Danny Miller has been taking breaks alone to maintain his ‘Emmerdale’ alter ego’s "dark mood".
The 25-year-old actor is reliving tormented Aaron Livesy’s abuse at the hands of his father and admits he has been isolating himself from his castmates in order to get in the "right head space" for the harrowing scenes.
He said: "It begins with early nights followed by an hour-long commute on the M62 from Manchester, where I live, to Leeds and the drive is done in silence. I have that hour to try and get myself into the right head space.
"Once I get into work, psyched up for the big scenes, I have to make sure I’m not snapped out of Aaron’s dark mood. That means no light-hearted banter. So, I take tea and meal breaks alone and on set, everybody speaks in hushed tones.
"I have to go to a place you never want to imagine and everybody at work respects that. They create an atmosphere that allows me to get into that mindset and stay there. It’s been tough. The hardest story I have had to do, I think."
And Danny admits he has found it harder than usual to switch off at the end of a day’s filming.
He told What’s On TV: "I am usually really good at shutting the door on things when I leave work, but this time, that’s been hard. I’ve had to rely on friends to cheer me up after work, or visits to the gym.
"The radio helps too – on the way in, I drive in silence, but going home, I will listen to the most upbeat shows I can find."
Danny Miller isolating himself
