Robbie Williams says Tom Hanks and Noel Gallagher are only stars unaffected by fame

Robbie Williams thinks Tom Hanks and Noel Gallagher are the only people unaffected by fame.

The ‘Let Me Entertain You’ hitmaker – who has been honest about his battles with addiction and the difficulties of life in the spotlight – suggested the Hollywood actor and Oasis legend appear to have come through relatively unscathed.

Speaking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, he said: “I play this game, that who has got through that [fame], come through the other side and gone, ‘I enjoyed every bit about it, and I’m totally mentally really well and I’m happy to continue. Let’s do more of it.’

“Do you know, here’s the thing. The first person that jumps to my head is Tom Hanks. But, we don’t know the real Tom Hanks. So we don’t know what went on with his life.

“The other one who I think… Noel Gallagher seems to have handled extreme fame really, really well. They still achieved what they achieved, and he’s still Noel Gallagher.”

Of course, the challenges of fame are well known, and the former Take That singer himself thinks it can be particularly tough for members of boybands and girlbands.

He explained: “If you run through every boyband and girlband that’s ever existed. With Take That, Gary Barlow leaves the band, his career’s supposed to do that and it didn’t.

“He suffered with bulimia, didn’t leave his house, went to sleep underneath his piano because he’d forgotten how to write songs. Incredibly depressed.

“Changed his name on his credit card because he didn’t want people to see Barlow.

“Howard Donald wanted to commit suicide after he left Take That. Mark Owen’s been to rehab and Jason Orange just can’t do it.”

As well as his former bandmates, the 48-year-old star has battled his own issues, and he thinks a lot of that can be blamed on “this machine”.

He explained: “And then there’s me, the mental health, the rehabs, the addiction, there’s all of that. So that’s what being in a boyband really does.

“And I’m sure that in five or 10 years’ time if you sit down with One Direction to a man, they’re all going to have their isms that have been caused by this machine.

“I want to do a documentary about it. Maybe we should do it together. About boybands and girlbands and what really happens. Why fame does that to you.”