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- [00:01]
Jesse David Fox
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- [00:58]
Ben Stiller
One time I wished I did not have courtside seats because I could see like Miles Turner, like looking down at me and they almost like fell on top of us. And it was just awful. It was the worst.
- [01:12]
Jesse David Fox
This is good one. I am Jesse David Fox, senior writer at Vulture and author of comedy book. My guest this week is Ben Stiller. The the Ben Stiller. It's wild. We talk about Severance and and what it's like returning to the Adam Sandler universe of movies appearing in Happy Gilmore 2. We talk about also a lot of the comedies Ben Stiller made and how it reflects the work he's doing on Severance. We touch on Zoolander, the Cable Guy, Tropic Thunder, and why that movie more than couldn't be made today. Probably why it shouldn't. When we spoke, Ben was about to shoot the newest movie in the Meet the Parents series with Ariana Grande. So we talk about that and what it's like returning to the world of big studio comedies after years away from them. So here is Ben Stiller. I'm here with Ben Stiller. Hello. So much for joining me.
- [01:57]
Ben Stiller
How are you doing?
- [01:58]
Jesse David Fox
I'm doing all right. So I'm so excited to talk to you about severance and directing, but I just watched Happy Gilmore 2 and I thought you were so good in it. I was really thrilled to see you being so lucid and just like being in a comedy, just like full on.
- [02:12]
Ben Stiller
That was so much fun. It was.
- [02:13]
Jesse David Fox
Can you. Yeah, yeah. Can you tell. Talk about a time on set what it Felt like what that experience was like for you?
- [02:20]
Ben Stiller
Well, it was pretty crazy because it was, you know, being back to doing that character, which I did for a couple days, whatever, 30 years ago, whatever it was. And I'm friends with Adam, and it was great to, you know, just. I've been around hanging out with him, and we've had fun over the years as friends and worked together in other projects. But just something about when we did that first scene where we first meet up again, it was just this weird thing of like, oh, my God, here we are. We're still alive. We're still doing this. And this was so much fun when we did it the first time, but, like. But a different time in my life, you know, So I was like, kind of got a little bit emotional because it was just like. Because I think just because of, you know, being there with Adam and kind of like, oh, here we are doing this and having fun together still. Yeah.
- [03:13]
Jesse David Fox
I was thinking about how fascinating is you two together. You started out, you guys were friends really early in your career, before you were making movies. You then make these movies in sort of like, parallel, but then interacting moments. At times. He's doing drama when you're doing only comedies, then you're doing more dramas, and it's like.
- [03:30]
Ben Stiller
And.
- [03:30]
Jesse David Fox
And I was wondering, have you had. Is. Is this the type thing you would have conversations with Adam about periodically about sort of how you saw your careers?
- [03:38]
Ben Stiller
I mean, not really, honestly. We knew each other back in, you know, when we were first starting out, and then we kind of, you know, we knew each other through Judd Apatow, and he was doing his thing, I was doing my thing. We were both like these kind of, you know, kind of, I don't know, young sort of. I wasn't that self aware, I don't think. I think, you know, when you're young, you're just kind of doing your thing and you don't even know what it is that's sort of driving you, or I don't know that you're just kind of doing it based on instinct. And he was on his own track, and I was kind of on my own track. And we didn't really hang out a lot until we did the Meyerowitz stories. So that was really the first time that we, like, spent that we spent a lot of time with each other. And it really was so much fun to. To play brothers and work with Noah on that. And the experience was so good for us that after that, I think we always. I've always just felt closer to him since then, almost like, from making that movie together and. And then our. Our, you know, we just. I don't know. Again, when you know somebody this long, it's kind of like, you know, you just appreciate the fact that you still have that. Those memories and that connection. And he's such a generous, warm, funny guy. And. Yeah, so it's. It's not something we've ever really, like, talked about a lot. But, you know, I've appreciated watching him take chances and do what he does. And he's such a great actor, and he's really unique in terms of what he does and what he's able to do in terms of, you know, different genres and stuff like that. And to really, really go into drama and then to go to just, like, crazy, you know, silly comedy, too.
- [05:28]
Jesse David Fox
Yeah. So, like Severance, I would not call a comedy. But when I watch it, I think this is a show that only a person who's made as much comedy as you have could make. I think there are certain things about your understanding of tone that I think comes from a person who's made and directed comedy. And I want to talk about a few scenes from the show and how you figure out tone for scenes that make sense for Severance. And I want to start from the idea that when you told the story about when you've read the script and you'd say, like, oh, it made you think of things like Office Space or the Office, you would not be like, oh, it made me think of this science fiction show, which might be what other people might think of it. So I want to talk about when your starting point is a sort of workplace comedy, what were the decisions and thought process you had about how do you change the tone a little bit to be more of where Severance landed?
- [06:22]
Ben Stiller
Well, I mean, I have to really just give credit to Dan Erickson because he wrote it in the script. And it was that blend of this sort of, you know, comedic tone within the workplace. Dialogue, banter, I call it, you know, that is so familiar. But that other layer to it of the weirdness, you know, and the not understanding where these people were or what they were really doing. I just thought that was such a unique blend. And so I think I. You know, I have talked about this a number of times, but it's just that thing when you read something that has its own voice and. And. And it sparks ideas. As a director, it sparks, you know, like, oh, I could see this. I could see that. You know, what does that mean? That's really interesting. Or or just conjures up an image in your head or a feeling of what. What you could imagine this thing would seem like if it was actually made. So honestly, that's where it comes from for me is what was there on the page. And then it was a matter of. And also seeing the possibilities of, like, oh, this could be really interesting. This could be.
