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Ben Stiller is opening up about the price of fame — revealing that growing up in a family of Hollywood stars gave him a front-row seat to the “dark underside” of the industry.
In a candid conversation with Howard Stern, the “Zoolander” star reflected on his complex childhood as the son of beloved comedy legends Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara.
While his upbringing gave him an inside view of show business, it also offered a glimpse at the toll fame can take behind closed doors.
“Growing up around it — and we talk [in the movie] about all those things I saw with my parents — you actually, as a kid, see the dark underside of it. The stress. The effect it has on relationships,” Stiller told Stern, referring to his upcoming documentary, “Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost.”
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Ben Stiller reveals fame’s “dark underside” from Hollywood childhood. (Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
“You see that up close as a kid and you still want to go into it.” “You see that up close as a kid and you still want to go into it.”
Stiller, 59, explained that while his parents’ success opened doors, it also gave him an unfiltered look at the highs and lows of Hollywood life.
His new documentary explores his parents’ partnership — both professional and personal — and how their relationship helped define his own sense of humor and ambition.
“Zoolander” star’s new documentary explores parents’ comedy partnership and its impact on his own Hollywood career. (Stefanie Keenan/VF25/WireImage for Vanity Fair; NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images )
Despite seeing the struggles that come with fame, Stiller said he never doubted his calling.
“If you have the passion, you do it,” he shared.
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Stiller revealed the “worst decision” he ever made was cutting his daughter, Ella, out of his 2013 film “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” which he both directed and starred in. (Getty Images)
The actor and filmmaker, known for hit movies like “Meet the Parents” and “Tropic Thunder,” admitted that revisiting his parents’ journey through the lens of the documentary taught him as much about himself as it did about them.
Stiller’s comments come after he revealed the “worst decision” he ever made was cutting his daughter, Ella, out of his 2013 film “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” which he both directed and starred in.
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Actor Ben Stiller (C) and his children Quinlin Stiller (L) and Ella Stiller attend the hand and footprint ceremony honoring Ben Stiller. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
“I cut you out of ‘Secret Life of Walter Mitty.’ It’s probably the worst decision I ever made in my life,” the 59-year-old told his daughter, 23, according to People magazine.
Ella Stiller admitted the decision made sense creatively, saying the scene where she was meant to play Mitty’s daughter “didn’t really make sense in the movie.”
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But for Stiller, the choice carried more weight. “For me, it kind of goes deeper,” he explained. “What it relates to is my own issues with my own obsessions with my work, or perfectionism.”
His documentary, “Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost,” focuses on his parents — a mid-century comedy duo who later became sitcom regulars on “Seinfeld,” “Sex and the City” and “The King of Queens.”