First coming to prominence as one half of the comedy duo Armstrong & Miller, BAFTA winner Ben Miller has also established himself as a dramatic actor on both the small and big screen. His credits are wide-ranging, from the likes of Primeval and Death in Paradise to Johnny English and The Parole Officer. Something of a renaissance man, he is also an author, director, voiceover artist, and regular panel show contributor.

It all could have turned out very differently for Miller. Despite dabbling in dramatics during his time at university, Miller’s interest in science led him to begin studying for a PhD in Physics at Cambridge University. Before he could complete his thesis, he’d decided to ditch the science lab for the stage and pursue a comedy career. Already a member of the legendary Footlights comedy club, which gave now-household names such as Peter Cook, The Goodies, Sue Perkins, and David Mitchell their starts in comedy, Miller moved to London to chase his dream. Here, he met Alexander Armstrong and, by the middle of the 1990s, they were performing award-nominated shows at the world-famous Edinburgh Festival. They were given their own Channel 4 sketch show, The Armstrong & Miller Show, in 1997, for which they won a BAFTA in 2001.

Miller found a way to put his education to good use in 2012 when he published It’s Not Rocket Science, a light-hearted look at some of his favourite scientific fact which continues to get glowing reviews. Today, Ben Miller has taken his rightful place in the long lineage of comedy stars turned successful actors.