Robbie Williams shocks when recounting the worst years of his life: “He was an alcoholic, a drug addict and owed £300,000”

Given the latest events, Pablo Motos He has brought out all his artillery to counterattack: December begins with three international visits. The first, this Monday the 2nd, that of Robbie williams. The famous British artist premieres on January 1, 2025 ‘Better man’a semi-biographical film that explores the experiences that made him one of music’s most popular figures and the demons he battled both on and off stage.

Like the tremendous reception given to it by the audience present on the set of the program, the film “is going to be an event,” Motos stated by way of introduction. “At this time when there is so much posturing and falsehood, watching a film with so much truth reconciles you with the human being,” he continued before giving way to the guest.

For its part, Robbie Williams whet your appetite, with total effectiveness, about ‘Better man’. «It all started in 1974 when I was born. The truth is that I have had a very intense, very active and unusual life since I was 16 years old. I became famous and since then I have had to manage that, with drug addictions, bad friends, bad managers, weird record companies, bad decisions, with and without love, no self-esteem, hating myself, with an inner life quite complicated… I believe that all people want to be seen, heard and loved. That is basically the story the film tells, that of a human being who wants to be loved.

Robbie Williams, played by a monkey

One of the most striking aspects of the ‘biopic’ is that the artist is played by a monkey, a metaphor with a clear meaning. Such a creative decision is due to the fact that “we people have forgotten that we are basically animals just for putting on clothes, having heating or having food and drink on hand,” he explained. For that reason, “the fact that I appear as a monkey in the film reminds us all of that idea that in reality we are all animals.”

And it works. According to the presenter, “seeing the monkey in certain situations breaks your heart, it breaks you.” «I hope that it actually moves you, because in the first 45 minutes of the film my hooligan side comes out and how fun it all is, but the rest is like ‘Trainspotting combined with depression and anxiety. But I think those who see the film cry in a positive way.

The presenter wanted to delve into the complicated life of Robbie Williams since as a teenager stardom suddenly came to him when he was part of the band Take That. If fame is difficult to deal with, experiencing it so prematurely led him to plunge into a pit of destruction. «I fell into unbridled alcoholism and of course also into addiction. But when you are 20 years old, there was no talk of addictions, depression, or anxiety. You were just there. I was 19 when I first thought ‘I have a problem’. Then, however, I buried it,” he revealed.

Furthermore, he went from being tremendously rich to ending up up to his eyeballs in debt. «He owed 400,000 pounds. When I left the group, I had 1.2 million. Then I took my record company to court and had to pay a million and a half. At 21 years old he was an alcoholic, a drug addict and owed 300,000 pounds,” he said with complete sincerity.

While he was destroyed, his fellow members of the group continued to triumph. Despite this, he assured that he did not feel anything. «Cocaine anesthetizes you, but at the same time it destroys you. I took advantage of the whole feeling of incredible confidence. At that time I had tunnel vision, I only saw success, but my life was a disaster.