Cable guy
1996
In the dark comedy, which was ambiguously received by viewers, Stiller is increasingly behind the scenes - Jud Apatow, who produced the film, roped the 30-year-old actor into the director's chair. But Ben still got his five minutes of screen time thanks to the role of twins Sam and Stan Sweet. As children, the Sweets shone in the sitcom Double Trouble, and as adults, they became the heroes of another show: Sam, who was a petty thief, shot and killed the cultist Stan and now regularly appeared before television viewers in reports from the courthouse. No one ever found out how the case ended: seconds before the verdict was announced, the Cable Guy played by Jim Carrey disabled the satellite dish.
Star Trek actor
In New York, Ben Stiller, with the help of an agent, got a role in the play “The House of Blue Leaves” by John Guare. The play won four Tony Awards, and Ben Stiller was given a ticket to a great future. At the same time, the actor was making short films. One of them, a parody of Scorsese's The Color of Money, was acquired by NBC for the TV show Saturday Night Live. In 1990, Ben Stiller received an offer from MTV to produce the comedy show Back to Brooklyn. The program was a huge success, but lasted only a year. Next was The Ben Stiller Show on Fox. And despite the fact that the program was broadcast for only six months, Ben and his colleague on the show Jude Apatow received an Emmy Award for it in the Best Writing category. TV critics rebelled against the young actor and his sharp humor, but this only spurred the director on. In 1996, Ben directed the black comedy The Cable Guy starring Jim Carrey.
Ben Stiller made his big screen debut back in 1987 in Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun. In 1996, he played the lead role in the tragicomedy Don't Wake a Sleeping Dog, and two years later in the popular comedy There's Something About Mary. The film Meet the Parents, starring Stiller, grossed over one hundred million dollars at the American box office. All subsequent roles of the actor were no less successful. “Duplex” in 2003, “Here Comes Polly” in 2004, “Night at the Museum” in 2006, “The Girl of My Nightmares” in 2007, “Tropic Soldiers” in 2008, “Night in the museum - 2" in 2009. All these films brought Ben Stiller the well-deserved fame of a comedic actor. His good friend Owen Wilson starred alongside him in eight of Stiller's films.
Zoolander, aka Zoolander
2001
In the fashion world, Derek Zoolander became famous for his “Blue Steel” look and was awarded three times as male model of the year, and for the fourth time he lost to a youthful competitor, and at the same time became known as a fool - which means he became an easy target for a crime syndicate led by the Gaultier-like Will Ferrell who planned to eliminate the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Since Zoolander is unable to uncover the conspiracy due to his modest mental abilities, he can only do so without stopping the other characters in the film from getting themselves out of trouble. And in the end, impress everyone with a new signature look.
Further career
After Ben Stiller played Ted, he became truly popular. The comedies in which he was invited to star immediately received positive reviews from reputable film critics and viewers. All Hollywood projects with his participation became box office successes. Some of them:
- "Meet the Fockers";
- "Exemplary male";
- "Black and white";
- "Here comes Polly."
The main role in the latest film was played by the incomparable Jennifer Aniston. Despite the success of the films in which the actor starred, he sometimes received criticism from film critics. He was even nominated several times for the Golden Raspberry anti-award.
The next main role went to the artist in the comedy “Night at the Museum”. The film tells the story of a museum where exhibits come to life at night. The film was a huge success, so two more parts were soon filmed.
In 2008, a comedy film called “Soldiers of Trouble” was released. In it, Ben acted as an actor, director and screenwriter. A star-studded cast was involved in the filming. The comedy was nominated for an Oscar and also received several awards:
- BAFTA;
- American Actors Guild Award;
- Golden Globe.
One of Ben Stiller's best films in recent years is The Incredible Life of Walter Mitty. The artist played the main role and became the director of the project. His character is an average clerk leading a boring life. He is not even able to independently compose a profile for a dating site. His hero works in the photo archive of a famous publication. The story begins with the loss of a photo that was intended for the cover. Walter soon goes looking for a photographer and during the journey he discovers his forgotten talents.
This work is more dramatic than comedic. It was released at the end of 2013 and soon made it into the top ten best films of that year according to the Film Critics Union of America.
Benjamin does not forget about comedic images. So, in 2013, the premiere of the film “Oscar Nomination?!” took place. A year later, the actor received the main role in the comedy-drama film “While We Are Young.” The film tells about the life of a couple whose relationship is facing a serious crisis.
