Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as the Frat Pack. His films have grossed more than $2.6 billion in Canada and the United States, with an average of $79 million per film. Throughout his career, he has received various awards and honors, including an Emmy Award, multiple MTV Movie Awards, a Britannia Award and a Teen Choice Award.
While beginning his acting career, Stiller wrote several mockumentaries and was offered a variety sketch comedy series titled The Ben Stiller Show, which he produced and hosted for its 13-episode run. The series ran on MTV from 1990 to 1992, earning him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Program. He then appeared on shows such as Friends, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Arrested Development.
Having previously acted in television, he began acting in films. He made his directorial debut with Reality Bites and continued directing films and often starring in them, such as with The Cable Guy (1996), Zoolander (2001), Tropic Thunder (2008), and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013). During this time he also starred in a string of successful studio comedies including There’s Something About Mary (1998), Along Came Polly (2004), Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004), Starsky & Hutch (2004), and Tower Heist (2011). Stiller is also widely known for multiple franchise films such as the Meet the Parents films (2000–2010), the Madagascar franchise (2005–2012), and the Night at the Museum trilogy (2006–2014).
He is known for his performances in independent films such as David O. Russell's Flirting with Disaster (1996), Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Noah Baumbach's Greenberg (2010), While We're Young (2014), and The Meyerowitz Stories (2017). In 2018 he directed the Showtime limited series Escape at Dannemora earning himself a Directors Guild of America Award and two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Limited Series and Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series. In 2022 he served as a director and executive producer on the Apple TV series Severance earning two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series.
Early life
Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller was born on November 30, 1965, in New York City and raised on the Upper West Side. His father, comedian and actor Jerry Stiller, was from a Jewish family that emigrated from Poland and Galicia in Central Europe. His mother, actress and comedian Anne Meara, who was from an Irish Catholic background, converted to Reform Judaism after marrying his father. While they "were never a very religious family", they celebrated both Hanukkah and Christmas, and Stiller had a Bar Mitzvah.
His parents frequently took him on the sets of their appearances, including The Mike Douglas Show when he was 6. He considered his childhood unusual, stating: "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, has appeared in many of his productions, including Reality Bites, DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, and Zoolander. Stiller displayed an early interest in filmmaking and made Super 8 movies with his sister and friends.
At age 9, Stiller made his acting debut as a guest on his mother's short-lived television series, Kate McShane. In the late 1970s, he performed with the New York City troupe NYC's First All Children's Theater, playing several roles, including the title role in Clever Jack and the Magic Beanstalk. 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. During his high school years, he was also the drummer of the post-punk band Capital Punishment, which released the studio album Roadkill in 1982. The band's bassist, Peter Swann, went on to become a judge on the Arizona Court of Appeals, serving from 2008 until 2022. The band reunited in 2018 to release a new EP, titled This is Capital Punishment, for Record Store Day. The current status of the band is unknown.
Stiller attended The Cathedral School of St. John the Divine and graduated from the Calhoun School in New York in 1983. He started performing on the cabaret circuit as opening act to the cabaret siren Jadin Wong. Stiller then enrolled as a film student at the University of California, Los Angeles. After nine months, Stiller left school to move back to New York City. He made his way through acting classes, auditioning and trying to find an agent.
