Ben Stiller biography
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an Emmy Award-winning United States comedian, actor, film producer and film director. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. After beginning his acting career with a play, he wrote several mockumentaries, and was offered two of his own shows, both entitled
The Ben Stiller Show. After acting in a few films, Stiller had his directorial debut with
Reality Bites, and has since written, starred in, directed, and produced over fifty films and television shows. His films have grossed $1.38 billion.
He is a member of the comedic acting brotherhood known as the Frat Pack. With multiple cameos in music videos, television shows, and films, he may be best known for his roles in
Heavyweights,
Zoolander,
Starsky & Hutch (film),
There's Something About Mary,
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,
Meet the Parents, and
Night at the Museum. Throughout his career, he has received several awards and honors including an Emmy Award, several MTV Movie Awards, and a Teen Choice Awards. Stiller's most recent role was in the movie
Tropic Thunder (2008), which he also wrote and directed.
Biography
Early life
Stiller was born in New York City. Stiller's father Jerry Stiller is Jewish and his mother Anne Meara, who is of Irish Catholic background, converted to Judaism after marrying his father. His parents frequently took him on the sets of their appearances, including an appearance on
The Mike Douglas Show when he was six. He admitted in an interview that he considered his childhood unusual: "In some ways, it was a show-business upbringing—a lot of traveling, a lot of late nights—not what you'd call traditional." His older sister, actress Amy Stiller, appeared in his movie
Dodgeball in a short scene as a waitress at a restaurant. He displayed an early interest in film making and made Super 8 mm film movies with his sister and friends.
After he graduated from the Calhoun school in New York in 1983, he enrolled as a film student at the University of California, Los Angeles and joined Beta Theta Pi fraternity. After nine months, Stiller left school to move back to New York City. He made his way through acting classes, auditioning, and trying to find an agent.
Beginning career
He landed a role in the Broadway theatre revival of John Guare's
The House of Blue Leaves, alongside John Mahoney, a play which later garnered four Tonys.
Directorial debut
After a few minor film roles in the early 1990s, such as
Stella (film),
Highway to Hell (film), and a cameo in
The Nutt House, Stiller devoted his time on writing, fund raising, recruiting cast members, and directing
Reality Bites. The film also connected Stiller with future Frat Pack members Jack Black and Owen Wilson. Also in 1996, MTV invited Stiller to host the VH1 Fashion Awards. Along with Saturday Night Live writer Drake Sather, Stiller developed a short film for the awards about a male model known as Derek Zoolander. It was so well received that Stiller developed another short film about the character for the 1997 VH1 Fashion Awards and finally remade the skit into a film. and shots of the World Trade Center had to be digitally removed and hidden for the film's release after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
After Stiller invited Owen Wilson to star in
Zoolander, Wilson returned the favor and invited Stiller to play Chas Tenenbaum in
The Royal Tenenbaums. Over the next two years, Stiller continued on with the lackluster box office film
Duplex (film) and several cameos in
Orange County (film) and
Nobody Knows Anything!. He also guest-starred on several television shows, including an appearance in an episode of the television series
King Of Queens as the father of the character Arthur (who was played by Stiller's father, Jerry Stiller) in a flashback. He also made a special guest appearance on World Wrestling Entertainment's WWE Raw.
2004 would be Stiller's busiest year as he acted in six different films. All six of the films were comedies, and include some of his highest grossing films. They include
Starsky & Hutch (film),
Envy (film),
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, an uncredited cameo in
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,
Along Came Polly, and
Meet the Fockers. Although
Envy only grossed $14.5 million worldwide, his most successful film of the year was
Meet the Fockers, which grossed over $516.5 million worldwide. In 2005, Stiller would begin his first attempt at a computer-animated film with
Madagascar (film), which performed so well at the box office that it resulted in a Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa due in 2008.
In 2006, Stiller had two cameos, one in
School for Scoundrels (2006 film), and
Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny, of which he was the executive producer. In December, Stiller starred in the lead role of
Night at the Museum. Although the film received many poor reviews, the film earned over $115 million in ten days. In 2007, Stiller starred alongside Malin Akerman in the romantic comedy
The Heartbreak Kid (2007 film). His most recent film,
Tropic Thunder, a film he directed, wrote, and starred in was released on August 13, 2008.