- [07:36]
Jesse David Fox
Is there something specific that you immediately latch onto of what you. In terms of visualizing of what it could look like?
- [07:42]
Ben Stiller
Well, I mean, when he described the MDR room, you know, I think he said that it was like this. Just like this one, kind of like these four cubicles, like, in the center of the room. And the room was kind of big, but it had, like, a low ceiling. That was, I think, the description. Something like that. And. Oh, that's really interesting. And the idea of all these hallways and the idea of this place where you could kind of get lost in it and not quite know where you're going, that was really interesting to me, too. And the challenge of also knowing that that one room, that MDR room, would be where a lot of the show would take place. And that was sort of like, ooh, this. You know, that's interesting. Like, what is that room going to be? Where all of this stuff is going to happen? And. Yeah, and then it's just sort of like going from there and, you know, collaborating with really talented designers and people who are going to bring ideas. And my vision of it probably was a little different than what, you know, Dan's vision was in his head, maybe because we have different reference points. And, you know, he's kind of more, you know, he's younger than I am, so I think his reference points were a little more like 80s, 90s or 90s, you know, bots or whatever. And I was more like 70s, 60s, 70s, 80s. Yeah, but it's all. It's all on the page. Honestly, I. And, you know, I. I could, like, try to, like, tell you what it is that, like, sparks, but I. The first scene where Irving comes in and he says, hey, kids, what's for dinner? That first thing that, to me, is the show. Like that. Yeah, that was always, like, what I always, like, based everything on. I was like. When I was. We were trying to put it together, I was like, oh, I really want to shoot that scene. I think that scene's going to be so good, and it's going to be. It's like a world. I felt like, okay, this is an established world that these people live in, and it's so lived in already. And I was excited to see that scene. I think sometimes when you're making something or you have this sort of goal of what you want it to be, there are certain touch points in a script or scenes that you see and go, okay, I'm making this thing because I really want to get to that scene. Yeah.
- [09:56]
Jesse David Fox
I mean, you said, I believe that Patricia Arquette originally couldn't figure out exactly the tone of the show, and you ended up cutting together some stuff for her. Do you remember what you showed her?
- [10:05]
Ben Stiller
Um, well, I just. I remember that we went through. We went through a lot. We reshot some scenes. Um, I think I had a very. For some reason, specific idea in my head of how. How I sort of heard the character. But, you know, Patricia is this brilliant actor who I feel very comfortable with. And I know, well, creatively, because we worked together a long time ago, and we had worked together on Escape at Dannemora and had a great working relationship with that. Had a lot of trust. She's willing to take chances and do anything. And I felt that she was willing to. Like, I wouldn't say that to any. Like, I wouldn't do that with John Turturro or someone like that. I didn't know John when we started, so it was probably the opposite. But with, like, Patricia, I was like, hey, can we just try, like, where you just. She has a lot less. Like, she shows a lot less. Or, you know, and she would just go, okay, but what about this? Maybe I'm, like, really angry here. And I mean, yeah, that's interesting. And I don't know, it was like this thing where we had the ability to. With each other, the freedom to take chances with each other, where we knew the other person wouldn't be freaked out by saying, like, no, I don't know if that feels right. And like I said, I didn't have that with some of the other actors. And with John now I feel totally comfortable. I could have that with John, but I didn't know him at the time. And so that was. The thing was, like, we had this sort of. I think it was sort of like the freedom with each other to push each other and try different things. And I'm grateful that she was so, you know, willing to try stuff. But I might have shown her, like. Yeah, I don't know. I don't. I don't remember what I actually showed her, but I do remember we reshot a couple of scenes, and then we. It was very tough for Patricia because we were shooting the first season During COVID and she lives in la and we were shooting in New York and she got quarantined like three or four times through no fault of her own. She wasn't. Not anybody's fault, but she wasn't. She didn't get Covid, but like people near her did. So she would come in and we'd work for like a day or two days. And then all of a sudden she'd get quarantined for like two weeks, which was so frustrating cause we couldn't get a rhythm going. And we kept on going back and forth on like different approaches to the character. And then finally I remember, like near the end of our, whatever it was like eight month shoot that the first season was, she came back to shoot some scenes and she had locked into this idea of Cobell that I think we literally said, oh, that's great, we should actually reshoot this part too, whatever. And so, you know, you don't always have the ability to do that on this show. We tried to create that sort of a situation where we could find it. And I think that really was a big part of it.
- [13:00]
Jesse David Fox
You mentioned the first scene of John Turturro opening and the what's for dinner? And the sort of banter was the first thing you imagined. The second season opens after the sort of cliffhanger of season one first Adam Scott sort of wake up, wakes up back at the office, he runs around and then we're sort of back to the world of that banter. Right. We're sort of like reset but like heightened and it's different. Can you talk about shooting after the run to shoot those scenes where you're like. Because you imagine some people are like, wait, I thought we're gonna. It's gonna be like action packed for Wresten. But actually you're like resetting back to zero.
