'It just felt like something I really wanted to take on'

Matt Smith and Nick Cave discuss bringing Cave's 2009 novel The Death Of Bunny Munro to life in a new six-part TV series. The drama starts on Thursday on Sky.

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Australian musician and writer Nick Cave began developing a screenplay about a travelling door-to-door salesman 20 years ago.

When he and director John Hillcoat failed to secure backing for the project, Cave grew impatient and decided to turn it into a novel instead.

In 2009, The Death Of Bunny Munro, the story of a sex-addicted, door-to-door beauty salesman, was published.

16 years after its release, Cave's second novel has been adapted into a six-part series starring Matt Smith as Bunny Munro.

The series follows Bunny as he grapples with the suicide of his wife, Libby, played by Sarah Greene, while trying to raise his young son, Bunny Junior, played by newcomer Rafael Mathé, with only a loose grasp of parenting.

Together, father and son embark on a chaotic road trip across southern England. Bunny drifts from one sales pitch to the next, attempting to seduce every woman he meets, while Bunny Junior spends his time talking to the ghost of his mother and confronting the painful reality of his father's flaws.

Smith, 43, says that although Bunny was a difficult role to play he jumped at the opportunity to work with Cave.

"The idea of working with Nick was, of course, a gift," says the Northampton-born actor.

"It was one of those moments where you open your inbox and think, 'Oh, Nick Cave, wow, cool'.

"He's such a brilliant artist, such a cultural icon, and all of the above.

"Then I read the first script and it was brilliant. I met with Nick, read the book, and thought, 'What a great challenge and what a great opportunity.'

"It just felt like something I really wanted to take on, even though I knew it would be quite challenging."