Danny Miller (Aaron Livesy)

[nomdeplume8ie]

It looks like he's going to grow out his hair a bit...

[nomdeplume8ie]

Hmmm... this for year for BSAs... voted Emmet J Scanlan best actor
and Oliver Mellor sexiest male woof. Didn't think I'd ever say that... but Monsieur Mellor is just to die for . Danny would have been my no. 2. I just hope it ain't Scott Maslen who wins again...

If you wish to have your say then you can vote here:
www.britishsoapawards.tv

[nomdeplume8ie]

Any interviewers should now be able to change tack, and instead of asking was it difficult to kiss a bloke they could ask who is a better kisser, Marc or or Lloyd?

[antistatic]

Here's a spoof video the cast and crew made for Danny's leaving party last night. It's his favourite song apparently.



Loved how the wardrobe folk were wearing Aaron's hoodies and trackies and the make-up people put stubble on their faces; even the assistant directors sprinkling the tearsticks around... Still gave me quite a lump in the throad by the end though.

[nomdeplume8ie]

I got the lump in throat too.... probably because they used the same song they used through all the emotional promos over the past two years...

[HQ75]

This needs to go on the General Discussion thread. That was OUTSTANDING! OMG. The tears in Adam's eyes at the end. UGH. So much love amongst the cast.
Just great!

[Hawthorne]

Wow! If my workmates did something like that for me when I left a job, I'd be so incredibly touched I'd never get over it.

[Deleted]

Did not think that i would get so emotional watching the video but i guess a lot of us feel like this is a part of our lives

[antistatic]

Here's a picture of Danny taken at last night's RTS Awards. Looks like he's definitely growing his hair out and moving away from the Aaron image.

[antistatic]

And another new photo that appears in today's Sun on Sunday newspaper, together with a rather inaccurate 'interview'

[HQ75]

Wow, that interview is something else.
I really hope it's just not accurate.
Hmm.

[Zathras]

I assume you're referring to this interview? It didn't seem terribly unexpected to me.

[patroclus]

HQ75: the interview definitely isn't accurate. a. He hasn't been in Emmerdale for 7 years - that would make him 24 and he's 21; b. he absolutely does have a driving licence and can drive! He was in fact banned from driving for speeding in a well-publicised court case in September 2011. So very sloppy stuff so far... But as for him not liking kissing men? I think that's probably more accurate. I think he was making the point that he personally doesn't enjoy doing it but 'doesn't have a problem with it' - ie. isn't anti-gay. Given the rubbishy content of most of it I wouldn't put too much faith in the latter either but it's pretty much what he's said all along in interviews. I think he'd be wiser to keep his mouth shut (so to speak!)

[patroclus]

Danny is a foolish boy, however, to keep labouring this point. It's been two years, for goodness sake! Grow up and get over it. If that's the only thing he can say about the role - still - it doesn't reflect well on him. It is offensive. Imagine if Russell Tovey kept going on about how hard it was for him to have to kiss and be intimate with a woman in Him and Her? And there was so little intimacy for Danny to have to do! He risks the retort that his unhappiness about kissing men showed in his awkward performance.

I guess this is intended as a pretty crude signalling to casting directors and the general public not to stereotype him in gay roles in the future?

[mycatfox]

Mar 26, 2012 4:27:55 GMT -5 patroclus said:

I guess this is intended as a pretty crude signalling to casting directors and the general public not to stereotype him in gay roles in the future?

I did have the same impression, patroclus


‘I’m so glad I won’t be kissing any more blokes’

OK, I'm gonna dare to say it: I think DM has a bad case of internalized homophobia Seriously, how many times he'll have to say how hard it was to kiss a bloke? We got it, bro, it must have been really hard ...

Some guy (RobertBurchell) posted his view about the article:

"Very good looking, shame he hates snoggin fella's, he probably ain't snogged the right one yet"

I totally agree with you, Robert

[antistatic]

Hi guys, (long ramble coming up!)