- [13:38]
Ben Stiller
Yeah, I mean, I knew that we were doing that, so I thought, well, let's put a little energy and excitement up front. So then, you know, draw people in. But the weird thing was that it was, you know, when he comes back, it's different people there.
- [13:51]
Jesse David Fox
Yeah.
- [13:51]
Ben Stiller
And that was really interesting in a meta sort of way because it was the very first thing we shot. And so the first like couple of weeks was shooting with this different cast and Adam. And it was strange. It was like strange the way it is in the show. It's like, oh, wait, these aren't the people who are supposed to be here. And of course they're all great actors. But that, that was part of the you know, the uncomfortability of it was sort of intentional, but in shooting it, I mean, it was fun because Dan was writing these great sort of, you know, monologues for Bob Balaban, you know, that. Just to be able to work with Bob Balaban, who I've been a fan of, you know, since Midnight Cowboy, you know, and I've known Bob over the years, but such a fan of his and, you know, and the other actors, too. It was just. It was fun to kind of, like, live in that world because it felt off. And that's how it should have felt for the. For the show, too. But it didn't really feel like we started, like, shooting the show for real until, you know, Dylan and Brit and everybody was there.
- [14:54]
Jesse David Fox
The. That sort of off. But also still comedy made me think of certain sort of plays, like, comedy of menace plays like Pinter or Godard. Not good Pinter or what's his name? Winifred Godot is by.
- [15:08]
Ben Stiller
Oh, Beckett.
- [15:09]
Jesse David Fox
Beckett, yeah. So is that a touchstone for you? The sort of, like. It's funny, but in a way that you're, like. You're scared of the characters being funny.
- [15:17]
Ben Stiller
I'm not a dramaturg. Is that even a word? That's a word, right? I don't know no plays that well. But I do know, like, you know, my sort of, like, acting class. Memories of those kinds of scenes or the, you know, the idea of. I remember learning about the Pirandello, you know, the time playwright, Right. The six characters in search of an author. Those sort of, like, absurdist situations where, you know, playing with the idea of, what's the reality of this? And that was always what felt like it. You know, Dan had sort of created with his mix of that and the. And the comedic tone also. And I think from the beginning, that was always something in my head was that, like, oh, there should be the room in the show for really long pauses that feel uncomfortable. It might seem like they're going on too long or just, like, weird moments. And it couldn't really happen until we actually were doing the scenes and shooting the scenes with the actors. Because I think that's when you really. That's sort of like when it becomes a reality of, like, okay, is this working? Is this not working? What. What do I believe? What don't I believe? And, of course, the actors in the show, you know, I think are so good and so talented that they really invested it so much with their. With their own, you know, sense of belief in the situation and. Which is with anything you watch. And I think that made a huge, huge difference in terms of being comfortable with sometimes having things feel off, but then also knowing that there was also, like, times when, you know, things shouldn't be off too. So it's, you know, you just kind of, like finding your way through it. I wish I knew, like, what the. Sort of, like, there was a rule or something, but it's kind of like. I feel like it's like you're constantly just sort of like trial and error, sort of like.
- [17:10]
Jesse David Fox
Yeah, I mean, that's what I was sort of curious about is how. I mean, it seems like the tone is a thing that is. This is gonna sound corny, but it's like a dance of, like, okay, this seems like. I imagine a lot of it's in the edit of, like, okay, this actually tilts it too far. You know, there's. There's, like, jokes that. That could be a sitcom joke. If there's a laugh track, there'd be a laugh joke.
- [17:29]
Ben Stiller
Right.
- [17:29]
Jesse David Fox
Some things are that. But you can. How you cut it will change how people receive it.
- [17:34]
Ben Stiller
Right.
- [17:34]
Jesse David Fox
If you do a fast cut after a punchline, then the audience will laugh. Or if you just sort of linger on the person a little bit longer, it does the other thing.
- [17:42]
Ben Stiller
Yeah, that's like. Just feel like sort of a feel. In the editing room. Jeff Richman, who's our editor, main editor. Jeff and I worked together before on that Escape Dannemora project. And he's a great comedy editor. He's, I think, just an incredible editor. He edits documentaries, dramas, comedies. Has a real great sense for that. And, yeah, that's sort of finding it as you go along. And, you know, sometimes you, like, do a scene where you, you know, you shoot a scene out of context and it. You don't. You have to, like, sort of, like, take an educated guess at what you think the pace of the scene should be. And until you see it in the context of the cut, you don't know necessarily. So that's. Hopefully you're guessing the right way. And then sometimes you're like, oh, that feels like a little long here. Or, you know, we get out here. Or, you know, I mean, that's just. That's. Anytime you're making anything, you know, there's also that thing where sometimes there's, like, a line and you go, oh, that line is saying something that we don't need to say because you're just getting that from the actor. And all of that stuff, I think, is, you know, that's like, what what the process is. Yeah.
- [18:52]
Jesse David Fox
Another scene I thought was interesting tonally.
- [18:54]
Ben Stiller
Why?
