Robbie Williams’ biggest achievements that Better Man doesn’t share

Robbie Williams' incredible life on and off the stage will keep Better Man audiences gripped.

Despite packing so much into the biopic, there are still another 20 years of highlights that the film doesn't get around to.

His life story finishes circa 2003 in the Michael Gracey movie, due out on Boxing Day, and Williams has not exactly had a quiet time of it over the following two decades.

Whether that means a sequel could be on the horizon remains to be seen but these are the highlights of everything Williams has done since Better Man's final scenes.

Solo success

Better Man takes us up to a milestone in Williams' solo career, his sell-out three nights of shows at Knebworth in 2003.

However, far from marking the end of his success, it saw him go on to release seven more solo albums — Intensive Care (2005), Rudebox (2006), Reality Killed the Video Star (2009), Take the Crown (2012), Swings Both Ways (2013), The Heavy Entertainment Show (2016), and The Christmas Present (2019), as well as a greatest hits album in 2004.

The singer's loyal fans have continued to allow him to sell out shows across the world, with a new tour announced for 2025.

Williams has also been in-demand for collaborations with stars including Kylie Minogue on Kids in 2000, Somethin' Stupid with Nicole Kidman in 2001, and We Are the Champions with Queen in the same year.

Rejoining Take That

Although Williams has made no secret of his difficult years with Take That in the 90s, he did eventually reconcile with his former bandmates.

In recent BBC documentary Boybands Forever, Williams talked about rebuilding his relationship with Gary Barlow during a clear the air chat which led to them "rolling on the floor belly laughing".

He said: "Gaz is one of the best songwriters we've ever had in the country. And he also happens to be an incredibly dependable person that you can lean on. He's solid, Gaz. I've just got overwhelming amounts of admiration for the man."

Following some one-off appearances at each other's shows, Williams officially reunited with Take That in 2010, a huge moment for fans of the group who had been left devastated when Williams quit in the 90s.

They released Progress later that year which became the fastest selling album since 2000, and went back out on tour together including eight nights at Wembley.

Williams missed the group's London 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony performance as his wife Ayda Field was due to give birth around the same time, and chose not to join Take That for their following albums and tours. But he remains on good terms with his former co-stars.

Marriage and fatherhood

He's had some high-profile relationships with stars including Melanie Chisholm, Nicole Appleton (who went on to marry his Liam Gallagher) and Geri Halliwell, but Williams is now happily married to US actor Ayda Field.

The couple met on a BBC Radio 4 documentary about the paranormal and UFO sightings which Williams made with Jon Ronson and featured Field. The singer began dating her in 2006 and they married in 2010.

Field and Williams, who now live in London, have four children — daughters Teddy and Coco and sons Charlie and Beau. Their two youngest children were born via surrogate.

Williams has often joined Field on Loose Women, where she is a panellist, and she recently spoke about her pride at Williams' work on Better Man. She said: "What's so amazing about it is that not only are you watching the story of Robbie Williams but you're really watching an evolution of a character who goes through some really heavy things. Rob said it's not a musical, it's an abusical. It is no holds barred, it's honest, it's brave, everyone who saw the film with us was crying."

The couple have opened up on their podcast about a rocky start to their relationship which saw Williams dump Field three times while he tried to get control of his addictions. Field admitted: "He was my soulmate and then he was gone."

But they are now stronger than ever, as Williams revealed in his recent Netflix documentary: "There is a happy ending for me anyway. I guess the god-shaped hole has been filled with four kids and a wife. I'm a dad of four and a loving husband. I'm on my way to being really happy."

Opening up on mental health

Williams' life today looks very different from the days when he had just left Take That and he has been open about how working through his mental health struggles and addictions has helped him.

In an interview with Yahoo ahead of Better Man's release, he said: "We were in the dark ages, when it comes to talking, thinking, representing mental health as a problem. Now we’re not."

Williams also told the Telegraph that he is in a great place now: "See, I’ve struggled with mental illness, and all the way through the most successful parts of my career, I couldn’t derive joy from them. There’s been a couple of decades, maybe a bit more, of just depression, anxiety, agoraphobia, dyslexia, dyscalculia - all the things we diagnose our friends with at dinner parties, I’ve got them."

He added: "Through working on myself, through seeking help and taking help, and through the love of a good woman and four kids, and just growing up and maturing, I’m in the best place that I’ve ever been."

Field also addressed the ongoing effects of Williams' struggles recently as she told Loose Women her feelings on their children one day watching his Netflix documentary or Better Man.

She said: "I don't think there's ever been a moment where we've sat Teddy down and said, you know your father is an addict, he did lots of drugs, he slept with lots of women.

"But there are things that come up in our lives and we have very age-appropriate conversations about their father's story and what he's been through, what we've been through as a couple. In our house we're very honest and Teddy is aware that her father is an alcoholic and a drug addict and that's why Daddy doesn't touch these things. She knows a lot about his story to the right degree."

Outside of music

His superstar status has meant that Williams is in demand for all kinds of other projects away from his music career.

In 2018, he and Field joined The X Factor together as a coaching duo for the series, while Williams has also coached on German reality show Popstars: Girls Forever.

He voiced the character of Dougal in the 2005 film of The Magic Roundabout and wrote the music for Channel 4's adaptation of The Tiger Who Came To Tea.

As a keen football fan, Williams briefly set up a team called Los Angeles Vale FC between 2005 and 2007 while living in the US, and in January 2024 he was named president of his hometown club, Port Vale FC.

Williams combined his love of football and his keen support of charities by founding Soccer Aid for UNICEF, an annual charity football match played by professionals and celebrities.

Awards

As you might expect, Williams' long and varied career means he has a full-to-bursting trophy cabinet.

Ending Better Man in 2003 means that the singer has modestly bypassed some of his bigger wins, which include Ivor Novello awards in 2005 when Angels was named song of the decade, and in 2012 with Take That for outstanding contribution to British music.

Williams has been a regular at the Brit Awards for decades, but left behind the heady days of the 2000 ceremony where he used his acceptance speech to challenge Liam Gallagher to a fight and went on to pick up some prestigious titles.

In 2003, the Brits named him British male solo artist of the year, while in 2005 Angels was crowned the best song of last 25 years. He was honoured in 2010 with the prize for outstanding contribution to music, in 2011 Take That won best British group, and in 2017 Williams was honoured again with the icon award.

Future plans

Williams packs more into the years covered by Better Man than most artists would in a lifetime, but even adding on the 20 years of achievements since then, the star claims he is not done yet.

Speaking in 2022 about his early days of success and plans for the future, he told The Guardian: "I felt very driven in the early days, in competition with the world and with myself...But do I unashamedly want to still be one of the biggest artists in the world? Yeah, I do."

He added: "I’ve had an interesting first half of my life. I’d like an interesting second half, too."

Better Man is released in cinemas on Boxing Day.