Upcoming work
Stiller has several upcoming films in 2008 and 2009, including
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. He will provide a voice for one of the characters in
The Smurfs (film). In February 2007, it was announced that Stiller would star alongside Jason Schwartzman in
The Marc Pease Experience as a former theater teacher and star alongside Tom Cruise in a comedy adaptation of
The Hardy Boys entitled
Hardy Men. When speaking about working with Tom Cruise Stiller said, "I'd be very excited about working with him, because I've always been a huge fan". Stiller will also produce the upcoming
Date School. Stiller runs together with Stuart Cornfeld the Red Hour Productions company. The company will produce the comedy television show
Gods Behaving Badly based on Marie Phillips' novel. In 2009, he will star in the sequel
Night at the Museum 2: Escape from the Smithsonian and
Hardy Men is still in pre-production.
The Frat Pack
Stiller is the "acknowledged leader" of the Frat Pack, a core group of actors that has worked together in multiple films. The group includes actors Jack Black, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, and Steve Carell. Stiller has been acknowledged as the leader of the group due to his multiple cameos and for his offering the other members movie roles in films he is involved with while producing and directing. He dated several actresses during his early television and film career including Jeanne Tripplehorn, Janeane Garofalo, Calista Flockhart and Amanda Peet. In May 2000, Stiller married Christine Taylor, whom he met while filming a never-broadcast television pilot for the FOX network called
Heat Vision and Jack, which starred Jack Black (actor). The couple appeared onscreen together in
Zoolander and
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. He and Taylor reside in Hollywood Hills
Stiller is a supporter of the Democratic Party (United States) and donated money to John Kerry's 2004 U.S. Presidential campaign. In February 2007, Stiller attended a fundraiser for Barack Obama and later donated to Obama's, John Edwards, and Hillary Clinton's 2008 U.S. Presidential campaigns. Stiller is also a supporter of several charities including Declare Yourself, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and the Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation.
In a 1999 interview with
GQ (magazine) and later in a 2001 interview with Hollywood.com, Stiller stated that he had bipolar disorder, an illness he said that ran in his family. In two interviews in November and December 2006, Stiller claimed that this earlier interview's comment about the disorder was false. In one interview he said: "I said jokingly in
GQ that I was, like, crazy, and it came out as: Ben Stiller, bipolar manic-depressive!"
Stiller frequently does impersonations of many of his favorite performers, including Bono, Tom Cruise, Bruce Springsteen, and David Blaine. In an interview with
Parade (magazine), he commented that Robert Klein, George Carlin, and Jimmie Walker were inspirations for his comedy career.
filming
pre-production
's video for their song
All Star (song) as it shows scenes of him being portrayed as Mr. Furious from the film
Mystery Men.
- Limp Bizkit's video for their hit song "Rollin," in which he gives the keys to friend Fred Durst to watch/park his car--Stiller's friend tells Durst, "Don't scratch it." He also appeared in the hidden track at the end of their album,
Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water.
- Tenacious D's video "Tribute (song)", in which he merely walks across the shot in the mall during the climax of the song.
- Sean Combs's "Bad Boy for Life" video as P. Diddy's neighbor.
- Jack Johnson (musician)'s music video, "Taylor," in which he runs over a chicken. An extended version of the video features Ben as a pedantic director, frequently interrupting and instructing Jack.
- Beastie Boys' 2006 in-concert movie
Awesome: I Fuckin' Shot That!, when Stiller and his wife appear among the audience members caught on amateur camera footage. Stiller is shown rapping along to three songs, then in a brief vox pops-style interview during the closing credits.
- Stiller also appears as a supermarket manager in Travis (band)' video of their 2007 single "Closer (Travis song)".
Awards and honors
- For his work in
The Ben Stiller Show, he was awarded an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Variety or Music Program". He released six films in 2004 and
Meet the Fockers was the only film he was not nominated for.
- He has been nominated twelve times for the Teen Choice Awards and won once for "Choice Hissy Fit" for his work in
Zoolander. He also was nominated by the MTV Movie Awards thirteen times and won three times for "Best Fight" in
There's Something About Mary, "Best Comedic Performance" in
Meet the Parents, and "Best Villain" in
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.
