For actor, filmmaker, and second-generation entertainer Ben Stiller, growing up with famous parents may have given him a leg up in Hollywood but it also came with its own set of challenges. The award-winning director and movie star returned to the Stern Show Wednesday morning to discuss his new documentary “Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost,” which examines the lives and legacy of his late parents, comedians Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. In a candid conversation with Howard, he revealed that while his atypical upbringing afforded him more access and opportunity than most kids — not to mention memorable run-ins with comedy legends like Rodney Dangerfield — it also resulted in an eye-opening early look at the highs and lows of stardom.
“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 Howard. “You see that up close as a kid and you still want to go into it.”
As the 59-year-old entertainer revealed, making the documentary taught him almost as much about himself and the driving force in his own life as it did about his parents. “If you have the passion you do it,” he said, explaining his love of comedy ran in his blood.
Howard and Ben caught up for over an hour, covering everything from his new doc and working with Ariana Grande in “Focker In-Law” (his upcoming “Meet the Parents” sequel) to how his love for Shirley Temples led to him launching Stiller’s Soda with actor Justin Theroux. “The fun of it is to kind of make fun of celebrity brands, make fun of ourselves,” he said of the new venture.
With the NBA season just tipping off, Howard was also eager to chat with Ben about his beloved New York Knicks, which made a great run last season before getting eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals and firing head coach Tom Thibodeau.
“He was great … I loved Tibbs, I loved his emotion,” Stiller said, adding, “It was tough that he was let go that way, but at the same time I think this new situation is exciting for the Knicks … and there’s like a new energy there now.”
Even after years of sitting courtside at Madison Square Garden, Ben still gets a kick out of interacting with the Knicks players and watching the action up close. “The 10 year old in me is like, ‘This is the coolest thing ever,’ even though I’m like 40 years older than them,” he laughed.
While the team’s recent successes have enticed a lot of celebrities to jump on the Knicks bandwagon, Stiller assured Howard that most A-listers who sit courtside — including Tracy Morgan, Michael J. Fox, JB Smoove, and Timothée Chalamet — are genuine superfans. “Chalamet is a real Knicks fan. He’s the real deal,” Ben said of the “A Complete Unknown” star. “He reminds me of my level of just like — he lives it, he feels it, and he’s really experiencing it inside. One hundred percent.”
Did Chris Farley Almost Star in ‘The Cable Guy’?
“Nothing Is Lost” serves as Ben’s documentary filmmaking debut, but it’s far from the first project he’s been on that side of the camera. The one-time UCLA film student has found considerable critical and commercial success directing TV shows like “Severance” and “Escape at Dannemora” as well as films like “Reality Bites,” “Tropic Thunder,” “Zoolander,” and Jim Carrey’s 1996 cult classic “The Cable Guy.”
As Ben told Howard on Wednesday, “Saturday Night Live” legend Chris Farley was at one time in the running to play the film’s titular, oddball cable repairman. “He would’ve been amazing,” Ben said of Farley before explaining how the film’s producer Judd Apatow ultimately tapped comedian Carrey for the role and the two essentially rewrote the script to suit the “Ace Ventura” and “Dumb & Dumber” star’s singular talents.
“Jim’s input is just all over it, and then when you’re shooting he’ll do like 30 takes — and every take will be different,” Stiller recalled, adding, “There’s nobody like him. There’s nobody who has done what he does or does what he does … He was at the top of his game. He could do anything he wanted, and he decided to do this weird, dark [film] that nobody understood.”
He Regrets Cutting Daughter From ‘Walter Mitty’
Filmmakers are forced to leave a lot of great material on the cutting room floor — it’s part of the job — but that fact didn’t make things any easier for Stiller when he cut a scene from his 2013 adventure dramedy “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” which just so happened to feature the big-screen debut of his daughter, Ella Stiller.
“What a huge mistake,” Ben said, burying his face in his hand. “She was eight, Howard. She was eight.”
“It just damaged our relationship for so many years,” Stiller told Howard with a sad laugh, adding, “It was a good lesson for me. First of all, if you’re going to put your kid in something … put them in a scene you’re never going to cut no matter what.”
Thankfully, Ben and his now 23-year-old daughter had more opportunities to collaborate. The up-and-coming actress has since worked with her dad on “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb,” “Escape at Dannemora,” and “Happy Gilmore 2.”
“Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost” is playing now in select theaters and available Friday, Oct. 24 on Apple TV+.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.howardstern.com ’