I wasn't going to comment on the Danny 'kissing blokes' article since I believe that most folk have already made their minds up about where they stand on this issue, and I know I'm likely to be talking to a brick wall if I try to change anyone's opinion. However, as someone who is connected to a couple of people who work at Emmerdale, and therefore have been privy to some snippets of information from them, I do think it is worthwhile offering that info in the hope that it may mitigate the stringent feelings people have developed about Danny and allow folk to not think so badly of him.

First off, I have no qualms about anyone thinking that Danny Miller has not played the part of a gay man very convincingly. If that's what you think then that's your opinion and you are quite entitled to it. What I am hoping to address is the wider perception (that the last few posts have brought to the fore) that Danny has 'a bad case of internalized homophobia'. I used mycatfox's phrase for convenience, but this is actually directed more at the general opinion held about him by many out there.

I think it's fair to say that right from the outset of the gay storyline, Danny began to get a reputation for saying he didn't like kissing blokes. Variations on this statement appeared in nine different publications over a three month period and obviously gave the impression to some that he was repeating the sentiment time after time to anyone that would listen. In truth that wasn't actually what happened.

To understand how that situation arose you have to understand how the media-press relationship works. In ITV's case, they send out regular programme 'press-kits' to interested media outlets. These will typically include spoilers, programme synopsis, publicity photos, editors notes, interviews, Q&A briefs and other related items. These are usually issued to various newspapers and magazines that fall in the Soaps, Celebrity, Women's and TV listings categories.

When the gay storyline was being introduced for Aaron, a Q&A brief with Danny Miller was included in the press-kit, in which various questions were asked of him, including how did he feel about kissing another guy and what were his feelings about doing future kissing scenes. Danny answered that he found it hard to kiss a guy as it wasn't an experience he'd ever had before as a straight lad and he admitted he was nervous when they came to film the scenes. He also said that he'd take future kiss-scenes step by step but thought that he'd find them just as worrying each time.

Now, maybe you could claim he was ill-advised to give the answers he did, but to be honest, I don't think they were that bad, especially from a (then) seventeen year old boy with no formal stage-school or interview experience. Incidentally, he also said in the same Q&A brief that he found kissing scenes hard to do in general and had been nervous when he had to kiss the character of Victoria Sugden some months earlier.

Anyway, this Q&A brief was used by a number of different publications over the next few months as the basis of an 'interview' Danny was purported to have given to their magazine. This is actually a standard procedure within the industry, where the questions from a press-kit are woven into a journalistic piece to make it appear that an actor has given that magazine a personal interview, when in reality all they have done is culled the answers from the Q&A sheet.

Unfortunately for Danny, most of the magazines that produced interview articles went with some variation of 'I find it hard kissing a guy' as their headline which made it appear that Danny was repeating this statement in lots of different interviews and making a big thing of it, when in fact he had only made the comment on the one single occasion in response to the questions he was asked.

I did cause a reaction - on here and other forums - and it quickly blew up into an urban myth that Danny Miller was constantly voicing his displeasure at having to play gay. mycatfox's* reply above: "Seriously, how many times he'll have to say how hard it was to kiss a bloke? We got it, bro, it must have been really hard" is typical of a sentiment that is now widely believed across the forums.

(* please believe me this is not a personal dig at you mycatfox)

Since then, magazines have used other Q&A briefs which for the most-part have been reproduced in a better way, although they still often use the 'gay comment' as their headline. "Fan's want to know if I'm gay in real life. I'm not", "It's a challenge", "I've always liked girls" have all been used by magazines that have paraphrased answers given by Danny, which again implies that playing gay is a big issue as far as he is concerned.

In the latest interview, you will note that Danny doesn't actually say the headline as it appears. It's another paraphrased quote that takes his words out of context and instantly gives them a negative connotation. Considering the interview is pretty sloppy and factually incorrect anyway there's not much point in taking it too seriously. Still, Danny might have been more prudent not to have made a comment at all even though it looks like he was aiming for a bit of a jokey reply.

