Yahoo Movies Death in Paradise star on why Sticks and Stones was "uncomfortable"
Former Death in Paradise star Ben Miller has opened up about working on new thriller Sticks and Stones, admitting it was "really uncomfortable".
The actor plays the role of boss Cater in the ITV series, which takes place in the world of sales and explores themes such as bullying and workplace culture.
Speaking about the series and how it relates to the real world, Miller told Digital Spy and other media: "When a traffic warden puts a ticket on your car – I've certainly been in a situation of pushing back on that, or being pushed back on.
"Any confrontation takes the threat of violence or, you know, you're going to be put in your place, or bad things will happen to you if you do this. That's not far from any situation where we come into conflict. It's everywhere."
Explaining further what it was like working on the three-part series, Miller continued: "It was really uncomfortable, actually, for a while, doing this.
"You're sort of hyper-conscious of — because a lot of this stuff is usually buried in the subtext of what we say to other people. We're not really thinking about it.
"But you can… you know, how do you treat the Uber driver that brought you here today? How did you treat the bus conductor on the bus you came on? How did you behave with the people standing on the platform on the Tube? How did they behave with you?
"Do people push you around on the Tube? Did somebody decide that that was their seat and — this is the world we live in. We're hierarchical animals, aren't we?
"Our whole society's built on a hierarchical. We've got a Queen for god's sake! It couldn't be more hierarchical. That's how our societies are."
Miller went on to describe his character as a "good guy" whose methods are "not constructive".
"His attitude – he's never been bullied," the actor added. "He doesn't understand bullying. And as far as he's concerned, the way to deal with it is to stand up to the bully and to give as good as you get. And he doesn't really want to know anything about it.
"He doesn't really understand the situation. I don't think he's dismissing it. I just think he thinks the way to deal with it is to ignore them. Or to just give it back. Just give it back.
"And that the team works well when there's a certain level of banter, and when people don't take things to heart, and, you know: 'Dust yourself off, get back up. Look, this is sales. Sometimes you're going to fall flat on your face, but you have to get straight back in the game. This is a tough industry. So toughen up!' – is his attitude."
Sticks and Stones airs on ITV on Monday, December 16 at 9pm over three consecutive nights.
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