Ben Miller
Ben Miller | |
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![]() Miller in December 2019 | |
Born | Bennet Evan Miller 24 February 1966 London, England |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1986–present |
Spouses | |
Children | 3 |
Relatives | Alan Parker (father-in-law) |
Bennet Evan Miller (born 24 February 1966) is an English comedian, actor and author. He rose to fame as one half of the comedy duo Armstrong and Miller. He is also known for his roles as Bough in the Johnny English film series, DI Richard Poole in the BBC crime drama series Death in Paradise and James Lester in the ITV sci-fi series Primeval.
Early life
[edit]Bennet Evan Miller was born in London on 24 February 1966,[1] the son of Welsh mother Marion and English father Michael Miller. He grew up in Nantwich, Cheshire.[citation needed] His father taught American literature at the City of Birmingham Polytechnic. His maternal grandfather was a Lithuanian immigrant. His paternal grandfather was a tailor in the East End of London, while his paternal great-grandmother taught English at South Cheshire College.[2] He has two younger sisters, Leah and Bronwen.[3] He is a distant cousin of Abraham Lincoln.[4]
Miller was educated at Malbank School and Sixth Form College in Nantwich before studying Natural Sciences at St Catharine's College, Cambridge. As an undergraduate, he participated in theatre with his then-girlfriend, actress Rachel Weisz.[5] He remained at Cambridge to read for a PhD in solid state physics,[6] with his proposed thesis, Novel quantum effects in low-temperature quasi-zero-dimensional mesoscopic electron systems.[7][8] He abandoned his thesis to pursue a career in comedy.[7] His interest in comedy began when a friend asked him to help chauffeur the judges of the National Student Drama Festival, which was being held that year in Cambridge.[9] Having already finished his degree, he joined the Footlights in 1989 and worked with Andy Parsons, David Wolstencroft, and Sue Perkins before he directed a revue.[10]
Career
[edit]Miller moved to London to pursue a career in comedy.[11] He was introduced to fellow Cambridge graduate Alexander Armstrong in 1992, at the TBA Sketch Comedy Group, a comedy club which ran at the Gate Theatre Studio, Notting Hill throughout the 1990s. They performed their first full-length show together at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1994 and returned in 1996, when they were nominated for the Perrier Comedy Award.[12]
Their success resulted in the commission of the television series Armstrong and Miller, which ran for four series from 1997 to 2001 – one on the Paramount Comedy Channel and three on Channel 4. In 1998, the duo also had their own radio show with the same name on BBC Radio 4, which featured many of the sketches and characters from their TV series. After a six-year break,[13] the show was recommissioned for Hat Trick Productions as The Armstrong & Miller Show and three series have been produced.[14] In 2008, they also had a second radio show, Children's Hour with Armstrong and Miller.[15]
Miller also started acting in films, starring in Steve Coogan's first feature film, The Parole Officer (2001).[16] In 2003 he played the role of Bough, sidekick to Rowan Atkinson's title character, in the film Johnny English. In 2004 he co-starred in the romantic comedy The Prince and Me.
In 2004 and 2005, he starred in two series of the BBC television series The Worst Week of My Life,[17] with Sarah Alexander.[18] In 2006 he took part in a three-part Christmas special, The Worst Christmas of My Life. He starred as James Peregrine Lester in ITV's 2007 sci-fi drama Primeval[12] and as children’s dance instructor Mr Jonathan in the Australian mockumentary film Razzle Dazzle: A Journey into Dance.[9]
He and Alexander Armstrong formed a production company named Toff Media in 2007. The company was dissolved in 2023.[citation needed]
Miller provided the voice for the ITV Digital and later PG Tips Monkey in a popular series of television advertisements featuring Johnny Vegas.[19] In 2008, he appeared as television producer Jonathan Pope in Tony Jordan's series Moving Wallpaper on ITV1 and starred in Thank God You're Here.
In 2009, Miller appeared with Rob Brydon in an episode of QI (Series 6. 9). The two have often been mistaken for each other,[5][17] and as a joke they dressed in similar shirts for the episode and shared an on-screen kiss.[8][20]
In 2010, he made his directorial debut with the film Huge.