- [18:54]
Jesse David Fox
So it's season two, episode three. It's when you meet the mammalian nurtureable crew, you know, it's a different room, there's all this grass in the middle of the office. And that scene, I can imagine, can be played 9,000 different ways. You can have the character be zanier, you can have the character be more menacing. And I guess my first question is, you've said you've never watched Lost. I don't know if you've watched Lost since, but the thing that I learned when I watched Lost is I don't care about answers. Like, I like mystery, but I don't necessarily care about solving mysteries. And it seemed clear after the season one that a lot of people were very invested in sort of the mystery element of the show. And I was curious how you feel about it in terms of, like, how much do you care about the sci fi mystery of it? Do you. Has that change? How do you think about it? How much do you care about solving or answering the questions people have?
- [19:54]
Ben Stiller
Yeah, I mean, I care that people care. So I don't not care about it because I think it's important to people. And I understand that because nobody wants to feel like you're just sort of like, you know, kind of making it up as you go along or that there's no consistency. I think consistency is really important. But for me, I was a little bit surprised at how drawn in people were to that. And I was definitely more, you know, more. More interesting into the. The. The feeling of the place, the tone, the humor, the. Definitely the weirdness of it, you know, the, the. And when, you know, going to the mammalian scene was scary for me because I felt like, oh, we're expanding the world here and the believability of the world. I think I care a lot about that. Whatever reality you're creating, there's enough of, you know, a grounding in some sort of. Of identifiable reality that you believe it, even if it's really weird and if it's comedic too. So that was scary to me in going into mammalians because all of a sudden it's like, okay, these people are different and they're kind of feral and they're living off the land and. But yet they're in this room that's like, you know, off a hallway. So how do you believe that? And so in the casting of that and the casting of, you know, of all of the actors who were the mammalians people, we really tried to make sure that we were going for something that would be somewhat believable, even though it's so crazy and absurd that they're in this room doing that. And so it was scary to me because I thought, okay, if we don't buy this, then we're going to sort of get outside of the reality of believing in the rest of the show in terms of the mysteries and all that. Yes, I think that that's incredibly important, but the show, I think for me, lives in the. The world of the experience of it.
- [21:56]
Jesse David Fox
Yeah. Do you feel like you're more. Has it attuned you more? Like the feedback has made you more attuned to mysteries than you think you might have been otherwise?
- [22:05]
Ben Stiller
Well, yeah, it's just interesting to. To see how people, what people connect with and what, you know, some people connect with the relationship. Some people are into the Mark and Helly relationship or, you know, or the Mark and Gemma. And some people are just, you know, not as into that stuff and are more into like what is, you know, what are the numbers and all that stuff. And I do think ultimately, like, you watch a show because you want to feel something, you want to be emotionally connected and the things that we can relate to are, you know, our interactions with other people and feelings of love and loss, and those are like kind of the core elements of what the show is about. I think that was always in my. On my mind when we were shooting the Audi stuff and Mark on the outside, the first season of really leaning into his grief and not making him so different than any mark, but not worrying about trying to make him some sort of likable character. Just like a guy who's really in a dark place and I don't know all those elements. There's so many different elements in the show. Yeah, it's great that people are connected to the big mysteries of it and those are part of what the show is and are, but they're as important as anything else, I think. Yeah.
- [23:30]
Jesse David Fox
How did you literally shoot it? How do you get a field in.
- [23:34]
Ben Stiller
An office building for mammalians? We went to a golf course in Marine Park, Brooklyn and found a golf course in. Jeremy Hindle, our production designer, had this brilliant idea, I think, which was, we can't afford to make rolling hills. It's very expensive to do fake grass, rolling hills on that scale. So he said, why don't we just go to a place that has the rolling hills and then we'll build walls around it. And I think it was like a three day shoot that we had There where they put the walls up and then tended the rest of it and brought the goats in. I guess it was good. You know, having goats at the golf course was probably easier than having all the goats on a soundstage or something. Um, it was really fun. I mean, it was fun because it was something we'd never done before, and I'd never done anything like that. And. And then that sort of. Yeah. The intensity of the. You know, of everything that's going on there to be in such a. Like a kind of a real place was. Was really, really helped. Yeah.
- [24:42]
Jesse David Fox
One other scene I want to ask you about, and in case people. I think we're. We're able to have this conversation without spoiling too. Too much, but. So in the season finale, they finished Cold harbor, and I think a lot of people viewing it think now everything starts. You think, like, immediately it's going to be in Thriller energy. And then you have instead the celebration scene that starts with, to my mind, the Chicago Bulls entrance music. I assume that song has other names.
- [25:10]
Ben Stiller
But it's Persons Project Serious. Yeah, I love that. I mean, I'm a Knicks fan, as you probably might know. I'm not a Bulls fan, but that is. I. That is pretty much, you know, connected with the Bulls, but I also just love it as a piece of music. It's just so. Yeah.
- [25:29]
Jesse David Fox
So talk about conceiving of. You know, there's so much you have to. It is the. In so much. As we said, the show is a dance of tone.
- [25:39]
Ben Stiller
You're.
- [25:39]
Jesse David Fox
You're. Well, that's.
