fortunejack Robbie Williams Never Broke the U.S. Can His Biopic?

When Michael Gracey thinks of Robbie Williams, “I think showman,” he said.

Gracey, who directed the 2017 movie musical “The Greatest Showman,” has some experience centering a big budget feature around a performer who can work a crowd. His latest is built around Williams.

“Better Man” tracks the singer’s rise to become one of Britain’s biggest stars in the ’90s and early 2000s, when he seemed to be a permanent fixture on the charts — and in the tabloids. Williams frequently winked at his showboating, bad-boy public persona in flamboyant, rabble-rousing hit songs like “Let Me Entertain You.” But he never found success stateside, and in making a Williams biopic, Gracey said he was aware that “in America, they’re like ‘Who’s this guy?’”

Gracey’s solution was to portray the pop star as a CGI primate. “If I hadn’t been able to crack that as an idea,” the Australian director said, “I wouldn’t have made the film.”

At the peak of his fame, Williams openly struggled with depression and addiction, which is depicted in raw detail in the film. In a video interview, Williams, 50, said “Better Man” was about “enduring and overcoming, near death experiences, self-abuse and impostor syndrome.” He grinned knowingly. “It’s a very modern musical,” he added.

Here’s what to know about the man behind the monkey.

How did Williams become famous?ImageWilliams in the film. In Britain, the singer has had a 14 No. 1 albums — second only to The Beatles.Credit...Ben King/Paramount Pictures

Williams was born in Stoke-on-Trent, an industrial town in England’s West Midlands.

In 1990, aged 16, he auditioned to be a member of Take That, a five-piece act that became one of Britain’s biggest boy bands, with eight No. 1 singles.

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Ms. Harris was an assistant district attorney in the city. Ms. Guilfoyle was in discussions to join the office. Ms. Harris was calling, according to Ms. Guilfoyle, to suggest there was no job for her there.

The report — put out by the Republican members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce — also recommends stricter guidelines around federally funded research, including significantly curtailing the ability of researchers who receive U.S. grants to work with Chinese universities and companies that have military ties.

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