In January 2011 he presented an episode of the BBC science series Horizon titled "What is One Degree?". Later in 2011 he reprised his role as James Lester in the TV series Primeval. From November 2011 he played the role of Louis Harvey in The Ladykillers at the Gielgud Theatre.
On 23 July 2012, Miller began touring for his book, It's Not Rocket Science, from the Royal Society in London. He also appeared at the British Comedy Awards with Armstrong on Channel 4. In 2013, Miller took part in an episode of Room 101 and a Comic Relief special of game show Pointless. On 13 December 2014, he appeared in a Christmas edition of The Celebrity Chase.
From 2011 until the series three premiere in 2014, Miller starred in the BBC-French co-produced series Death in Paradise as Detective Inspector (DI) Richard Poole.[21] A third series of Death in Paradise was commissioned for early 2014.[22] On 9 April 2013 it was announced that Miller would be departing the series,[23] to be replaced by actor Kris Marshall. Filming began in March 2013, and Miller left in May after completion of the first episode, in which his character was murdered. Miller reprised his role for a cameo appearance in a dream sequence during the tenth series in 2021.
Miller explained he had personal reasons for the change: "It was the job of a lifetime, but logistically I just didn't feel I could continue. My personal circumstances just made it too complicated, but I will miss it like a lung. I love it here."[24] Miller's wife had discovered she was pregnant after he had begun filming the first series. Their time apart caused strains on his relationship with her and their sons, so he wanted to spend more time with his family.[24]
In 2014, Miller appeared in the feature film Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism.[25] He also appeared with Billy Connolly and David Tennant in the film What We Did on Our Holiday.[26] Miller guest starred in Doctor Who as the Sheriff of Nottingham in the third episode: "Robot of Sherwood".[27][28]
Starring opposite Nancy Carroll and Diana Vickers,[29] Miller played Robert Houston in the play The Duck House by Dan Patterson and Colin Swash.[30] The show is a political satire based on the UK parliamentary expenses scandal.[30]
In 2015, following the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, Miller starred as King John in Series 6 of Horrible Histories.
Since October 2015, Miller along with Ruth Jones and Will Close, appears in adverts for British supermarket Tesco as Roger with Jones as his wife Jo and Close as their son Freddie. In 2016, Miller co-presented the ITV entertainment series It's Not Rocket Science alongside Rachel Riley and Romesh Ranganathan.
In February 2016 Miller issued a book, accompanied by a lecture tour, entitled The Aliens are Coming!, examining the question "are we alone in the universe?"[31] That year, Miller played the role of Murray in the six-part BBC sitcom I Want My Wife Back, starring alongside Caroline Catz. In 2016 he appeared in the Channel 4 comedy Power Monkeys.
In 2018 he returned to the role of 'Bough', sidekick again to Rowan Atkinson's title character, in the film Johnny English Strikes Again. In September of that same year he played the role of Wolf Hall on the BBC sitcom Upstart Crow.[32]
In November 2022, Miller released his seventh children's book Secrets of a Christmas Elf.[33] In 2024, Miller acted as children's author Jullian Hartswood in the comedy drama Austin for Australian television network ABC TV, and produced by Northern Pictures and Lincoln Pictures.[34]
Personal life
[edit]Miller dated actress Rachel Weisz while they were both studying at Cambridge University during the early 1990s.[5] He married actress Belinda Stewart-Wilson in 2004, and they had a son (born 2006) together before divorcing in 2011. He married production executive Jessica Parker, the daughter of musician Alan Parker, in September 2013; they have a son (born 2011) and daughter (born June 2015) together.[35][36][37]