- [25:41]
Ben Stiller
By the way, sorry, Just that scene. Yeah. To me, talking about tone was one. Another one where. Where. Where. Where, you know, Milchick comes out and does this routine with the Cure statue was one that I like. For me, that's like one of my favorite moments in the show. And it has nothing to do with the relationships or mystery. It's just so weird and kind of reminds me of, you know, I don't know, you know, like, Twilight Zone episodes. Like. Yeah, I've seen, like, with like a ventriloquist dummy or those kinds of things, or, you know, the hall of Presidents at Disneyland, which has always creeped me out. And. And then the idea that he's kind of doing this kind of Catskills routine and all those things. Like, to me, that's like the. I. That's the kind of stuff on the show that I really enjoy. And then. But. But. But I'm also thinking when we're making that, like, oh, this can't be indulgent. Or to go off at, you know, the tracks of what we're actually like, you know, telling the story. And so that. That's always like, kind of like what we're doing is always trying to figure out how to make that stuff work within the overall tone and story of the show.
- [26:50]
Jesse David Fox
Yeah, I think so. It's also like it. There is something about how you. Comedy tends to relieve tension, but there is something about putting comedy in a serious moment that somehow both relieves tension and also increase tension. Because you're like, how long is this routine going to last?
- [27:03]
Ben Stiller
Well, don't. The first cut, it went. It lasted longer. And I was like, this is great. And then like, reducers. And people were like, yeah, looking at the cut and like, maybe take out, like, one or two jokes.
- [27:16]
Jesse David Fox
Like, really cut jokes.
- [27:20]
Ben Stiller
Gosh. I don't remember offhand, but there was like. There was like, I think two more jokes that Melchick told before he got into the. What they get into. But I. It's. Yeah. I mean, I love also bad comedy. I mean, it, like, sends me back to, like, Albert Brooks records when I was a kid or, you know, where he would, like, make fun of kind of like, you know, comedic sort of tropes, you know.
- [27:42]
Jesse David Fox
Yeah, the. The thing that I. So then, you know, he then does the. A similar sequel to a dance scene. It is a right. An escalation to the music dancing, which.
- [27:54]
Ben Stiller
We wrestled with also. I wrestled with that a little bit too, just in terms of, well, not wanting to, like, not wanting to go back to the well on that. But also feeling like, oh, there's an opportunity here within the story. It felt like it was justified to me. And it's like that balance sometimes, too, where you're going like, oh, this would be like, as an audience, I want to see Trammell dance more, you know, so if there's a way that we can justify this, let's figure it out.
- [28:20]
Jesse David Fox
It's also. It reminded me of. I don't even know if I can think of a specific movie. The movie I thought of as. Do you know, it's a Milos Forman movie, the Fireman's ball, but like, 60s and 70s satires that were also, like, farces at the end where, like, everything is, like, a big party, but also really intense.
- [28:35]
Ben Stiller
You know what? I don't know that movie. I think I might have heard of it.
- [28:41]
Jesse David Fox
Truly, I was like, what is that movie? I'm thinking of? But I think there's a lot of movies that have. That are satires that tend to end in farce and go a little crazy at the end where this was sort of playing on that while also playing on a sort of more thriller.
- [28:55]
Ben Stiller
Yeah. Which again, is, you know, it's a little bit challenging when you're doing it because you're just hoping. And that becomes the editing, I think, too, in terms of, like, being able to keep all the plates spinning because you have a couple or three or four different story lines that you're having to keep going and keep the tension going.
- [29:14]
Jesse David Fox
What does. I'm intentionally wearing all blue as a tribute to this question I'm going to ask. So that scene is a tribute to the colors of at least the inu's world of sort of a white, green, blue, and the sort of contrast of that. As much as you're willing to talk about what does blue mean on the.
- [29:34]
Ben Stiller
Show, I mean.
- [29:37]
Jesse David Fox
I also. Lauer, talk about how particular you are.
- [29:40]
Ben Stiller
About the color blue.
- [29:41]
Jesse David Fox
So I'm curious.
- [29:42]
Ben Stiller
What is about blue to you? Honestly, I don't. I don't know. I mean, I don't. I don't sit around, like, talk about, like, kind of thematic ideas. I think. I think the introduction of a new color in a very controlled palette that we have, I think you have to look at and go, okay, does that. That's, like, has to feel intentional. So for me, like, the red that comes in at the end of the, you know, 210 of is that feels to me like a new idea. And red can, you know, mean a lot of different things, but, like, it's both. You know, obviously there's, like, love with red, but there's also, like, it's kind of, like, means emergency. And so that was fun to really to play with that at the end because I felt like, okay, this is going to feel, like, different. And. But in terms of, like, actual, like. I mean, I wouldn't ever pretend to, like, say, like, blue represents this or that.
- [30:37]
Jesse David Fox
Yeah.
- [30:38]
Ben Stiller
But I do feel like, you know, the fact that colors do have an effect on. On you. And I guess it's just kind of going from, like, a feeling of, like, how does this feel when I'm watching this? To me, when we were, like, creating mdr, going back to that, it was like, what color is that carpet going to be? Because we're going to be living with this carpet for many years if the show, you know, goes on. And so those. Like, that's like an important. And I'd never done that before making a series, because I've done a limited series. I never, like, set Up a show where it's like, okay, this is going to go be open ended. So I thought, oh, that's like a, let's make sure we like this color green. But then it became sort of like, okay, this is sort of like the world that we live in. And it becomes very, very much, you know, kind of Then, then, then every change that you make in the like tone is like you can tell that there's something going on there. So honestly it's instinctual for me. Mostly there's gonna be a lot of.
