Michael Gracey & Jonno Davies interview: The primate antics of 'Better Man'
Credit: Marco Cerritos
The musical biopic has had enough cradle-to-grave iterations over the years that parody has become the only way to keep things fresh. But the new film “Better Man” takes a bolder swing and mixes both styles, delivering traditional A-B-C storytelling with a narrative device that’s impossible to ignore.
At the center of this wild experiment is pop superstar Robbie Williams, a man known for big gambles. In this latest endeavor he’s narrating his life story but instead of seeing Robbie onscreen it’s a CGI monkey. The concept shouldn’t work at all but a large part of that wild card’s success is due to director Michael Gracey (“The Greatest Showman”) and actor Jonno Davies, who steps in for Robbie to portray the digital creation through motion capture. We recently spoke to the duo to discuss their process of bringing such a fresh take to the screen.
Q: How easy or difficult was it for you to sell the idea of doing a movie about Robbie Williams in such a unique way?
Michael Gracey: It was a really easy sell with Rob. It was as simple as saying, if you were an animal how would you see yourself? He answered with a big grin, a lion. But then there was a moment when he said, no, a monkey. A cheeky monkey. Financing the film was much more difficult. The easy sell would’ve been the director of “The Greatest Showman” plus Robbie Williams. It’s a very known path that people have gone down doing musical biopics. The moment you mention that Rob is going to be portrayed as a monkey, it essentially doubled the budget of the film and became a much more risky prospect. It cost me years of my life. Weta Digital set up shop in Australia and were there every step of the way.
Q: Jonno, with Weta being so involved from the beginning, how was it for you day-to-day interacting with other actors on set?
Jonno Davies: There’s the technical side of it with the suit and the dots on your face but we also want the monkey to interact with the rest of the cast. That’s why it was important that he felt a part of the space and not just added later on.
Q: How long did it take you to get used to working that way?
Davies: Probably a good week to be honest. We started with “My Way” which helped because there wasn’t so much close contact. The brilliant thing about performance capture is that it’s the same as any other form of acting. The foundation is the same, it’s about having that tennis match with your scene partner.
Q: How did you decide which parts of Robbie’s life to include in the film and which to leave out?
Gracey: It was really difficult, there’s some amazing stories he told me that aren’t in the film. They can be in “Better Man 2: The Best Man.” (laughs)
Q: The musical numbers flow seamlessly between the narrative beats of the film. Did you find that mix in the editing room or were they constructed that way from the beginning?
Gracey: A bit of both to be honest. The flow of the musical numbers was worked out in great detail but when you bring in great editors, they take something you’re sure is working and add another layer.
Q: How do you handle the opposite of that, where you might come across a disagreement on set or something isn’t working?
Gracey: Everything is so highly planned but the truth is you don’t want it so planned that it loses spontaneity. Sometimes we would plan in advance and on the day it just feels stale. It loses its spark and it’s up to us to reignite it. Sometimes it means handing it over to the actors and say, just play. We were so fortunate because every single one of our actors were just powerhouses. It gave Jonno someone to play off.
Davies: It never felt like there was a clash. There was symmetry within everyone and when something like that happened it felt like an exciting challenge to overcome rather than an obstacle.
Q: Jonno, as an actor what do you look for in your directors to feel more comfortable on set?
Davies: That’s a great question. Trust. When you get given something of this magnitude you start to think that this is the moment where I will be found out. Having that trust from your director when he says go and play, you believe them. When there’s such joy and passion from the very top it trickles down to every department.
Gracey: But also for Rob, whatever nerves Jonno had, Rob has that same thing. Whatever imposter syndrome Jonno might be feeling in the moment, Rob has exactly that same thing.
“Better Man” is now playing in theaters nationwide.
