Ben Stiller is one of the most iconic comedic actors of our generation. Over the years, he’s appeared in some of the most celebrated comedies to hit theatres, including Meet the Parents and Zoolander.
While his life may appear picture-perfect, Ben admits that it’s anything but. That after his daughter accused him of not being there during her childhood, he realized that it was time to shift his priorities .
When it comes to the secret life of Ben Stiller, there’s never a dull moment to be found.
In the past decade alone, Ben Stiller has worn many hats. He’s gone from being a brilliant comedic actor to a producer, and now most recently an excruciatingly detail-oriented director — creating such hit series as Escape at Dannemora and Severance .
Ben Stiller has also been working on his personal life.
He recently announced that he’s back together with his ex-wife, Christine Taylor.
In a recent interview with Esquire , Ben revealed that he and Christine moved back in together at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. He said their rekindling wasn’t planned or expected, just one of very few happy surprises that came out of the pandemic.
It seems as if everyone loves Ben and can’t stop singing his praises — all except the one person who matters most to him.
Mainly — his daughter. During his sitdown with Esquire , Ben also opened up about the fact that his daughter isn’t exactly pleased with his efforts as a father these past 19 years.
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Not to gang up on Ben, but his daughter, Ella, does have a point.
Since Ella was born in 2002, Ben has starred in the highly lauded Meet the Parents trilogy, as well as The Night at the Museum franchise. He’s made appearances on Arrested Development , Curb Your Enthusiasm, he starred/directed/produced The Secret Life of Walter Mitty — and those are just the cliff notes.
You get the point — Ben is an insanely busy guy and Ella has grown accustomed to his absence.
“She’s pretty articulate about it,” Ben admitted to Esquire with slight reluctance. “And sometimes it’s stuff that I don’t want to hear .”
“It’s hard to hear,” Stiller explained. “Because it’s me not being there in the ways that I saw my parents not being there.
Ben is making reference to his own famous parents, the late Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Back in the ’60s, Ben’s parents performed on The Ed Sullivan Show as the celebrated comedy duo, Stiller and Meara , and went on to have celebrated comedic careers.
Ben said that the irony isn’t lost on him, that in trying to navigate his own career aspirations he became what he said he’d never be.
Stiller went on to say that although it doesn’t feel great to hear, he understands that it’s important to acknowledge and come to terms with his daughter’s reality and perception.
Through it all, he’s also learned some incredibly valuable life lessons about being a father.
“What I’ve learned is that your kids are not keeping score on your career,” Ben said. “It would be solipsistic to think that my kids actually care about that .”
Ben’s revelation speaks volumes: kids don’t care whether or not their parents are famous.
“They just want a parent who’s emotionally present and supportive of them,” Ben stated plainly. “That’s probably what they want more than for me to be going off and pushing the bounds of my creativity .”
Although it hasn’t always been easy, Ben has tried to be more receptive to his daughter’s feelings and opinions.
Over the past five years, Ben has begun to put his family first. He’s focussing more on producer and directing and hasn’t accepted a starring role in a film since 2017’s Brad’s Status .
Ben admitted that he never imagined he’d be away from acting this long, but the trade-off is well worth it.
He may be the great Ben Stiller to the world at large, but at home — he’s just “dad.” And for now, the role of “dad” is one he’s most devoted to playing.
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