig in (his hometown),” Gracey explained.

The biopic's logline states that the film will depict “the meteoric rise, dramatic fall and remarkable resurgence of British pop superstar Robbie Williams, one of the greatest entertainers of all time.”

Williams was formerly part of the British boy band Take That. With 12 No. 1 singles and more than 14 million album sales, the group is the most successful boy band in British chart history.

Williams left the group in 1995 and went solo. He has had seven No. 1 albums in the UK. Of his 13 No. 1 solo albums, six are among the top 100 best-selling albums in the UK. The pop star has also struggled with mental health and alcohol issues over the years. In an autobiographical miniseries on Netflix, Williams speaks openly about his life.

“Better Man” premieres in select Paramount theaters on December 25th. Check out the teaser below.

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Murjani Rawls can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at@MurjaniRawls.