Miller plays the guitar and drums.[18] He has been diagnosed with OCD.[38]
Awards
[edit]Miller was awarded a Judges' Commendation for his portrayal of Hamlet at the 1990 National Student Drama Festival.[citation needed] He co-wrote MindGym, winner of the first BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Award for comedy in 1998, with Tim Wright and Adam Gee. He and Armstrong won a BCA Award [clarification needed] for The Armstrong and Miller Show. In 2010 they also won a BAFTA for The Armstrong and Miller Show.[39][failed verification][citation needed]
In 2021, with the cast of Bridgerton, Miller received a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.[40]
Books
[edit]- It's Not Rocket Science (2014) Sphere ISBN 978-0-7515-4500-5
- The Aliens Are Coming!: The Exciting and Extraordinary Science Behind Our Search for Life in the Universe (2017) Sphere ISBN 978-0-7515-4504-3
- The Night I Met Father Christmas (2018) Simon & Schuster ISBN 978-1-4711-7153-6
- The Boy Who Made the World Disappear (2019) Simon & Schuster ISBN 978 - 1 - 4711 - 7267 - 0
- The Day I Fell into a Fairytale (2020) Simon & Schuster ISBN 978-1-4711-9243-2
- How I Became a Dog called Midnight (2021) Simon & Schuster ISBN 978-1-4711-9248-7
- Diary of a Christmas Elf (2021) Simon & Schuster ISBN 978-1-39850183-6
- How I Became a Dog Called Midnight (2022) Simon & Schuster ISBN 978-1-47119246-3
- The Night We Got Stuck in a Story (2022) Simon & Schuster ISBN 978-1-47119249-4
- Secrets of a Christmas Elf (2022) Simon & Schuster ISBN 978-1398515819
- Once Upon a Legend (2023) Simon & Schuster ISBN 978-1398515871
- Diary of a Big Bad Wolf (2024) Simon & Schuster ISBN 978-1398530362
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | Plunkett and Macleane | Dixon | |
2000 | There's Only One Jimmy Grimble | Johnny Two Dogs | |
You Can't Dance | Short film | ||
Tip of My Tongue | Dave | Short film | |
2001 | The Parole Officer | Colin | |
Birthday Girl | Concierge | ||
2003 | Johnny English | Angus Jeremy Bough | |
The Actors | Clive | ||
2004 | The Prince and Me | Søren | |
2007 | Razzle Dazzle: A Journey into Dance | Mr Jonathon | |
2009 | Within the Whirlwind | Krasny | |
2010 | 4.3.2.1. | Mr. Philips | |
2011 | Johnny English Reborn | Angus Jeremy Bough | Scenes deleted[41] |
2014 | What We Did on Our Holiday | Gavin McLeod | |
2017 | Paddington 2 | The Colonel | |
2018 | The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir | Officer Smith | |
Johnny English Strikes Again | Angus Jeremy Bough | ||
2021 | Off the Rails | Dan | |
2022 | This Is Christmas | Jonathan |
Television
[edit]Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1991 | Murder Most Horrid | P.C. Watkins | Episode: "He Died a Death" |
1992 | The Pall Bearer's Revue | Episode: "Episode 3" | |
1993 | French and Saunders | Episode: "The Silence of the Lambs" | |
Paul Merton: The Series | Various | 6 episodes | |
1995 | You Bet! | Himself / various | Series 8, show 6 |
Casualty | Daniel Murdoch | Episode: "Trials and Tribulations" | |
Look at the State We're In! | Marty | Mini-series | |
Sardines | Simon | TV film | |
1997 | The Jack Docherty Show | Various | |
1997–2001 | Armstrong and Miller | Various Roles | 27 episodes |
1999 | Hunting Venus | Gavin | TV film |
Passion Killers | Nick | TV film | |
Coming Soon | Ben | TV film | |
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Daredevils of the Desert | French Officer | Video | |
2000 | Cinderella | Dandini | TV film |
The Blind Date | Joe Maxwell | ||
2001 | Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible | Rebenor | Episode: "Lesbian Vampire Lovers of Lust" |
2002 | Surrealissimo: The Trial of Salvador Dalí | Yoyotte | TV film |
The Book Group | Martin Logan | 2 episodes | |
Jeffrey Archer: The Truth | Roland Moxley-Nemesis | TV film | |
