Fresh Air (NPR): Ben Stiller & Pedro Pascal

Air Date: January 3, 2026
Host(s): Terry Gross, Tonya Mosley
Guests: Ben Stiller, Pedro Pascal

Episode Overview

This episode of Fresh Air features two intimate, wide-ranging interviews. First, Terry Gross speaks with Ben Stiller about his deeply personal documentary on his parents, the legendary comedy duo Stiller and Meara. Stiller reflects on growing up around show business, his complicated family dynamics, and the process of unearthing old audio recordings that revealed both the strengths and challenges in his parents’ marriage and act.

Next, Tonya Mosley interviews Pedro Pascal, whose career has recently exploded thanks to major films and TV roles. Pascal discusses his early obsession with storytelling, the influence of his Chilean exile heritage, the emotional power of movies, and the physicality he brings to his acting.

Ben Stiller on His Parents and Comedy Legacy

Interviewed by Terry Gross [02:38–32:49]

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Discovery of Family Audio Tapes

• Ben shares the genesis of his documentary: While going through his father’s things after Jerry Stiller’s death, Ben found a trove of cassette and reel-to-reel tapes. These included personal conversations and sketches between his parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, revealing facets of their partnership he’d never fully appreciated.
  Terry Gross: “Some of those conversations are included in the documentary along with video clips of their sketches from their TV appearances.” [03:27]

Childhood in a Showbiz Household

• Living with blurred lines between ‘real’ and ‘performance’: Ben discusses how, as a child, it was often hard to distinguish if his parents were truly fighting or just rehearsing.
  • Ben Stiller: “Sometimes there were arguments that happened. And it was kind of just like part of our lives... As a kid, I don't think you question these things. It's just like what your parents do.” [06:02]

The Iconic ‘Stiller and Meara’ Dynamic

• Differences in their approach to performing: His father was driven by a passion for standup, his mother by dramatic acting, and their tension often spilled over into both their work and marriage.
  • Ben Stiller: “My dad really wanted to do comedy. And I'm not sure my mom really wanted to.” [10:20]
  • Ben Stiller: “My mother was naturally great at live performing, and I feel that my father had to work at it more.” [11:46]

Growing up in the Public Eye

• Benefits and pressures of celebrity childhood: Ben fondly recalls excitement—staying up late at his parents’ nightclub gigs, being on set, and feel inspired to make movies. Meanwhile, there was an underlying unpredictability and pressure.

  • Ben Stiller: “It was a lot of fun times and more interesting to my sister and I than school for sure.” [15:13]

• Children as part of the act: Ben and his sister appeared on talk shows with their parents, sometimes uncomfortably:

  • Terry Gross: "I should mention here it was awful. There's cutaways to your parents laughing as you both play violin..." [16:16]
  • Ben Stiller: “They were co-hosting the Mike Douglas show... When I watch them laughing, I see them laughing, but also inside, because we're so not good. But they're like, oh, the audience is enjoying this. But we're kind of like, oh, I want my kids to do good. And also, why did we put them in this situation?” [16:27]

• On putting his own daughter in a film: Ben reflects on repeating the same patterns.

  • Ben Stiller: “I put her in the movie, and then I cut the scene out...I think that at the time, they just were like, yeah, this would be a fun thing to do. And we probably said to them, yeah, yeah, yeah, we want to do it. Not thinking of what the implications could be…” [17:53]

The Impact of Parental Absence

• Raised by a nanny (“Hazel”):

  • Ben Stiller: “Hazel took care of us...she had seven kids of her own...We would have our own secret world going on, my sister and I. And it was kind of like a free for all a little bit. When we were on our own, you know, we'd stay up late sometimes, try to sneak out.” [22:48]

• Teen misadventures:

  • Ben recounts sneaking into Studio 54 at age 13, describing how his and his sister’s celebrity connections gave them access to the famed nightclub.
    • Ben Stiller: “...my sister started going to Studio 54 when she was, I think she was like 17... I was 13 and she would take me to Studio 54 with her friends and we'd sneak us in.” [24:12]
    • Ben Stiller: “...They put me in a yellow and green polka dotted Fiorucci shirt...and these Mickey Mouse sunglasses. And we went up and Mark saw us and he like pointed to us...and we were in.” [24:54]

• Drug experimentation & family response: Ben took LSD as a teen and called his parents while they were filming "The Love Boat."

  • Ben Stiller: “I took LSD when my parents were out doing the Love Boat once... I called them up in LA ‘cause I was scared I was having a bad trip... My mom was really got really mad at me and my dad was actually much nicer and kind of tried to help talk me down.” [26:19]
  • “He had me close my eyes and just picture a color...He was just actually really trying to help me kind of soothe myself and get over this event.” [27:11]

Inheriting Family Patterns

• Passing down experience to his own children: Ben shares a poignant documentary scene where his son Quinn reveals frustration at Ben being interrupted by fans—echoing Ben’s own childhood stress around his father’s fame.
  • Quinn: “I had been stressed about college stuff. And then the people there wanted to get like a picture with you. And then I just remember I was so frustrated, like the world just has to stop to get this picture.” [29:39]
  • Ben Stiller: “You really try to do better than your parents, but it's very hard to not make some of the same mistakes that they make.” [30:02, 30:48]

Coping With Pressure

• Work, family, and finding peace:
  • Ben Stiller: “I know the places that I feel comfortable and relaxed...that to me has become going home and being able to, like turn it off...” [31:47]
  • “I found that that really, really helps. And then the other thing is just enjoying the work...only working on things I really care about and I really want to be doing.” [32:49]

Pedro Pascal on Acting, Family, and Exile

Interviewed by Tonya Mosley [34:14–51:27]

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Early Love of Storytelling and Acting

• Childhood influences: Grew up in the '80s, obsessed with films like E.T., Poltergeist, Goonies; literature like The Color Purple and James Baldwin.

