Ben Miller wades into cancel culture row as he slams ‘online mob’ ahead of BBC drama: ‘Worth making fun of’
Ben Miller touched on cancel culture and the rise of the “online mob” as he discussed his role in upcoming comedy-drama Austin.
The candid admission comes after the BBC acquired the eight-part scripted series starring Miller, Sally Phillips and Michael Theo.
The role marks Theo’s acting debut after he became a breakout star of the hit romantic docuseries, Love on the Spectrum.
A synopsis for Austin reads: “When author Julian’s offensive post goes viral, his career seems over until his neuro divergent son Austin suddenly arrives.
“Embracing Austin may be Julian’s path to redemption if he and wife Ingrid can move past his mistakes.”
Miller, 59, didn’t hold back in sharing his own thoughts on the cancel culture debate, which often divides fans of celebrities and shows that have come under fire.
“It seems to mean different things to different people,” he began. “Some people get cancelled and you never hear from them again, while for others it only seems to increase their popularity.”
Speaking to Radio Times, he continued by adding that for each cancelled person, “everyone [will] have a different opinion about” their “cancellation”.
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“There’s an online mob, to be sure, who can take against someone – sometimes for the right reasons, sometimes not – while others get away with the most heinous things. It’s definitely a thing worth making fun of.”
Delving more into the plotline of the series, he explained Theo’s autism isn’t what the drama is about.
“He’s a very talented actor,” Miller praised. “I saw him on Love on the Spectrum and I thought it would be fun to lark about with him.”
On his journey with comedy, Miller explained to the publication that he “stopped” briefly before coming to the conclusion he wanted to use the skills he’d learnt in drama to return to comedy.
He shared how the new series allowed him to “combine the two”.
The actor also detailed how he’d originally hoped Austin could be mostly-improvised, which is what led him to reach out to old friend Phillips.
Recalling that he had seen the actress doing it before, she seemed the “natural choice”.
Miller famously starred as the first protagonist of BBC’s Death in Paradise, featuring as DI Richard Poole for the first three series of the show.
While Don Gilet currently fronts the crime drama series, he only took over from Ralf Little, who so far holds the title for the longest-serving DI of the series, last year.
Little fronted the series for four years, so naturally fans were reluctant to welcome a new actor, with many complaining the show lost its “comedy” element with Little.
However, others have applauded Gilet’s character Mervin Wilson, with one viewer recently taking to social media to write: “I know Mervin is rude and blunt, but I just love him. Two episodes in, and he might move to 2nd on my favourites list.” (sic)
Austin is set to air on BBC One on April 4, and will also be available on BBC iPlayer.