- [31:36]
Jesse David Fox
Fan theories about each color meeting.
- [31:38]
Ben Stiller
Yeah.
- [31:39]
Jesse David Fox
That are going to be have field day. Even with that answer they're like, oh, maybe it's actually hiding the truth like this code. What you just.
- [31:45]
Ben Stiller
Well, you don't want to tell everybody everything. But I'm not going to pretend that I'm smarter than I am, so that's fair.
- [31:51]
Jesse David Fox
So there. When, you know, I rewatched the series and I rewatched your movies and there was something about seeing sort of parallels in structures and sort of weird ways. And so when I was thinking about this sort of finale scene, the dancing and the music dance experience, the scene that it most reminded me of was the karaoke scene in the Cable Guy.
- [32:13]
Ben Stiller
Oh, wow.
- [32:14]
Jesse David Fox
The sort of, the sort of feeling of this person sort of being funny and like you have to watch them because it's fascinating. Well how their body is moving. But it's like in that movie it turns that same thing which is like you don't know if you're supposed to like how he is performing the song or not.
- [32:30]
Ben Stiller
Right.
- [32:31]
Jesse David Fox
I was wondering if you could talk about filming that scene if you remember what it was like.
- [32:36]
Ben Stiller
Oh, with Jim back in the day. Yeah, I remember we had a bunch of really great actors who were the, who were invited to the party, you know, to, to his party. Who were all the people he was hooking up with free cable. And I, I just remember we found great actors who were so interesting. And I remember thinking about Rosemary's Baby when we made that and thinking, oh, like it's somehow I wanted to have a little bit of the vibe of that weird party at the end or the. When all the Satanists are there celebrating the baby. But it was kind of like, you know, at that point for me it was just like following the, you know, the genius energy of Jim Carrey who was, hey, I want, I think I could do this. I think at first, you know, first, first it was going to be bust a move.
- [33:28]
Jesse David Fox
Oh wow.
- [33:29]
Ben Stiller
And yeah, it wasn't going to Be. Yeah, it was. It was going to be Bust a Move, and then we couldn't get the rights to it. But I have. I think I have video. I don't even know. Maybe it's on the DVD or not. There's a video of Jim doing that whole number to Bust a Move, like he was doing that. But if anybody even remembers what Bust a Move is in your audience, it was a fun hip hop song. Yeah, yeah. It's young.
- [33:52]
Jesse David Fox
Very much. Not that.
- [33:53]
Ben Stiller
Yeah, yeah. So anyway, but in terms of shooting that, it was just sort of trying to capture his sort of energy and having really interesting actors reacting to him who all had these relationships with him. I never ever thought of that in terms of the end of 210. But it's an interesting. I mean, the interesting thing to me in the severance scene is that Trammell is. He's got so much going on because even going back to the Keir comedy routine, you know, what kind of pressure he's under. So I think it just fills it with so much sort of so many questions of, like, is he. What's he gonna do here? Is he gonna stay loyal to the company? Is he. You know, is this something he created, this routine? Is this dance his idea? Or is he doing it because he has to do it? Or where is he coming from with this? And there's so much simmering stuff underneath the surface with Tramiel that he fills it with that. It just makes it so interesting to watch.
- [34:59]
Jesse David Fox
Yeah, it's an interesting thing of you're enjoying just him dancing. It's like a thing. Like, if you take it out of context of the entire show, you're just like, this is an interesting thing. But there is. The goal is how much can we make this dance feel like more of a thing while still also allowing the pleasure of just seeing. Seeing this guy move in an interesting way.
- [35:17]
Ben Stiller
Yeah, I mean, I think Milchick at that point is just battling a lot of different, you know, feelings inside of his feelings of loyalty to the company, his feelings of, you know, whether or not he's been. I think he knows he's been disrespected. And yet he also, I think, believes he's a. I think he believes in Lumen and he is, you know, very, very loyal to the company. So he's trying to figure out, I think, you know, within that. And then, like, I think that allowed for him within the movement and the dance to, like, express those things within it, you know, so there's like an energy in his dancing that is fueled by this kind of inner, you know, stuff that's going on. And I think he's so good at that kind of thing, you know, like he. Any. Any moment that he has, he's always considering that are going on within Milchick. And I think that's why it's interesting to watch him because there's always stuff going on inside.
- [36:23]
Jesse David Fox
How much I think about. I've heard him talk about this. I mean, I've heard all the actors talk about it. How much is your understanding of the world shaped by the actors decisions with their characters, the conversations you've had with them? I think about even you had an idea of casting Adam Scott. But when I think of Adam in all his career, I think he's so good at holding the tone of a thing. When I think of him party down, I think of him as like a great tonal actor.
- [36:46]
Ben Stiller
Yeah. How.
- [36:48]
Jesse David Fox
How has your casting influenced sort of how you then want to approach the show going forward?
