Robbie Williams as a CGI monkey in 'Better Man'
(Paramount Pictures)

‘Better Man’ interview: Michael Gracey on choreography, Robbie Williams, and that monkey

The Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey is currently promoting his newest movie-musical, A Better Man, which is generating buzz for, ahem, obvious reasons—the foremost of which is that it stars a dancing, CGI monkey played in part by one of the U.K.’s most prolific pop artists, Robbie Williams.

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Perhaps equally as entertaining as the film itself is the fact that Americans are woefully unfamiliar with A Better Man star Robbie Williams, who rose to fame in the ’90s when he joined the English boy band, Take That. Essentially, Williams is the equivalent of Justin Timberlake for us Yanks. Over the years, he’s gone on to amass well over $21 million in record sales with hits like “Angels” and “Rock DJ.” Suffice it to say, Williams’ semi-biopic had to be one for the books, leading director Michael Gracey to boldly ask the question: “What if he was a monkey?”

Michael Gracey talks staying “real” while monkeying around for A Better Man

During a recent interview with The Mary Sue, Gracey talked all things choreography for A Better Man, which, despite making a CGI ape stand in for its title character, had to be as “grounded” as possible. When it comes to those over-the-top dance sequences (i.e. that viral Regent Street scene), Gracey stressed the importance of making the movement feel “real” given its more fantastical elements, saying: “There’s got to be a physicality to it for you to believe that this is a real person in a real world.”

“You just buy into the character”: Michael Gracey anticipated Americans’ lack of Robbie Williams knowledge

Obviously, Williams’ monkey is somewhat anthropomorphized here, and (mostly) moves like a human would. This is because Williams put on a mocap suit and did his thing on stage for certain reference shots, meaning it’s not just his voice we’re hearing. Again, Gracey took a big risk by making a movie about a pop singer who’s relatively unknown here in the States—and that was before he decided to turn Williams into a literal ape. But the filmmaker understood exactly what he was doing for A Better Man, saying he knew “full well” that this would act as many Americans’ first introduction to Williams.

I mean, we knew full well that the majority of America don’t know who Robbie Williams is. But then, you know, I don’t know whether the character Bradley Cooper plays in A Star is Born is based on a real person or not a real person. So what’s interesting is in a film like that, you just buy into the character. You invest and you care about them, and so for me, it was almost like for people who don’t know Robbie Williams, what’s amazing is they watch this like it’s an original musical like The Greatest Showman. They’re hearing the songs for the first time, they’re hearing the story for the first time, and that’s great. It’s just very different to people outside of the U.S. who obviously know who he is.

“Angel” may have been the Williams song fans were most excited to hear, but from a personal standpoint, Gracey was most moved by the uplifting “Something Beautiful.” When curating a musical, the director explained that the inclusion of a song works to serve the narrative, with tracks like “Better Man” being an appropriate fit for the scene where Williams checks out of rehab. To him, “Something Beautiful” marks the first time our protagonist is “honest” with himself; something Gracey described as “incredibly human”—adding a layer of irony to the whole Monkey Thing.

A Better Man is currently playing in theaters worldwide.


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Amanda Landwehr
Amanda is a Los Angeles-based entertainment writer who lives and breathes Star Wars, Marvel, and all things pop culture. She has worked in digital media since 2021, covering the latest movie/TV releases, casting updates, politics, fan theories, and so, so much more. When she's not rotting away behind her laptop screen, you can typically catch Amanda maxing out her AMC Stubs membership.