The Tenenbaum Family
2001
As a teenager, financial prodigy Chas Tenenbaum, the brother of playwright Margot and tennis player Richie, who were in love with each other, sent his own father to prison. In retaliation, he casually shot Chas with a gun. The shot got stuck in the guy’s left hand and became a constant reminder of a series of betrayals in the noble family. Two decades later, Chas and his family get into a plane crash, in which everyone survives except his wife. Now the hero, who has exchanged jackets and ties for a red Adidas suit, is obsessed with the idea of protecting the sons remaining in his care from any danger, including his grandfather, who decided to build bridges. The modern film classic on the theme of fathers and sons ends well, but sadly - Wes Anderson simply doesn’t have it any other way.
Personal life of Ben Stiller
Ladies' man?
Despite his rather unprepossessing appearance and small stature, the actor has always enjoyed success with girls - he has an abyss of charm! So there were no “interruptions” in Ben Stiller’s personal life. His girlfriends included Basic Instinct star Jeanne Tripplehorn and Harrison Ford's current wife Calista Flockhart, Janeane Garofalo and Amanda Peet.
Friendly family
Ben got married quite late - at almost 35 years old. His chosen one was actress Christine Taylor, whom Stiller met on the set of the short film “Thermal Vision and Jack.”
Since then, they have repeatedly appeared on camera together (in “Zoolander,” “Dodgeball,” “Tropic Soldiers”). Although Ben's career is developing much more successfully - Christine is more busy raising children, of which the Stillers have two: thirteen-year-old Ella and ten-year-old Quinley.
Starsky and Hutch
2004
David Starsky is a Californian detective consumed by a parental complex and respecting disco, who is given another detective, the reckless Ken Hutchinson, as a partner. Starsky at first believes that such company is of no use to him, but over time, as expected, he finds a friend in his colleague. If the attempt made almost 10 years ago to revive the duo from the popular TV series of the 70s was memorable for one thing, it was the ideal casting for the main roles: cinematic brothers Stiller and Wilson (they have 10 collaborations to their credit, not counting “Tropic Soldiers,” from which the scenes with Owen were cut out during editing) even received several nominations for best on-screen chemistry. Stiller, however, also received a nomination for Worst Actor.
Childhood and youth
Benjamin (Ben) Edward Stiller was born in New York in November 1965. His father is the famous comedian Jerry Stiller, a Polish Jew by nationality. Mother is actress Ann Meara, an Irish Catholic who accepted her husband’s faith at a young age. At the time of Benjamin’s arrival, the family’s 4-year-old daughter, Amy, was already growing up. The children grew up in a creative atmosphere and often watched their parents work on the set. It is not surprising that Ben and Amy chose the profession of actors.
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Ben Stiller in his youth
After graduating from school in 1983, Ben Stiller became a student at the University of California, choosing the cinema department. But after 9 months the guy returned to his native New York, where he began attending acting classes.
Soldiers of Misfortune
2008
One of Stiller’s brightest acting works is the role of Tug Speedman, a typical action hero, whose initially successful adventure franchise had completely outlived its usefulness by the sixth part (Sylvester Stallone found himself in a similar situation with the Rocky pentalogy). Neither retraining as a serious actor nor taking bail for a child from a third world country is yet possible, so Thug agrees to a role in the film adaptation of the memoirs of a veteran of the Vietnam campaign. In the next two hours of screen time, everything will happen to Speedman - even killing, excuse me, a panda. But everything will end in Hollywood style. That is, an Oscar.
Childhood of a future star
Ben Stiller was born into a family of comedians, so his fate was sealed even before he was born. His father was a stand-up comedian, and his mother acted on TV. Ben also had a sister, with whom he constantly tried to get into the image of his parents, trying to be like them.
The adults saw what Ben was interested in, so at the age of 10 they decided to give the birthday boy a real camera. Of course, he immediately shared the joy of the gift with his sister, with whom they began making their first movie. And at the age of 11, his mother helped Ben get a role in the series “Kate McShane.”
Greenberg
2009
Noah Baumbach's role in the film is notable primarily for its deceptive anti-comedy quality: Stiller's hero, Roger, recently visited a hospital with a nervous breakdown and is now writing indignant letters to all organizations in a row; his friends cannot forgive him for losing a music contract 15 years ago, for a time My brother, who left for Vietnam with his family, is treated as a burden. Even the relationship that the hero strikes up with his brother’s young assistant turns out to be not without a catch. But being an adult means not being afraid of tricks.
Ben Stiller was born in the United States of America, in New York City on November 30, 1965. His father, Jerry Stiller, is a stand-up comedian, and his mother, Anne Mira, is a television star. Ben, along with his sister Emmy, studied acting from their parents, they composed and acted out funny scenes in front of their family and friends. When Ben was 10 years old, he first took part in filming, he played a guest role in the series “Kate McShane.” In 1976, Ben’s parents gave Ben a movie camera, with which he shot films of his own composition; his sister was his assistant. After graduating from school, Stiller went to study film at the University of California. After a year of study, he dropped out of university and returned to his native New York.
