Robbie Williams Is Being Played By a CGI Monkey in His Biopic, 'Better Man' — But Why?

Movies keep getting stranger and stranger. As the latest trailer for the Robbie Williams biopic makes clear, no actor has been tasked with playing the British singer and songwriter, at least not one who appears on screen. Instead, Robbie is portrayed in the film by actor Jonno Davies, who is himself also playing a CGI ape à la Planet of the Apes.

The decision to make Robbie, who is very much a human, look like an ape in the film has been met with some understandable head-scratching. Here's what we know about why they decided to make that decision for Better Man.

(Not to be too pedantic, but while people often use the terms "monkey" and "ape" interchangeably, the character in Better Man is technically an ape as he doesn't have a long tail. But they say "monkey" in the trailer, so here we are.)

Jonno Davies is voicing the character and provided the motion capture to play Robbie, whereas Robbie himself sings in the film.

According to the film's official synopsis, Better Man is "based on the true story of the meteoric rise, dramatic fall, and remarkable resurgence of British pop superstar Robbie Williams, one of the greatest entertainers of all time."

The synopsis also suggests that it "follows Robbie's journey from childhood, to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That, through to his unparalleled achievements as a record-breaking solo artist — all the while confronting the challenges that stratospheric fame and success can bring."

While the synopsis mentions that it's told from a "unique" perspective, it never directly mentions that Better Man stars an ape.

In speaking with Vanity Fair, though, director Michael Gracey offered some more detail on why the choice was made.

"To see himself as a performing monkey wasn’t just whilst he was famous — it was his whole life," Michael explained in an interview with Vanity Fair.

Although that metaphor was a hard sell for some, Michael, who previously directed The Greatest Showman, said that audiences were going to be into it.

"He was always putting on a performance at [his hometown] Stoke for the other kids, at home for his parents," the director added. "And it made it so powerful for me because I was like, 'You're going to fall in love with this character, this little monkey. And you’re going to invest emotionally in this little monkey. As long as you set that contract at the start of the film, you’re in, and you will go with that monkey through the entire journey.'"

It's hard to say how the movie will ultimately go over, but the trailer definitely had some people curious, at least in a morbid way.

The movie also stars Steve Pemberton, Alison Steadman, Damon Herriman, Tom Budge, Raechelle Banno, Kate Mulvaney, Frazer Hadfield, and Anthony Hayes.

Better Man isn't the only musical biopic to take an unusual format. Pharrell's Piece by Piece is a documentary about his life told entirely through LEGO bricks. These bold gambits have certainly drawn headlines, but whether they'll produce ticket sales remains to be seen. Better Man will have a limited release on Dec. 25 before going wide on Jan. 17.