Ben Stiller

Early life

Stiller was born in New York City and grew up in Manhattan, the second child of his famous comedy parents Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, who 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, Amy Stiller, was also an actress. He displayed an early interest in film making, making Super 8 movies with his sister and friends. At ten years old, he made his acting debut as a guest on his mother's television series Kate McShane. After being inspired by the television show Second City Television while in high school, Stiller realized that he wanted to get involved with sketch comedy.

In 1983, after graduating from The Calhoun School in New York, he enrolled as a film student at the University of California, Los Angeles. Stiller lasted nine months before dropping out to relocate back to New York City as he made his way through acting classes, auditioning and trying to find an agent.

Beginning career

He landed a role in the Broadway revival of John Guare's The House of Blue Leaves, alongside John Mahoney, a play which later garnered four Tonys. During its run, Stiller produced a satirical mockumentary whose principal was fellow actor Mahoney. His comedic work was so well received by the cast and crew of the play that he followed up with a 10 minute short called "The Hustler of Money," a parody of the Martin Scorsese film The Color of Money. The film featured him in a send-up of Tom Cruise's Vince character and Mahoney in the Paul Newman role--only this time as a bowling hustler instead of a pool shark. The short got the attention of Saturday Night Live, which aired it in 1987, and two years later offered him a spot as a writer. In the meantime, he also had a bit part in Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun.

In 1989, Stiller wrote and appeared on a season of Saturday Night Live as a featured performer. However, since the show did not want him to make any more short films for the show, he left after five shows. He then put together Elvis Stories, a short film about a fictitious tabloid focused on recent sightings of Elvis Presley. The film starred fellow friends and co-stars John Cusack, Jeremy Piven, Mike Myers, Andy Dick, and Jeff Kahn. The film was considered a success, and led him to develop another film entitled Back to Brooklyn for MTV. MTV was so impressed with the film that they offered Stiller a weekly show where he would show behind-the-scenes footage of comedy television shows. The show parodied various television shows, music stars, and films. The show also starred (and launched the careers of) his frequent collaborators Andy Dick, Janeane Garofalo, and Bob Odenkirk. Although the show was canceled after its first season, it would lead to The Ben Stiller Show on the Fox Network in 1992. The show lasted 12 episodes on FOX--with a thirteenth unaired episode broadcast by Comedy Central in a later revival. Throughout its short run, The Ben Stiller Show frequently appeared at the bottom of the ratings, even as it garnered critical acclaim, eventually winning the Emmy for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Variety or Music Program" after it was cancelled.

Directional debut

After a few film roles in the early 1990s such as Stella, Highway To Hell, and a cameo in The Nutt House, Stiller devoted his time on writing, raising funds, recruiting cast members, and directing Reality Bites. The film was produced by Danny DeVito (who would later direct Stiller's 2003 film Duplex and produce the 2004 film Along Came Polly) and Stiller also acted in the film, which would be praised by multiple critics. He joined his parents in the family film Heavyweights, where he played two different roles, and then had a brief uncredited role in Adam Sandler's Happy Gilmore. Next, he had lead roles in If Lucy Fell and Flirting with Disaster before he would continue with his next directional effort, The Cable Guy starring Jim Carrey. Stiller once again starred in his own film as a pair of twins. The film would receive mixed reviews and perform poorly at the box office, but the film was deemed notable for issuing the highest paycheck for any actor at the time by paying Jim Carrey $20 million for the film. The film would also connect Stiller with future Frat Pack members Jack Black and Owen Wilson. Also in 1996, Stiller was invited by MTV to host the VH1 Fashion Awards and along with SNL writer Drake Sather, 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.

Comedy career

Stiller as Gaylord Focker in Meet the Parents

In 1998, Stiller put aside his directing ambitions to star in There's Something About Mary alongside Cameron Diaz, which skyrocketed Stiller's career. In that same year he also starred in several dramas including Zero Effect, Your Friends & Neighbors, and Permanent Midnight. Stiller was invited to take part in hosting the Music Video awards, for which he developed a parody of the Backstreet Boys and performed a sketch with his father commenting on his now booming career. In 1999, he starred in three films, including Mystery Men where he played a superhero wannabe called Mr. Furious. He returned to directing with a new spoof television series for FOX entitled Heat Vision and Jack, starring Jack Black. However, the show was not picked up by FOX after its pilot episode and the series was cancelled. 2000 would be a better year for Stiller as he starred in four more films including one of his most recognizable roles, as a male nurse named Gaylord Focker in Meet the Parents. MTV again invited him to make another short film and he developed Mission: Improbable, a spoof of Tom Cruise's roles in the films Risky Business, Magnolia, Cocktail, and Mission: Impossible.

In 2001, Stiller would direct his most well-received film, Zoolander, which focused on the character Derek Zoolander (which was also played by Stiller) that he developed for the VH1 Fashion Awards. The film featured multiple cameos from a variety of celebrities including Donald Trump, Paris Hilton, Lenny Kravitz, Heidi Klum, and David Bowie among others. The film was banned in Malaysia (as the plot centered on an assassination attempt of a Malaysian prime minister) and shots of the World Trade Center had to be digitally removed and hidden for the film's release after the September 11 terrorist 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 and several cameos in Orange County 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 Arthur's father (Stiller's father Jerry Stiller) in a flashback. He also made a special guest appearance on World Wrestling Entertainment's WWE RAW.

Stiller as White Goodman in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

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, Envy, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, 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, which performed so well at the box office that it resulted in a sequel due in 2008.

In 2006, Stiller had two cameos, one in School for Scoundrels, and Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny, a film which he was the executive producer for. 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.