- [36:53]
Ben Stiller
I think it's everything, you know, it's so important because it's like. It's the same thing of like choosing the color of the rug on the set. You're going to be. It's. It's, you know, this is it, this is it, and it's going to be there. You know, these actors are going to be the ones who are very quickly going to understand and know more about the character than you do. And I felt that completely with all the actors that by the end of the first season they were so familiar and dug so deep with, you know, as. As they have to, that they're always thinking about every script decision or every, you know, choice that their character makes within the story. They're having to figure out how they got to that. And so the discussions about that are always really important and end up informing a lot of times informing the writing too. And I think that's really important. I think it's important to have that back and forth with the actors and everybody in production too. But the actors are going to be able to tell you because honestly, since I'm an actor, I know that feeling when you're trying to understand why you're doing something and. Or if something doesn't feel right and that to be able to have those discussions with, you know, with the director and the producers and writers that like, that part that's like, it's so important. And if you have great actors, they care. They care about their character so much. They, you know, they put that work in and like, like I talking about turturro you know, like, come on. It's like John Turturro is going to. I believe, you know, he says the perpetuity wing is like, you know, it's. That's what, you know, how important that is. I believe it. And then all of a sudden, like, that solves 99.9% of any questions you might have about the reality of the show. Because I believe that John Turturro believes it.
- [38:51]
Jesse David Fox
That's another thing that when I think about your career is that making bigger comedies, comedies that are higher concept comedies, you have to have performances that make you believe that this world exists, or the entire thing is you will be thrown out. And there's a lot of movies, examples of that. But I think probably the most extreme example is Robert Down Jr. In Tropic Thunder. And I was curious if you could talk about, if you remember a day on set where you were talking about this thing to make sure the tone of this works. So for the most part, there was not what you would assume, any sort of backlash to that role as much as you would expect, regardless of how people would think about it today. But do you remember a day on set talking about that and making sure you're getting it exactly where you need it to be for that to work?
- [39:35]
Ben Stiller
Well, I remember when Downey said he was doing it, he said, I'm either gonna win an Oscar or I'm gonna be sent straight to hell for playing this role. That was what he told me when he said, yes, he got nominated. So, yeah, I thought there were like, there were like three actors that I thought in my head could. Could pull it off. And I really felt like it's the same thing, honestly. You know, I believe that Robert Downey, as an actor believes that this is what he's going to do to play this character. You know, the only thing that we were always, always clear on was like, this is making fun of actors taking themselves too seriously. And nobody understands that more than Downey. You know, nobody has more of an ironic sense of humor. In real time. He will speak it out to you. And it's. It's so entertaining and brilliant to hear, but honestly, no, we didn't have conversations about that other than, like, we get on set and in the best way that I've seen with working with great actors is he would do something, go, like, I'm just going to try this thing. And afterwards he'd go like, I don't know what the fuck? Was that good? Was that awful? But, like, he's willing to Take the chance. And same thing with Patricia, too. Like, this actor's just willing to take the chance. They're not like, going, this is what it is. They're going, like, I don't know, I'm going to try this. And they have to just sort of like, just dive into it and go and see what happens. And they trust enough that the director and, you know, the. The. The whole environment of the what. What you're making, all of it, is going to be. Allow for, like, whatever works to. To remain in, and what doesn't won't be it. And I think watching him, I think. I honestly think he was, like, channeling something. He talked at some point about, like, his dad or a movie his dad had done back in the day, but he was really just channeling something that, you know, when someone's doing that, you just. You just go, yes, yes. I don't want to say. Just keep doing that. You don't want to screw it up or tell them, you know, sometimes you want to, like, that was amazing. Or sometimes you don't do that. So you just let them do it, you know.
- [41:44]
Jesse David Fox
Yeah, this is a little bit of a tangent, but you mentioned that you were making fun of the character. And this is often when Tropic Thunder is ever brought up, someone be like, well, I can't make that movie today. But that was the point of what you were making. You're making fun of that. People were doing that. Now people don't do that. So you. And that's why you would not be made today, because the joke you were making was about what people were doing at that time.
- [42:08]
Ben Stiller
Right, right.
- [42:09]
Jesse David Fox
So you wouldn't make it today because.
- [42:11]
Ben Stiller
Well, honestly, I think, like, the closest thing I saw to somebody commenting on that was on the studio on Seth Rogen's show, which I think is really funny. And they had that whole episode about diversity casting and how they just, like, tied themselves up into knots worrying about what they're. And that, to me is sort of like the moment we're in now, you know, and being willing to, like, to, you know, see the. The craziness that. That. That, you know, has engendered. So it's like, I think, yeah, you're right. Like, now an actor would never do that, but at that time, maybe an actor would have, and it would have been ridiculous then, too. But, yeah, that's weird.
- [42:53]
Jesse David Fox
The other thing that I was thinking about with your career as it relates to severance is you have this long history of playing a straight man who's being treated Terribly. But you have to still be the straight man in the scene. And so there's something where. I mean, there's so many examples of that I thought of. I mean, I was thinking about the basketball scene and Along Came Polly where it's like you're with a serious actor who's being funny, but then you have to be the one whose face gets smeared by someone's sweat. Do you remember that day? I feel like you said you didn't want to do it but were happy it was in the movie.
- [43:25]
Ben Stiller
That sounds right. I kind of do remember the day. I mean, I remember. I do remember. You probably don't want to hear it, but like I remember what it tasted like.