2004 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Basil Blake | TV film; "The Body in the Library" |
Doc Martin | Stewart James | Episode: "The Portwenn Effect" | |
2004–06 | The Worst Week of My Life | Howard Steel | 17 episodes |
2005 | Malice Aforethought | Dr. Edmund Bickleigh | TV film |
Doc Martin | Stewart James | Episode: "Out of the Woods" | |
2006 | Popetown | The Priest | 10 episodes |
Saxondale | Bernard Langley | Episode: "Episode No. 1.6" | |
2007–11 | Primeval | James Lester | 30 episodes |
2007–10 | The Armstrong & Miller Show | Various Roles | 19 episodes |
2008–09 | Moving Wallpaper | Jonathan Pope | 18 episodes |
2008 | Moving Wallpaper: The Mole | Jonathan Pope | 2 episodes; uncredited |
2009 | The Catherine Tate Show | Ghost of Christmas Past | Episode "Nan's Christmas Carol" |
QI | Himself | Comedy Panel Show; Episode "The Future" | |
2011–2014, 2021 | Death in Paradise | DI Richard Poole | Series 1–3, 10; 18 episodes |
2011 | Episodes | Himself | 1 episode |
Felix and Murdo | Various | ||
2013 | Room 101 | Himself | 1 episodes |
2014 | This is Jinsy | Chief Acco / Berpetta | 1 episode |
Doctor Who | Sheriff of Nottingham | Episode: "Robot of Sherwood" | |
2015 | Horrible Science | Professor McTaggart (voice)/various | 10 episodes |
Asylum | Dan Hern | 3 episodes | |
Mr. Bean: Funeral | Mourner who sits next to Mr. Bean | TV short | |
Ballot Monkeys | Kevin Sturridge | 5 episodes | |
Horrible Histories | King John | 10 episodes | |
2016 | It's Not Rocket Science | Co-presenter | |
I Want My Wife Back | Murray | ||
2017 | Tracey Ullman's Show | Rupert Murdoch | 2 episodes |
2018 | Tracey Breaks the News | ||
Upstart Crow | Wolf Hall | Episode: "If You Prick Us, Do We Not Bleed?" | |
2019 | Sticks and Stones | Chris Carter | Short Series; 3 episodes |
2020 | Bridgerton | Lord Featherington | Main role |
2021–present | Professor T. | Jasper Tempest (Professor T.) | Series regular |
2021 | Scotland: Escape to the Wilderness | Himself | Episode 3[42] |
All Star Musicals | Himself | Christmas special[43] | |
2022 | The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer | Himself | Series 5 episode 4; contestant & Star Baker[44] |
Suspect | Richard | ||
2023 | No Place Like Home | Himself | 1 episode[45] |
2024 | Austin | Julian Hartswood | 8 episodes |
Filmmaking credits
[edit]Year | Title | Writer | Producer | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | Sardines | Yes | No | No | TV movie |
1996 | MindGym | Yes | No | No | Video game |
1997-2001 | Armstrong and Miller | Yes | No | No | 27 episodes |
2005 | Starry Night | No | No | Yes | Short film |
2006 | Saxondale | No | No | Yes | Episode: "Pigeons" |
2009-2010 | The Armstrong and Miller Show | Yes | Yes | No | 12 episodes |
2010 | Huge | Yes | No | Yes | |
2011 | Comedy Showcase | No | Yes | No | Episode: "Felix & Murdo" |
2015 | Horrible Science | No | Yes | No | 10 episodes |
2024 | Austin | Yes | Yes | No | 8 episodes |
References
[edit]- ^ Ben Miller on TV.com Archived 29 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine TV.com – 12 March 2011
- ^ Miller, Ben (23 November 2015). "Ben Miller finds out an amazing fact, Series 10, Coming Home". BBC. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
- ^ "Ben Miller: My family values". TheGuardian.com. 10 September 2010.
- ^ "Ben Miller - my ancestors the Welsh war hero and the US president". 27 November 2015.
- ^ a b c This much I know: Ben Miller, The Observer, 24 February 2008
- ^ "Once a physicist: Ben Miller". Physics World. 28 (7). Institute of Physics: 55. 2015. Bibcode:2015PhyW...28g..55.. doi:10.1088/2058-7058/28/7/53. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
- ^ a b Miller, Ben (2012). It's Not Rocket Science.
- ^ a b "The Future". QI. 20 February 2009. BBC 1.
- ^ a b "Ben dazzles 'em". news.com.au. 4 March 2007. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- ^ "The Cambridge Footlights: First steps into comedy". The Independent. 28 January 2009.
