Quickly rising to fame as one half of the comedy duo Armstrong and Miller in the late 90s alongside fellow English talent Alexander Armstrong, Ben Miller has amassed a plethora of famed and acclaimed credits, including the Johnny English films, Paddington 2, and as Lord Featherington in Bridgerton.
Currently on our screens in Professor T. as the titular Cambridge University Criminologist, who advises the British Police on high profile and complex crime scenarios, Miller is gearing up for the anticipated release of Series 3, set to arrive on Britbox in early 2024.
Talking with our own Peter Gray from the set of his new Australian-filmed project, Miller touched on what fans can expect from this next season, how he differentiated his character from the Belgian source material, and how navigating his own OCD assisted in his authentic portrayal.
When I think of Ben Miller, I think of Bough from the Johnny English films. That’s who you are to me. Do you find there’s any particular character of yours that you’re most recognised for?
It’s pretty even between Bough from Johnny English and Richard Poole, who is a character I played in Death in Paradise. And in Australia, Armstrong and Miller, this bizarre sketch show that was on TV… it tends to be one of those two things. And that’s in reverse order of age, pretty much (laughs). I feel like if someone says “Oh, I loved Armstrong and Miller“, I feel like I need to give up my seat for them on the bus.
And with your role as Jasper Tempest on Professor T., how did that come about for you? Was it a case of auditioning? Or you were sought out for the project?
Luckily, I was approached and told about the show. It was originally a Belgian television show, and it was made in Flemish, and the original show is fantastic. It’s quite different. It’s very surreal. I mean, there’s little bite of surreality in ours, but there’s is just so surreal! But there’s this fantastic supporter of European television called Walter Iuzzolino, he’s this Italian-born producer, but he’s based in the UK, and he’s got a thing called “Walter Presents”, and he finds amazing shows in European countries and brings them to the rest of the world, basically.
(Walter) approached me and told me about (Professor T.). I watched a few episodes, he sent me the whole thing, like, 24 episodes or something, and I just loved it. I really, really loved it. We started having conversations about if there could be an English version of it, and if so, how would we re-do it? So that was really interesting, because there’s, you know, umpteen episodes of the Belgian version and we run out of those stories after 8 episodes, so that gives you an idea of how different (ours is).
But the central premise, that essential idea of the original series, is still there. That of a really eccentric criminologist, someone who lives in this kind of ivory tower, who never has anything to do with this students or the university, let alone the real world of crime. And through whatever sort of series of choices, he ends up working with the real police and, basically, solving real crimes.
Because there’s an obvious darkness to the show, but it seems it’s gotten lighter as it has progressed. Have you found enjoyment in navigating the different shades of this character?
I love this character. He’s just so interesting. Him being a germophobe, or really having a phobia of touching any surface, and his strange relationship with his mother…and whether or not he had played a part in his own father’s death? He’s got a very bizarre past. For this third season we actually start to finally get the answers to those questions.
Without spoiling anything, can you give us a hint as to where this season goes? I suspect viewers won’t be able to predict such?
Like all things, inevitably, there’s more to go once you think you’re at the start of getting those answers. It just opens up other questions, really. But that’s one of the things I love about it. At the end of the second season (NOTE: Certain specifics have been removed to avoid spoilers at this point) Professor T. ends up (somewhere) that is the worst environment he could possibly be in. He has no control. The germophobe in him is unable to cope, but the criminologist in him is fascinated. It’s like being in a zoo as a tiger with the lions prowling right past you. It’s really exciting, and it’s those sort of stories that keep this (new) season so great.
As someone who has obsessive-compulsive disorder, how has it been for you to portray someone with a disorder that shares similarities to your own, but still differs in various aspects?
I used to suffer from OCD very badly when I was in my late 20s. My early 30s it was particularly bad. My OCD is obviously different from what Professor T has, but, I guess, it’s a combination of the two where I can figure out how does my OCD make me feel? What does it make me think? What does it make me feel in certain situations? And, in a way, whatever the behaviour is, what is it serving?
In my own case, it’s always to control anxiety or gain some control over what is a completely uncontrollable situation. I guess that’s the bit of myself that I bring to it. I kind of figure out that it may not be one of my OCD behaviours, but it’s a proxy for one of mine to zoom in. What I always try and do when I’m acting is find the character in me. I think about what in me is likely to remain, because, on some level, we all share most behaviours. I mean, even if you don’t have OCD, you’ve probably thought, “Oh, did I lock the front door?” And you go back and check. Or, “Did I leave the gas on?” And you go and check the gas. Are you really worrying that the gas is on? Are you really worried that you haven’t shut the door? You don’t really know, but it’s sort of seeking some comfort in the sense that you’ve done it right.
You can definitely tell your performance is coming from a place of honesty and authenticity.
Yeah, I get tremendously emotional when we’re on set. Most of the time when I play a scene, I often can’t control my emotion, and that’s one of the things that we’ve learned during (Professor T.), that we sometimes need to repeat it over and over again, until I can get to a point where I’m managing to hold it in, emotionally. That’s been the journey so far. And in this third season, we get into stories where the character is not managing to hold it in anymore. He’s really at a crisis point.
Seasons 1 and 2 of Professor T. are now available to stream in Australia on Britbox. Season 3 is scheduled for release in early 2024.