In 1985, he was invited to play the lead role in the Broadway play House of Blue Leaves. The play was a great success, and Stiller's career took off. Ben could not decide who he wanted to become: an actor or a director, since while taking part in the play, he filmed short films, the actors of which were his theater colleagues. Ben’s creations were a great success; one of his masterpieces, a parody of the film “The Color of Money,” was bought by the producer of the humorous TV show “Saturday Night Live.” After the release of his short film, Ben began to be invited to act in films. He played his first big role in the film Empire of the Sun, after which he participated in the filming of the television version of the play The House of Blue Leaves. Stiller was also invited to the permanent cast of the TV show “Live on Saturday Night.” Participation in this show is considered the highest recognition for a comedian. Because of his dark and sarcastic humor, he did not last long on the television show. In 1990, Ben staged his comedy show “Back to Brooklyn” on MTV, which was a great success. But it also did not last long due to the lack of musical themes. He continued to mock show business on Fox. His parody of the series Beverly Hills, 90210 brought him great popularity and an Emmy Award.
In 1996, Ben Stiller directed the black comedy The Cable Guy, starring Jim Carrey. But the film was not recognized by critics and was ranked among a number of commercial failures. Then in the same year, Stiller played the main role in the film “Don’t Wake a Sleeping Dog,” and two years later he took part in the filming of the comedy “Everything Is Crazy About Mary,” which was a great success. Ben's acting career began to develop rapidly, he starred in such films as: “Your Friends and Neighbors”, “Mystery Men”, “Black and White”, “Keeping the Faith”. After Ben Stiller played the main role in the film “Everything Mad About Mary,” he became the most sought-after comedic actor in Hollywood. Comedies with his participation are released every year. The most popular comedies with his participation are “Meet the Parents”, “Zoolander”, “Here Comes Polly”, “Meet the Fockers”, “Night at the Museum”, voice acting in the cartoon “Madagascar”. Stiller is the only one who was nominated for "Golden Raspberry" as "worst actor."
In 2000, he married actress Christine Taylor, whom he met in 1999 on the set of a television show. The couple lives in Hollywood and has two children: daughter Ella Olivia (April 10, 2002) and son Quinley Dempsey (July 10, 2005). In 1999, Ben first mentioned that he suffered from bipolar mental disorder. But in 2006, the actor denied the information, citing inattentive journalists.
Hollywood director
In 1994, Ben Stiller's career as a director in Hollywood began. He began his journey by working on the film “Reality Bites,” where Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke were invited. Stiller also decided to take part in the filming process, becoming the leading actor. At first, there was not much demand for the film when it was shown in cinemas, but the profits came from rentals on DVD. After this, our hero had the funds to implement the next project.
Now Stiller is working with Jim Carrey on the film “The Cable Guy,” in which the director himself also starred. The humor in the film was quite dark, which made it possible to recoup the investment in the film, but critics unanimously declared it a total failure.
Personal life
Our hero met his current wife on the set of a TV show. In 2000, the couple decided to get married, and two years later their daughter Ella was born. Their second child, son Quinley, arrived in 2005. In May 2017, the couple announced their separation.
The actor positions himself as a democrat. Once, at the beginning of the 2000s, an interesting moment appeared in Ben Stiller’s biography; he decided to make fun of the press, telling them about his alleged illness, manic-depressive psychosis, to which there was a violent reaction. However, in 2006, he refuted his own statements, because reporters began to expose the actor as a real maniac and psychopath.
Working on television
After the actor became widely popular, the MTV television company invited Ben to join him, where he hosted the program “Back to Brooklyn.” The audience responded well to the new presenter on the channel, so it was decided to let him host a music show as well. Everything would have been great, but a year later they abandoned Ben, which is why the actor decided to show all the ins and outs of show business.
The Fox television channel offered our hero a place where he began to mock show business, which is why all the critics began to unanimously claim that this upstart does not know the limits of decency. But the audience turned out to be of the opposite opinion, as was the panel of judges for the Emmy Award, which went to Benjamin for best script. After this, the actor is already going to Hollywood.
Filmography
- 1994 — “Reality Bites”
- 1996 — “The Cable Guy”
- 1998 — “Everyone is crazy about Mary”
- 2000 — “Meet the Parents”
- 2001 — “Zoolander”
- 2003 — “Duplex”
- 2004 — “Meet the Fockers”
- 2004 — “Here Comes Polly”
- 2008 — “Soldiers of Trouble”
- 2006 — “Night at the Museum”
- 2009 — “Night at the Museum 2”
- 2013 — “The Incredible Life of Walter Mitty”
- 2014 - “Night at the Museum - 3. The Secret of the Tomb”
- 2014 — “While we are young”
- 2017 — “Brad’s Status”
