French Action Hero

About

French Action Hero is an unreleased collaboration between Robbie Williams and The Connects, a Los Angeles-based rap collective that included Dylan Trussell, brother of Williams’ wife Ayda Field. Recorded around 2012, the track circulated only online and was never officially issued, though fan uploads have preserved it on YouTube. It is considered one of the rarest recordings associated with the Swings Both Ways sessions.

The Connects were formed by Dylan Trussell and David Dinetz and were active in the early 2010s Los Angeles music scene. Their work indirectly led to Williams meeting producers Tim Metcalfe and Flynn Francis, who would later co-write much of Take The Crown and Swings Both Ways. French Action Hero therefore stands as a link between Williams’ swing revival and his later pop-electronic period.

The song takes its title from Belgian actor Jean-Claude Van Damme, humorously described as a “French action hero”. Williams contributes the chorus, singing the refrain “I want to be your French action hero” with a gravelly intensity, while The Connects deliver rap verses filled with provocative imagery and wordplay. The track’s explicit references to sex and violence contrast sharply with Williams’ melodic hook, giving the song a deliberately chaotic and underground character.

“Every time Rob came on and sang, I loved that sound. It was like, yeah, that’s the voice I really like.”Robbie Williams Rewind podcast

Although French Action Hero remains unavailable on streaming platforms and most of The Connects’ online material has since been deleted, the track endures as a curiosity for collectors. Its importance lies less in its lyrical content than in the creative connections it fostered, introducing Williams to collaborators who would shape his sound for the rest of the decade.