Ben Stiller

Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, voice actor, screenwriter, movie director, and producer. He is best known for his roles in There's Something About Mary, Zoolander (2001), Meet the Parents (2001) (and its 2004 sequel Meet the Fockers). Stiller has also starred in Flirting with Disaster (1996), Duplex (2003) and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004) among others. One of the first movies he starred in was Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun (1987) Tropic Thunder (2008).

Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller 2010 (Cropped).jpg
Stiller filming Tower Heist, 2010
Born
Benjamin Edward Stiller

(1965-11-30) November 30, 1965 (age 58)
New York City, United States
OccupationActor, comedian, director producer, screenwriter
Years active1987–present
Spouse(s)
Christine Taylor (m. 2000)
Children2
Parent(s)Jerry Stiller (deceased)
Anne Meara (deceased)
FamilyAmy Stiller (sister)

He directed Reality Bites (1994) and The Cable Guy (1996).

Early life

Stiller was born in New York City in 1965.[1] His father, Jerry Stiller, was from a Jewish family that immigrated from Poland and Galicia, in Eastern Europe.[2] His mother, Anne Meara, who was of Irish Catholic background, converted to Reform Judaism after marrying his father. She died in 2015.[3][4][5] The family celebrated both Hanukkah and Christmas, and Stiller had a Bar Mitzvah.[6][7] He has said that he is "half Jewish and half Irish Catholic."[8] Stiller's parents frequently took him on the sets of their appearances, including The Mike Douglas Show when he was six.[9] He stated 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."[10]

Health

In October 2016, Stiller revealed that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in June 2014. Following surgery, he received a cancer-free status in September 2014.[11][12][13]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1987 Hot Pursuit Chris Honeywell
1987 Empire of the Sun Dainty
1987 Shoeshine
1988 Fresh Horses Tipton
1989 That's Adequate Chip Lane
1989 Next of Kin Lawrence Isabella
1989 Elvis Stories Bruce
1990 Stella Jim Uptegrove
1990 Working Tra$h Freddy Novak
1991 Highway to Hell Pluto's Cook/Attila The Hun
1992 The Nutt House Pie Thrower Cameo
1994 Reality Bites Michael Grates
1995 Heavyweights Tony Perkis/Tony Perkis Sr.
1996 Happy Gilmore Hal L. (The Evil Nursing Home Orderly Worker) Uncredited
1996 If Lucy Fell Bwick Elias
1996 Flirting with Disaster Mel
1996 The Cable Guy Sam Sweet/Stan Sweet
1998 Zero Effect Steve Arlo
1998 There's Something About Mary Ted Stroehmann
1998 Your Friends & Neighbors Jerry
1998 Permanent Midnight Jerry Stahl
1999 The Suburbans Jay Rose
1999 Mystery Men Mr. Furious
1999 Black and White Mark Clear
2000 The Independent Cop
2000 Keeping the Faith Rabbi Jake Schram
2000 Meet the Parents Gaylord "Greg" Focker
2001 Zoolander Derek Zoolander
2001 The Royal Tenenbaums Chas Tenenbaum
2002 Orange County The Firefighter Cameo
2002 Run Ronnie Run Himself
2003 Duplex Alex Rose
2003 Nobody Knows Anything! Peach Expert Cameo
2003 Pauly Shore Is Dead Himself Cameo
2004 Along Came Polly Reuben Feffer
2004 Starsky & Hutch David Starsky
2004 Envy Tim Dingman
2004 DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story White Goodman
2004 Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy Arturo Mendes Cameo
2004 Meet the Fockers Gaylord "Greg" Focker
2005 Sledge: The Untold Story Commander
2005 Madagascar Alex the Lion Voice role
2005 A Christmas Caper Voice role; uncredited
2006 Danny Roane: First Time Director Himself
2006 School for Scoundrels Lonnie
2006 Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny The Guitar Center Store SalesGuy Cameo; also producer
2006 Night at the Museum Lawrence "Larry" Daley
2006 In Search of Ted Demme Himself
2007 The Heartbreak Kid Edward "Eddie" Cantrow
2007 Elmo's Christmas Countdown Stiller the Elf (voice)
2008 Tropic Thunder Tugg Speedman
2008 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Alex Voice role
2009 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Lawrence "Larry" Daley
2009 The Marc Pease Experience Jon Gribble
2010 Greenberg Roger Greenberg
2010 Submarine Soap Opera Star Cameo
2010 The Trip Himself Cameo; uncredited[source?]
2010 Megamind Bernard Cameo voice role
2010 Little Fockers Gaylord "Greg" Focker
2011 Tower Heist Josh Kovaks
2012 Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted Alex Voice role
2012 The Watch Evan Trautwig
2013 He's Way More Famous Than You Himself
2013 Turbo Chet's boss Voice role; uncredited[source?]
2013 The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Walter Mitty
2014 While We're Young Josh
2014 Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb Lawrence "Larry" Daley/Laaa
2016 Zoolander 2 Derek Zoolander
2016 Zoolander: Super Model
2016 Don't Think Twice Himself
2017 The Meyerowitz Stories Matthew Meyerowitz
2017 Brad's Status Brad Sloan

References

  1. "Ben Stiller Biography". A&E Television Networks. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  2. Stiller, Jerry (2000). Married to Laughter: A Love Story Featuring Anne Meara - Jerry Stiller. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-1146-8. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  3. Wallace, Debra (November 19, 1999). Stiller 'softy' in real life. Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/991119/stiller.shtml. Retrieved January 10, 2014. 
  4. "Finding an Afterlife as a Playwright". Los Angeles Times. Mar 1, 1998. Retrieved Aug 10, 2013.
  5. O'Toole, Lesley (December 22, 2006). "Ben Stiller:'Doing comedy is scary'". The Independent (London). https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/ben-stiller-doing-comedy-is-scary-429484.html. Retrieved January 10, 2014. 
  6. Longsdorf, Amy (December 3, 2010). Christine Taylor: Sweet for the holidays. The Morning Call. http://articles.mcall.com/2010-12-03/entertainment/mc-christine-taylor-20101203_1_christmas-tree-homemade-ornaments-holidays. Retrieved 2014-01-10. 
  7. Stated on Inside the Actors Studio, 2001
  8. "Ben Stiller on "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross"". Archived from the original on 2016-10-11. Retrieved 2017-08-30.
  9. McIntee, Michael Z. "Monday, May 30, 2005, Show #2366 recap". Late Show with David Letterman. Archived from the original on May 14, 2007. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  10. Masello, Robert (November 28, 2006). "What makes Ben Stiller funny?". Parade. http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2006/edition_12-10-2006/Ben_Stiller. Retrieved January 10, 2014. 
  11. Shoard, Catherine (October 4, 2016). "Ben Stiller speaks about diagnosis with prostate cancer". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/oct/04/ben-stiller-speaks-about-battle-with-prostate-cancer. Retrieved October 4, 2016. 
  12. Hautman, Nicholas (October 4, 2016). "Ben Stiller Reveals He Was Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer". Us Weekly. http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/ben-stiller-reveals-he-was-diagnosed-with-prostate-cancer-w443251. Retrieved October 4, 2016. 
  13. Hollywood actor Ben Stiller reveals he had prostate cancer but is now cancer-free. BBC News. October 4, 2016. http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/37551842/hollywood-actor-ben-stiller-reveals-he-had-prostate-cancer-but-is-now-cancer-free. Retrieved October 4, 2016. 

Ben Stillerat the Jonathan Ross Show.

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