TikTok generation. You definitely go through it as an audience member. There’s a lot of levity and brevity – are those the right words? - in there too. And humour, obviously. But then you come with me to the places that I went to. The most difficult part of the movie for me is the relationship that I had with my ex fiancé, Nicole Appleton, because everybody else in the movie did something to me, and I’m not happy to throw them under the bus, but if there’s a bus passing, that’s where they’re going. [laughs] You know? But with Nic, I was the villain. She had the worst version of me, and she is just a good person. And I struggle every single time because there’s still some shame about those relationships you have in addiction. Mine, not hers, because she wasn’t an addict or an alcoholic. That’s the most difficult bit. And then there’s stuff with my grandma and there’s stuff with my dad that’s also difficult, but difficult in a different way.
How much have they seen of the movie? Well, grandma can’t - unless there’s cinemas in heaven. My father hasn’t seen it. And that’s another difficult part of this too because part of the mechanism of the movie is my relationship with my father and how it was and what it felt like. And the version that you’re getting in the movie is my mom’s version of what happened. And my father has my father’s version of what happened. And I feel sad that there are things that I haven’t talked about with my dad that are going to be seen on screen. It’s a really odd feeling. In many ways, I don’t want him to see it. In other ways, I want people to know this about my dad - he’s the most charming person that you will meet, and nobody that has met him has not ever fallen in love with him. And that’s the truth about my father.
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There are a lot of famous people portrayed in this movie, in- cluding Liam Gallagher, for instance. How close to the real ver- sion is this Liam? Are you concerened about how they all feel about the way they are portrayed? Okay. So Liam is an 11, and the way that Liam’s portrayed in this movie is a 10 [laughs]. So Gary Barlow, who I used to be in a band with, got sent the first script. And I love him, I adore Gaz. He’s another difficult part about the film. Our relationship is fixed and as healed as it can be. But in the movie, I have to speak and think in the way that I spoke and thought when I was 17, 18, 19 - and it wasn’t kind. You know? I don’t like that, but this is the industry that we find ourselves in, and these are the tools that we use to propel ourselves forward. When Gaz received the script, he said to me - and there was no pointing fingers because we’re both grown-ups and we know that we love each other - but he was like, ‘Rob, I read the script. I come off worse than Darth Vader in the first ‘Star Wars’’, which made me laugh. So there’s so many difficult aspects about this for me, for people. I know what happened when ‘Rocketman’ came out and the subsequent news articles from family members - ‘And this wasn’t and that wasn’t…’ I’m just going to put my head in the sand and, hopefully, you know, good things are coming from this already, but I know there’s more in store.
You are one of the greatest showmen to walk this earth... Correct. [laughs] So after putting your story on the big screen, are we now going to see you purusue a career in Hollywood as an actor or as a singer not playing Robbie Williams? Listen. We’ve made a film. The film’s a film. It’s a great film. Now, whether that converts people to make them leave their homes, go to a cinema, sit down on the seat and watch the film, especially in
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North America where nobody really knows me, is a huge undertaking and a huge ask. Now I would love that to happen because there is an itch that I’ve got where I go, ‘I need to show off for North America. I would love to be here and do a big North American tour. That would make me feel whole and be wonderful. At the same time, if it doesn’t, I’ll pivot. It’s okay.
How about acting? No. [laughs] And I tell you why. Right? Because as an actor, I really want to go, [mimes cowboy] ‘Pow, pow, pow’ and then I want to go, ‘Funny remark.’ That’s what I want to do. I don’t want to shoot opening a door three times and walking down that hallway seven times. And I don’t want to have to have done that for a whole day before I go ‘Pow, pow, pow.’ [laughs] What if it was a musical film? This is a musical? Yeah maybe. Maybe.
Take That were massive, but many people felt you never really seemed to fit with the band? So did they. [laughs] If you could go back in time, would you still have joined? Absolutely. Because outside of North America and where Take That is important in the hearts of the people that started to follow us back then, they still remain important in the hearts of the people that started to follow us back then. They and we have endured longer and, I dare say, better than all of our contemporaries. So is Take That the perfect band for me? Yes. End of answer. [laughs]
Finally, how proud are you of this movie? I am overwhelmed. Michael Gracey said, ‘We’re gonna do this thing.’ And I never believed all the way along that the film would be made and then the film started to be made. And I loved the idea of the monkey, but how that was going to convert in Michael Gracey’s mind. ‘This is going to be epic. This is going to be huge. You’re not going to believe what’s going to happen for you.’ And still, even then, I was kind of like, ‘Sure, mate. Sure.’ You know? Because I’m not in his mind, so you can’t see the realised finished version of this thing. Now I have. Turns out, he might be right. So I am immensely proud and immensely grateful for this opportunity.
Thank you.
INTERVI EW ROBBI E WI L L IAMS
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