  • Pedro Pascal: “Just think about seeing E.T. in the movie theater...so I was very, very easy source of building a fantasy...or part of the adventure of telling those stories.” [35:46]

• Whoopi Goldberg as an inspiration:

  • Pedro Pascal: “She was playing a bunch of different characters. And I was just floored. It was magic.” [37:23]
  • “I saw that so many times. I could do some of her monologues.” [37:23]

• Literature as a lifeline:

  • Pedro Pascal: “I would hold [The Color Purple] like a treasure.” [38:46]

Family, Movies, and Dance

• Family bonding over film and dance:

  • Movie nights were a treasured tradition, with his dad leading the family out even on school nights.
  • Pedro Pascal: “I guess they're sort of, you know, my most special memories. We're very sort of like, moviegoing family.” [39:36]

• On dance and physicality:

  • Early exposure to ballet (his sister was a dancer); later, as a performer, he embraced postmodern improvisational dance, which deeply influenced his acting.
  • Pedro Pascal: “I love dance, and actually got sort of really seriously into, I guess, what you would call sort of postmodern style of improvisational dance in college.” [41:20]

• Dance’s connection to acting:

  • Pedro Pascal: “Game of Thrones being a perfect example... what the role is most known for is the fight... that is more dance than you can possibly believe if you don't want to get killed anyway.” [43:34]

The Physical and Emotional Body in Acting

• How past dance influences his acting:
  • Brings a keen awareness of body and presence to roles, especially those like Joel in The Last of Us.
  • Pedro Pascal: "He's a contractor... expresses himself through his physical relationship to work and to maintenance and that kind of thing. ...way easier than having a conversation.” [42:22]

Family Exile from Chile – Identity and Story

• Exile and political history:

  • Family fled Chile after being marked for arrest due to opposition to the Pinochet dictatorship. They received asylum in Denmark, then the US via Texas.
  • Pedro Pascal: "There was someone who brought an injured man to my mother's and father's home, knowing that my father was doing his residency at a hospital and asked for help..." [45:48]
  • "They had to, you know, go into hiding and find a way to survive. ... and it was about six months before they found a plan to sneak into the Venezuelan Embassy and claim asylum and be reunited with my sister and I." [47:37]

• Learning these stories as an adult:

  • Pedro Pascal: “It’s not a lore. It’s not a story you grew up knowing and having pride in... I remember one very, very vivid experience of seeing the movie Missing... and somehow putting all that together and understanding... as a child... and just like, absolutely falling apart.” [48:21–49:43]

Movies as Emotional Anchors

• Movies as a way to understand the world:
  • Pedro Pascal: “Movies have been so important to you in that way.” [50:42]
  • Pedro Pascal: “I feel like, profound gratitude to be doing something that I love to do and the people that I get to do it with ... And it's very bonding, it's very fun and I don't know anything else.” [50:55]

Memorable Closing

• On NPR and Fresh Air:
  • Pedro Pascal: “I've been listening to NPR through my parents since I was a teenager and my entire adult life... Getting to sit here with you is very special.” [51:29]

Notable Quotes & Highlights

Ben Stiller

• “...And as a kid, I don't think you question these things. It's just like what your parents do.” [06:02]
• “You really try to do better than your parents, but it's very hard to not make some of the same mistakes that they make.” [30:02]
• "I found that ... being able to go home and turn it off ... that really, really helps." [31:47]
• “I was the guy who called his parents on LSD.” [26:29]

Pedro Pascal

• "She was playing a bunch of different characters. And I was just floored. It was magic." [37:23]
• "I would hold [The Color Purple] like a treasure." [38:46]
• “Game of Thrones ... what the role is most known for is the fight ... that is more dance than you can possibly believe if you don’t want to get killed anyway.” [43:34]
• "I feel like, profound gratitude to be doing something that I love to do ... And it's very bonding, it's very fun and I don't know anything else." [50:55]
• "Getting to sit here with you is very special." [51:29]

Key Timestamps

• [04:40] – Excerpt from Stiller and Meara tape and Ben’s childhood confusion about rehearsal vs. real argument.
• [10:20] – Differences between Ben’s parents’ approaches to comedy and acting.
• [16:14] – Ben and his sister’s talk show "performance" memories.
• [24:12] – Sneaking into Studio 54 as a teenager.
• [26:19] – Ben’s LSD story and calling his parents for help.
• [29:39] – Ben’s son Quinn describes the impact of Ben’s fame on their relationship.
• [34:14] – Introduction of Pedro Pascal interview.
• [37:23] – Whoopi Goldberg’s influence on Pedro.
• [41:20] – Dance and its connection to acting for Pedro.
• [45:48] – Pascal describes how his parents were forced into exile.
• [48:21] – The effect of seeing ‘Missing’ as a child and realizing his family’s trauma.
• [50:55] – Pascal’s reflection on gratitude for his career.

Tone & Style

Both interviews are characterized by warmth, candor, and a self-reflective humor—especially surrounding complex family dynamics and legacies. Stiller is wry and deeply honest about both his parents’ foibles and his own. Pascal’s tone is emotional, grateful, and humble, frequently awed by the arc of his own life and career. Both guests speak with deep appreciation for family, art, and the power of storytelling.

Useful for Listeners Who Haven’t Heard the Episode

This summary covers Ben Stiller’s affectionate yet probing look at his parents and how their fame shaped his life and psyche and Pedro Pascal’s thoughtful account of finding belonging—both through his art and his family’s extraordinary journey. Fans of comedy, storytelling, or Hollywood family histories will find resonance in Stiller’s stories, while Pascal’s words offer inspiration for those navigating identity, displacement, or creative ambition.

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