- Princeton University's Class of 2005 inducted Stiller as an honorary member of the class during its "Senior Week" in April 2005.
- On February 23, 2007 Stiller received the Hasty Pudding Man of the Year award from Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatricals. According to the organization, the award is given to performers who give a lasting and impressive contribution to the world of entertainment.
- On March 31, 2007, Stiller received the "Wannabe Award" from the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.
Further reading
- Bankston, John.
Ben Stiller (Real-Life Reader Biography). Mitchell Lane Publishers, 2002. ISBN 1584151323.
- Dougherty, Terri.
Ben Stiller (People in the News). Lucent Books, 2006. ISBN 1590187237.
Ben Stiller in the news
Transformers top UK box office for second week - Reuters India
Los Angeles TimesTransformers top UK box office for second weekReuters IndiaBen Stiller in "Night at the Museum 2" was down at five from three, with "Terminator Salvation," the fourth film in the franchise and the first not to star ...Transformers 2 Dominates Weekend Box OfficeAnimation World Networkall 1,534 news articles »
read moreLiving Art - Computer Graphics World
Computer Graphics WorldLiving ArtComputer Graphics WorldThe battle features, as did the first Night at the Museum, Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), the museum guard from the earlier film, now an entrepreneur and ...and more »
read moreAWAITING DAWN - Screen Weekly
Express from The Washington PostAWAITING DAWNScreen WeeklyBen Stiller and I had always agreed that we wouldn't continue this tale unless we had a great new story – so when the idea came up of taking Larry and his ...A 'Night' to Remember: Night at the Museum Video GameExpress from The Washington Postall 2 news articles »
read moreMovies still playing in the Fredericksburg area - The Free Lance-Star
Movies still playing in the Fredericksburg areaThe Free Lance-Star[RF, RA, M] HH "NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN" (PG) Ben Stiller was fun in the first film as a guard terrified when museum characters came ...and more »
read moreStiller wants to work for Mexico? - The Press Association
Stiller wants to work for Mexico?The Press AssociationBen Stiller has said he'd like to meet the Mexican president and joked he would even consider working for him. The Night At The Museum actor was ...Ben Stiller wants job with Mexican governmentThe Associated PressBen Stiller wants job with Mexican governmentOakland TribuneSTILLER WANTS JOB WITH CALDERON'S GOVERNMENTUK Expressall 183 news articles »
read moreGaithersburg "Big Bang" Weekend Celebration - Was...
Gaithersburg "Big Bang" Weekend CelebrationWashington PostAt 7:30 pm, the city's "Thursday Night at the Movies" series follows, with a screening of "Madagascar," an animated film featuring the voices of Ben Stiller ...and more »
read moreMovie openings and capsule reviews - San Jose Mercury News
Movie openings and capsule reviewsSan Jose Mercury NewsMany laughs from Ben Stiller's former security guard sparring with characters such as Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams as Stiller's love interest). ...and more »
read moreNight at the Museum on IMAX at Norwalk's Maritime Aquarium ...
Fairfield County OnlineNight at the Museum on IMAX at Norwalk's Maritime AquariumFairfield County OnlineThe Ben Stiller sequel has been digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of the IMAX Experience®. ...and more »
read moreComedy titans throw a 'House' party - Boston Herald
Indie WireComedy titans throw a 'House' partyBoston HeraldBen Stiller of “Zoolander” fame, along with screenwriters/directors Peter Farrelly of “There's Something About Mary,” John Hamburg of “Meet the Parents” and ...Stars talk comedy at Nantucket Film FestivalCape Cod TimesStorytelling, Of All Kinds, Showcased at Nantucket FestIndie Wire'Cove' sails at NantucketVarietyBoston Heraldall 11 news articles »
read moreMichael Jackson's Musical Movie Moments - Film.com
Washington PostMichael Jackson's Musical Movie MomentsFilm.comZoolander: The epic “walk-off” between dueling male models Derek and Hansel was the centerpiece of this hilarious Ben Stiller farce. ...Michael Jackson And 10 Classic Movie Moments That Would Not Exist ...MTV.comall 2,605 news articles »
read more