Sienna Miller found it 'cathartic' filming paparazzi scenes for Anatomy of a Scandal

Sienna Miller found it "cathartic" shooting scenes in which her character is hounded by the paparazzi in Anatomy of a Scandal.

In the new Netflix drama, the Layer Cake star plays Sophie Whitehouse, the wife of an MP whose world is turned upside down when her husband James, played by Rupert Friend, is accused of rape by a colleague with whom he'd had an affair.

In one scene, both Miller and Friend have to push their way through a pack of photographers, something all too familiar to the actress, who was frequently followed by paparazzi in the 2000s due to her on-off relationship with Jude Law.

"Rupert also had experienced it, so those scenes weren't pleasant for either of us, but it was weirdly interesting to kind of step back in and... there is something cathartic, I suppose, about spending time in an ugly space that's familiar. And maybe reclaiming it?" she told U.K. Elle magazine. "I don't know what the psychology of it is. But there is something where maybe you can substitute a memory with something else."

The 40-year-old noted that while the show explores "familiar terrain", her character's way of dealing with the fallout of the scandal is "the absolute antithesis" of her way.

"So, in a kind of twisted, tourism sense, I just wanted to see how it would feel to react differently. I know that sounds weird, because you'd think it would be deeply unpleasant to sit in that space," she admitted.

Miller and Law's engagement was rocked by scandal in 2005 when he had a highly publicised affair with his children's nanny. They split for good in 2011.

Anatomy of a Scandal, also starring Michelle Dockery and Naomi Scott, is streaming on Netflix now.