Robbie Williams 'leaped' into Better Man despite risk of 'semi-nervous breakdowns'
Robbie Williams has revealed that he "leaped" into the promotion for his new biopic, Better Man, even though he knew it would lead to "burnout and semi-nervous breakdowns."
In a new interview with Variety, the former Take That singer has opened up about the toll that the extensive press tour has had on his mental health, which he has struggled with since he was a teenager.
When asked how he was feeling, the 50-year-old replied: "It’s a f****** lot at the best of times, with enough sleep and no jet lag, yeah, and not being somebody that suffers mental illness, it would be a lot to deal with.
"There has been so much promo for this film, and I’ve left no stone unturned. I have leaped into it, knowing that there will be burnout and semi-nervous breakdowns and being grumpy with my wife and the kids... Being in L.A., Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sydney, Melbourne, back to L.A. to do the Golden Globes, all that in the last 12 days, it’s a f****** lot."
Alongside, the demanding schedule of the global premieres, Williams was also conscious of how this film could impact the future of his career.
He continued: "At the time, I was getting on the expectation train of what this could mean to me and my life and career — the third act. Mix that with not being famous in America and that being part of the conversation."
In the candid interview, Williams also reflected on his history of mental health struggles with addiction and depression, which started when he rose to fame in a boy band aged 16.
Williams found that he didn’t feel "safe" at home as his mother was also struggling with a mental illness, or "safe" in the stability of his career, which impacted his own wellbeing.
"I had a mother who suffered from mental illness," he explained. "Her mental illness, sadness and depression came at the same time as being both parents to two children… she was exhausted from this and had no energy other than being sad. When I came into the house, I didn’t know which version of my mom I was going to get."
He added: "I’ve got this unsafe home life where I’m trying to placate a sad mom. I’ve also got an outside life where everybody is not happy with my success, so much so that I’m not safe anywhere that I go."
Even with his success, Williams revealed that the freedom he values most now is being mentally free from depression. He continued: "Freedom for me only exists in my mind. It doesn’t exist outside of my mind.
"It doesn’t exist because I can walk around unnoticed in L.A. or I can walk around in London, not as freely. All the freedom that I’m going to find exists in this space between these two ears."
Read more about Robbie Williams:
Robbie Williams confesses 'I'm lucky to be alive' as he opens up on health battles (Surrey Live, 3-min read)
Robbie Williams' battle with the incredibly dark side of fame (Yahoo Entertainment, 4-min read)
Robbie Williams wants mental health safeguarding in music (Bang Showbiz, 2-min read)
