Robbie Williams is a hugely popular singer and songwriter. He set a record by winning 18 Brit Awards and has two Grammy nominations to his name. Williams has churned out six of the top 100 best-selling albums in British history, amassed an audience of 375,000 fans over three nights performing at Knebworth, setting a record that’s yet to be surpassed, and has sold 85 million album worldwide. The list of achievements and accolades goes on and on, but he insists, “I didn't derive any joy from all the success that I had.” However, at 50, things have changed. “I am experiencing joy and I'm experiencing happiness. I'm also experiencing gratitude, a great deal of gratitude where I didn't have gratitude before. So, these are my golden years.”
Williams has been enjoying a different kind of spotlight since August 2024. That’s when his film, Better Man, premiered at the 51st Telluride Film Festival before moving on to the Toronto International Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, and more. Based on Williams’ true rise, fall and resurgence, Better Man chronicles his journey from finding fame as a teenager with the boy band Take That, to parting ways with the group and mounting a solo career. While Williams did find great success on that path, it was one that also came with a significant number of struggles that, as Williams himself lists, included, “childhood trauma, fame too early, mental illness, addiction, [and] rehab.” Better Man shows how he powered through those challenges as Williams sees himself, as a “performing monkey.”
With Better Man gearing up to celebrate its nationwide release on January 10th, Williams took the time to join me for a Collider Forces conversation to revisit the early days of his music career, explain how his definition of having “it” has evolved over the years, discuss why he trusted Gracey with his story, and so much more.
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