Ben Stiller says his new movie doesn't fit into a category

Los Angeles -  Ben Stiller says The Secret Life of Walter Mitty doesn't fit into a particular genre of film.

The 48-year-old actor plays the lead role in the hit film, which he also directed, but he insists it's not a comedy despite elements of humour in it, nor is it a drama.

Instead Stiller wants to take the audience on the character's "journey".

He told France's Le Monde newspaper: "I like movies that don't necessarily fit into a category. There is humour in it and some people might see it as a comedy, but ultimately that wasn't the criteria that I was judging it on.

"For me the most important thing was trying to tell the story and hoping the audience would be able to follow this character and his journey."

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is set in New York to enable the actor-and-director to "capture the architecture" of the city's buildings and to give it a timeless feel.

Stiller explained: "For me it was very important to capture the architecture and the graphic nature of the Time-Life building and Sixth Avenue and those buildings that went up in the mid-'50s, that sort of corridor.

"A feeling I have with other New York movies, like Midnight Cowboy or Tootsie, long shots that have the characters stacked up against real people, not just extras."