- ^ The Armstrong & Miller Show – Armstrong and Miller, BBC Press Office – 12 October 2007
- ^ a b Star of Primeval and The Armstrong and Miller Show, cult.tv
- ^ "Ben Miller Twitter post on 2nd series". Twitter. 3 September 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2009.
- ^ "Ben Miller Interview". Femalefirst.co.uk. 29 August 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ^ "Children's Hour with Armstrong and Miller". Episode guide. BBC Radio 4 Extra. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ "Coogan's out on Parole", BBC News, 10 August 2001
- ^ a b The 5-Minute Interview: Ben Miller The Independent, 21 December 2005
- ^ a b HOW WE MET: Sarah Alexander & Ben Miller Independent on Sunday – 7 March 2004
- ^ "Al and monkey bring back the monkey magic" (Press release). Unilever Press Dept. 1 August 2007. Archived from the original on 25 November 2007.
- ^ Series 6: Episode 9 of 12 BBC QI Broadcasts – Accessed 20 May 2010
- ^ "BBC One – Death in Paradise – Episode guide". BBC. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ^ "Death in Paradise series three confirmed". Radio Times. 12 February 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ^ Cole, Tom (9 April 2013). "Ben Miller to be replaced by Kris Marshall on Death in Paradise". Radio Times. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ^ a b Alexia Skinitis (14 January 2014). "Ben Miller: Death in Paradise is the best job in TV". Radio Times. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ Mitchell, Wendy (25 October 2012). "Rowley's Molly Moon starts shooting in London | News | Screen". Screendaily.com. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ^ "Parkinson joins comedy sexism debate". British Comedy Guide. 21 July 2009. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
- ^ "Details on Series 8′s First Four Episodes". Doctor Who TV. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
- ^ "Robot of Sherwood: Fact File". Doctor Who. BBC One. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
- ^ "Political Comedy The Duck House Will Play London's Vaudeville; Cast Announced". playbill.com. Playbill. 16 September 2013. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
- ^ a b "The Duck House: MPs' expenses satire heads for West End". BBC News. 16 September 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
- ^ "HLF - The Aliens Are Coming! With comedian Ben Miller". Huddersfield Literature Festival 2016. Lawrence Batley Theatre. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- ^ Low, Valentine (11 September 2018). "Mark Rylance ridiculed by upstarts over comedy of errors". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
- ^ "Ben Miller tells Chris Evans why his new Christmas book will get kids reading". virginradio.co.uk. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ "TV series filmed locally and starring big British stars gets air date". The Canberra Times. Canberra: Australian Community Media. 11 May 2024. ProQuest 3053584378. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ "TV game show host Alexander Armstrong was best man at comedy partner's wedding (From Your Local Guardian)". Yourlocalguardian.co.uk. 20 September 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
- ^ Rees, Caroline (11 September 2010). "Ben Miller: My family values". The Guardian. London.
- ^ "My Perfect Weekend: Ben Miller". The Daily Telegraph. 2 October 2009. Retrieved 13 September 2011.[dead link]
- ^ Reilly, Elaine (5 August 2021). "'Professor T' star Ben Miller: 'I was born to play this part'". WhatToWatch. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ^ Grant, Olly (25 October 2011). "Death in Paradise, Ben Miller on heatstroke, getting divorced and his potato years, interview". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
- ^ "Nominations Announced for the 27th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards. Screen Actors Guild. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- ^ Deleted scenes from Blu-Ray/DVD extras
- ^ "Scotland: Escape to the Wilderness". channel4.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ "ITV's All Star Musicals unveils a star-studded Christmas line up". Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ^ "The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer". standuptocancer.org.uk. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ^ "No Place Like Home". channel5.com. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
External links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- 1966 births
- Living people
- People from Nantwich
- Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge
- English male comedians
- English male film actors
- English male television actors
- English male voice actors
- English people of Lithuanian descent
- English people of Welsh descent
- Male actors from London
- 20th-century English male actors
- 21st-century English male actors
- English film directors
- English television directors
- English sketch comedians
- Armstrong and Miller
- People with obsessive–compulsive disorder
- English writers with disabilities
- Film directors with disabilities
- Comedians from London
- Comedians from Cheshire