Another incident occurred last autumn when the magazine Inside Soap produced their yearbook and claimed to have a new interview with Danny. This was not the case. Instead, what the did was use what they could from the (then) latest press-kit, with the rest of their 'interview' being stitched together using answers from past interviews. The one quote that actually provoked the backlash was when Danny supposedly said he had a lot of say in how Aaron was portrayed. Because the story was being criticized for its lack of on-screen affection by this stage, many believed Danny's response was the final evidence they needed to lay the full blame at his door.

I have been told by a member of the Emmerdale writing team that Danny has NEVER had any say in this element of Aaron's character. Furthermore, he has NEVER asked not to be given kissing scenes to do, or demanded that he be given the bare minimum of gay scenes, or whatever other similar charges have been leveled against him. He simply did not have that power, and despite the other widely-held urban myth; that he was ED's golden child and therefore always got what he wanted, I have been completely assured that no one ever pandered to Danny, because he never asked for anything. As far as ED were concerned, he got on with his job and worked hard for the last three and a half years on some of their most harrowing story-lines. They believe him to be a down-to-earth lad, with no demands and no airs or graces, and I definitely believe that's why he was given such a great send-off recently.

BTW, the quote in which Danny said he had a lot of say in how Aaron was portrayed was actually culled from a Gay Times interview in which he said he had a lot of say in how Aaron dresses. I was told that the wardrobe department were wanting to move Aaron more into jeans and shirts at the time (supposedly due to Jackson's influence on him) but Danny argued that Aaron would not surrender his trackies and hoodies so easily. I think Danny was proud of winning that debate and possibly over-emphasised the level of influence he had on the character afterwards - but that's just my impression.

In general, the big criticism that has been laid at the door of Danny Miller is that he has been very unconvincing as a gay man. I've seen this leveled at him by folk on a number of different forums so it's not something that can be easily dismissed. I myself have not always been happy with the way the character has gone. However, once again I have been told by those in the know that Danny has done everything the writers asked of him. It was they, and not Danny, that decided Aaron was going to be a 'homophobic homosexual' with all the flaws and the mentality of the street level sub-culture he had grown up in. Aaron is a 'chav' and the writers decided to base his social interaction and how he handled his relationships on a real-life element that is prevalent within the gay-chav / gay-skinhead subculture. This is apparently the reason why he treats his boyfriend more like a mate than as a lover, and this is the story the writers were always intent on telling with Aaron, a young guy who is constantly bound within the restrictions of that mindset. I don't know if that makes sense - all I can say is that it did to me when it was being explained to me.

Wow! I've rambled on forever... As I said at the beginning of my post, I don't really expect people to change their opinions of Danny Miller this late in the day. Most people have already decided whether they like or dislike him and someone like me coming along to seemingly make a few excuses for him is probably not going to make any difference. Still, I've put it out there for folk to take on board if they choose.

Finally, all I can say is that I like Danny and I do think he has been much maligned in the past. He comes across as very charming, funny & upbeat and has the kind of personality that draws people to him. According to the people I know at Emmerdale, he was always positive, polite and took his work seriously; rising to the occasion and doing everything that they asked of him. Having said that, I'm not oblivious to Danny's shortcomings and do recognise that he can also be a bit laddish at times. He's a young actor who is still learning his trade, so I guess it's probably been a bit of a steep learning curve for him to have been plucked from the relative obscurity of being a second-tier character in ED to basically being one of their biggest stars.

I do wish Danny well for the future and can honestly say he's provided me with some of the most emotionally intense viewing I have ever had the privilege to watch. I realise others don't see it like that, but for me, I could personally watch the trials and tribulations of Aaron Livesly until the cows come home! ;D

[Hawthorne]

That was very eloquent and informative, antistatic. I can certainly believe that Danny, as the one out front, has taken much of the blame that rightly should be directed towards the writers. And I am certainly guilty of pouring scorn onto Danny myself on occasion. I don't know if I'm ready to let Danny completely off the hook, but I'm open to viewing him differently than I have been the last few years. I suspect he's now going to run away from gay roles and his gay fans, but if he's smart, he'll cultivate his gay fan base and play gay again down the road.

