If it’s true that your age freezes the day you become famous, then the British pop star Robbie Williams is stuck at 16. So he says near the end of “Better Man," the biopic he produced. “I’m unevolved," he confesses. No kidding — throughout the entire film, Williams is portrayed as an ape.

Robbie Williams being portrayed as a CGI ape in Better Man could have been a simple gimmick, but it actually has thematic meaning within the story.

I came out of the womb with jazz hands,” pop star Robbie Williams recounts in “Better Man,” his new biopic. Williams became the hugest of stars in his native Britain, making 14 No. 1 singles and performing to screaming crowds (though he never gained traction in the United States.

US movie goers have claimed that they have never heard of pop star Robbie Williams and have plenty of questions about his biopic and why a monkey plays his character

I’m not kidding. And neither are “Better Man” subject Robbie Williams nor the film’s director Michael Gracey. This rise, fall and very fast 12-step recovery saga of the English singing sensation few Americans know presents Williams as a CG chimpanzee.

Yes, as we're sure you already know, Williams is portrayed by a CGI chimpanzee in the new movie. As director and co-writer Michael Gracey has explained, the decision was because the star had constantly compared himself to a 'performing monkey' during his career.

Maybe he would, I don’t know.” Robbie Williams poses for photographers upon arrival at the European premiere for the film 'Better Man' on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in London. Credit: AP/Scott A Garfitt “Maybe this film moves the needle for me,

The film is a visual spectacle and there's heart at the core of the story, making for a balanced dive into Robbie Williams' rise to pop stardom.

For the past two hours, they’d watched the real-life story of Robbie Williams — a British pop singer who’s sold over 75 million records — acted out by a CGI monkey. Perhaps my fellow moviegoers needed further confirmation that the star of Better Man was,