Upcoming work

In July 2006, Stiller announced he would be directing a comedic television show starring his wife. The show will be featured on CBS and will use a single-camera format. Stiller will make several cameos as husband to his wife's character. Stiller also currently has three upcoming films in 2007 and 2008, including The Mirror, The Heartbreak Kid, and Madagascar 2: The Lost Island. Stiller will also produce Blades of Glory and Date School.

Personal

Stiller is 5 ft 8 in tall and left-handed. Stiller 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, starring Jack Black. Christine has also appeared alongside Ben Stiller in Zoolander and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. He and Taylor currently reside in Hollywood Hills and have a daughter, Ella Olivia, born April 10, 2002, and a son, Quinlin Dempsey, born July 10, 2005.

Stiller is a supporter of the Democratic Party and donated money to John Kerry's 2004 U.S. Presidential campaign. He is also a supporter of several charities including Declare Yourself, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and the Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation.

In 2005, Stiller revealed that he has bipolar disorder, an illness he says runs in his family.

Stiller frequently does impersonations of many of his favorite performers, including U2's Bono, Tom Cruise (which he portrayed in an SNL short film from the late 1980s and in a Celebrity Jeopardy sketch when he came back to host Saturday Night Live in the late-1990s), Bruce Springsteen, and David Blaine.

On the December 18, 2006 broadcast of The Late Show with David Letterman, Stiller revealed that he is a big fan of the original Star Trek television series and enjoys the M&M's brand chocolate candies. He admitted in an interview with Parade magazine that Robert Klein, George Carlin, and Jimmie Walker were inspirations for his comedy career.

Selected filmography

Acting in film

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
2008	Madagascar 2: The Lost Island	Alex	(voice; filming)
	2007	The Mirror	---	(in production)
	The Heartbreak Kid	Eddie Cantrow	(post-production)
	2006
	Night at the Museum	Larry Daley
	In Search of Ted Demme	Himself
	Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny	Guitar Store Dude	cameo
	School for Scoundrels	Lonnie	cameo
	2005	Danny Roane: First Time Director	Himself
	Madagascar	Alex	voice only
	Sledge: The Untold Story	Commander
2004	Meet the Fockers	Gaylord 'Greg' Focker
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy	Arturo Mendes	cameo
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story	White Goodman
Envy	Tim Dingman
Starsky & Hutch	David Starsky
Along Came Polly	Reuben Feffer
	2003	Nobody Knows Anything!	Peach Expert	cameo
	Duplex	Alex Rose
	Pauly Shore Is Dead	Himself	cameo
	2002	Orange County	The Firefighter
	Run Ronnie Run	Himself
	2001	The Royal Tenenbaums	Chas Tenenbaum
	Zoolander	Derek Zoolander	earned salary of $2,500,000
	2000	Meet the Parents	Gaylord 'Greg' Focker
	Keeping the Faith	Rabbi Jake Schram
	The Independent	Cop
	1999	Black and White	Mark Clear
	Mystery Men	Mr. Furious
	The Suburbans	Jay Rose
	1998	Permanent Midnight	Jerry Stahl
	Your Friends & Neighbors	Jerry
	There's Something About Mary	Ted Stroehmann	earned salary of $3,000,000
	Zero Effect	Steve Arlo
	1996	The Cable Guy	Sam Sweet/Stan Sweet
	Flirting with Disaster	Mel
	If Lucy Fell	Bwick Elias
	Happy Gilmore	Nursing Home Orderly	uncredited
	1995	Heavyweights	Tony Perkis/Tony Perkis Sr.
	2 stupid dogs	Tony Robbins-style character
1994	Reality Bites	Michael Grates
	1992	The Nutt House	Pie Thrower	cameo
	Highway to Hell	Pluto's Cook/Attila the Hun
1990	Stella	Jim Uptegrove
	1989	Next of Kin	Lawrence Isabella
	Elvis Stories	Bruce
	That's Adequate	Chip Lane
1988	Fresh Horses	Tipton
	1987	Empire of the Sun	Dainty
	Hot Pursuit	Chris Honeywell
	Shoeshine

Directing and producing in film

Year	Title	Other notes
2008	Date School	producer
2007	Blades of Glory	producer
2006	Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny	executive producer
	2004	Starsky & Hutch	executive producer
	Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story	producer
	2003	Duplex	producer
	Crooked Lines	executive producer
2001	Zoolander	director, producer, and writer
1996	The Cable Guy	director
1994	Reality Bites	director
1989	Elvis Stories	director and writer

Television work

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
2004-2006	Arrested Development	Tony Wonder	four episodes
	2002	The Simpsons	Garth Motherloving	voice only; single episode
	The King of Queens	Jerry	single episode
1999	Heat Vision and Jack	Strip Club DJ	director and executive producer
1997	Friends	Tommy	single episode
1992	The Ben Stiller Show	Himself	director, producer, and writer
	1990	The Ben Stiller Show	Himself	director and writer
	Working Trash	Freddy Novak	television film
1987	Miami Vice	Fast Eddie Felcher	single episode

Awards and honors

For his work in The Ben Stiller Show, he was awarded an Emmy for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Variety or Music Program".

Stiller has the unique honor of being the only actor to be nominated by the Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Actor for five films in one year. 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.

Music video involvement

Stiller has joined multiple artists for cameos in their music videos, including:

Smash Mouth's video for their song All Star 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 and tells him "Don't scratch the car." 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", in which he merely walks across the shot in the mall during the climax of the song.

P.Diddy's "Bad Boy for Life" video as P. Diddy's neighbor.

Jack Johnson'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.

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