[HQ75]

I can't speak for other people but I don't dislike Danny Miller.
But I also don't doubt that he said he doesn't like kissing guys AND the he finds it uncomfortable to do so.
He's said so on interview on TV as well when there was no way he could be edited.

I don't think he has to like kissing guys for real.

I just think ANY actor has to be convincing in the role they've been given.

I've never seen him convincingly hug, kiss or touch another actor in a romantic way.

We've now seen him with 3 different male romantic scene partners and it's always the same (even if the other actor is bringing it, he just seems unresponsive)

Now, does that mean he's a horrible person? Of course not.

But it does mean he's limited in his range in terms of acting.

There are many times when you will be asked to do things that make you personally uncomfortable as an actor and your job is always the same, make it work.

By the time Aaron and Ed first kissed, Danny should he comfortable enough in his craft to make us FEEL Aaron's feelings toward Ed the same way we FEE his feelings toward Paddy or Adam.

I think most of the criticism is based upon the viewers experience of the characters and anything Danny said just bolstered what folks were already feeling.

Objectively, I just don't think Danny has been convincing as a gay character who has any actual sexual desire for other men.

I mean if you look at other characters who are meant to be attracted to each other you can just feel it. In scenes with Danny and other male actors, it just always felt one-sided.

But in all other ways, I think Danny is a wonderful actor and I'm sure he'll go far as he gets better at his craft.

As I pointed out, there are actors in the UK on UK TV who are his age and younger who are straight who have convincingly played gay characters who fell in love and had a full romantic life on screen and you believed them.

James Sutton, Elliott Tittensor,

I think at the end of the day, it comes down to the actor. An actor should be able to convey their emotions with their body language and facial expressions, the timber of their voice.

I just think the romantic aspect of this role just weren't within Danny's capabilities as an actor

But again, I don't think it means he's a bad guy and no one who doesn't know him personally could really say one way or the other.

[patroclus]

that's very informative, antistatic, particularly about how the press interacts and the health warning on their products. The article was obviously very poorly put together. Thank you. I do get the point of Emmerdale's portrayal of Aaron as a young lad contained within a restricted range of emotional expression as a choice by them as much as Danny's choice. The problem has always been the very limited insight into what Aaron has which draws this stream of out-going, handsome, eligible gay men to him - other than his obvious good-looking, laconic masculinity. It's been frustrating never getting any 'off-duty' moments where we've seen the character relax - the only ones have been focused on distress and emotional pain.

[mycatfox]

Thanks a lot antistatic for your very informative post, but I still stand by my points DM might be an excellent bloke in real life (I don't personally know him) but as an actor, he really disappointed me. I'm convinced DM was never comfortable playing a gay character, and that feeling permeated his portrayal. And I believe he couldn't portray convincingly a gay chav because -maybe- his internalized homophobia kept him from doing it. Of course, I also blame Emmerdale for the rather controversial way of writing and directing his character/story-lines

And HQ75, once again, I totally agree with your comment

[jjose712]

He doesn't need to tell us he dislike kissing guys, that was very obvious on his bad acting on every kissing scene.

I thought he learned to keep his big mouth shut, but it's obvious that he is not inteligent enough to do that. In my opinion he received to much undeserved praise, yes he cries really well, but he was never convincent in his role. And yes, the storyline was really bad, but other actors dealt with the same problem and they were able to sell their characters.
He is popular now, but in a couple of years we'll see, but for someone who was rejected a lot of times before this role one could expect more gratitude and humility

[antistatic]

Here's Danny at the charity Cook-Off he attended on Sunday. He was on the winning team!



Also, to those who responded to my previous post and were (at least) willing not to dismiss what I said out of hand. Thank you for the consideration.

[kevvoi]

Another interview with Danny Miller:

entertainment.stv.tv/tv/301899-emmerdales-danny-miller-says-door-left-open-for-return/

[HQ75]

He looks REALLY handsome with his hair growing out.
He's a good looking boy for sure.

[Deleted]

Danny Miller's final message highlighting the high and lows of his character you may get emotional