- [43:40]
Jesse David Fox
That's exactly what I want to hear. Like, well, there's something about you being in that movie.
- [43:44]
Ben Stiller
I've never seen that actor again who I did the scene with. I don't know how I'd react if we ran into each other.
- [43:50]
Jesse David Fox
It's also funny because like Philip Seymour Hoffman at that point is seen as this sort of super serious guy and he has to be. He's wild.
- [43:56]
Ben Stiller
He is so funny in that movie. My God, he's so funny. Yeah. I mean, it was fun to just like as a straight man with him. It was fun because at that point Phil was. He still was like revered as a good actor, but he wasn't like, you know what Phil, I think he kind of like got that reputation a little bit.
- [44:15]
Jesse David Fox
Yeah.
- [44:16]
Ben Stiller
Later. But he still was not doing something he'd done before and he was so friggin funny. And I would just, I was, you know, it's that thing when you're watching. Same thing with Downey, like watching somebody do something really funny like, oh, this is great. And I'm just going to react to it because like all you do have to do is react to what's in front of your face because it's so good and interesting and funny.
- [44:38]
Jesse David Fox
Can you talk about what it was like working as Robert Downey Jr. No, I'm sorry. Working with Robert De Niro where you have to be a straight man. But to him being sort of serious and like what was like modulating a performance with him?
- [44:49]
Ben Stiller
Well, I think he has a really good sense of humor, so I think he understands how to temper his serious sort of Persona or like the, the, you know, the baggage that he brings with him as an actor that we all think of when we see Robert De Niro. Like he understands how to tweak that for the comedy. So and, and how to play that up And I feel like that's something that maybe, you know, people don't really appreciate as much as that. It's not like, just. He's not just being, like, a serious actor doing his thing. He's. He understands. He understands the timing. He gets it. He knows what's funny about what he does. That, which I think for most comedy is, like, not doing a lot. It's just playing the. Playing it real and playing the. Allow the circumstance to be funny and just play it straight. And, you know, and he. And he's so good at that. I don't know. We're about to start doing it again, so I'm excited to go back.
- [45:49]
Jesse David Fox
I obviously don't want to spoil it, but can you say anything about what Ariana's take was that made you excited to do back, get back into this world?
- [45:58]
Ben Stiller
I mean, I think it's. It felt like there was a moment now where, you know, just basically, like, my character being the age that. That De Niro was in the first movie and having to deal with his kids, you know, basically, you know, getting. Getting married or start, you know, becoming adults. And I think it's relevant because I am that age, and I have kids who are that age. And you really do kind of change when you get older and look at things differently because you're both not thinking of yourself as older, but yet then you're like, wait a minute. Like, I'm. Look, I'm not the old guy and I'm cool. But then. But then when you see your kid doing something like, but you don't want to do that. And like, no, I know better. And then all of a sudden, they're looking at you like, dad, come on. And you can't help it. You've just become that. So it felt like for this movie, there was like, it made sense, like, oh, this situation of my son and where he's at and meeting a woman, which is. I wouldn't say too much about it, but it felt like, oh, this is like a natural progression that could kind of take us back to the first movie a little bit. Yeah.
- [47:08]
Jesse David Fox
One other parallel is us thinking about severance and how Zoolander, you needed to modulate how satirical you were being with how much you need the audience to want these characters, like, to care about these characters or want to watch these characters. They could be dumb, but you can't be so dumb that the audience is like, well, this is fake. Or, I don't care about these characters. They're too unredeemable. Can you think about Time shooting in the scenes in Zoolander where you had to modulate how cruel to these characters you can be, how pointed you can be towards the modeling community.
- [47:46]
Ben Stiller
I don't think I ever probably really thought that much about the modeling community's feelings. And I'm sorry, but I just didn't at the time.
- [47:57]
Jesse David Fox
Was it. Well, it's like the. I feel like I heard the gas station scene was dark. Was there was more to it. Where there was more.
- [48:04]
Ben Stiller
That actually was what I thought of when you were saying, like. Like, you know, models are people, too. And I think models have a sense of humor about themselves, or I think hopefully most do, because, you know, the. It's a real job and people really do, you know, look up to beauty and, like, are obsessed with it, but yet they're also like, you know, it's gotta be hard, too, because right inside there are people, too. And, yeah, it's kind of an easy thing. Like, think, oh, Derek's just not smart. And that's how the character was born when Drake Sather wrote the little short that we did for the VH1 Fashion Awards. But I never worried about, you know, I think it's like, maybe like the one sort of like, you know, like any other group you might have to worry about, you know, piling onto is like, I never worried about that. And the. Yeah, the gas station scene originally, I have the cut of it where, yeah, basically they light the match. He lights the match to, you know, smoke the cigarette, and then they all catch on fire. And then they're, like, dancing in flames for, like, I don't know, for, like, a minute of. It's, like, really long. And we had real stuntmen who were really on fire. And it's pretty. I mean, it's not funny. It's pretty crazy because you look at it go like, this is awful. But it also makes me laugh when I watch it.
- [49:23]
Jesse David Fox
Yeah. This is going to be an odd question. You can pass if it's too strange. So the. We've never met before, but in 2017, you sat in front of me at Sunday in the park with George on Broadway with Jake Gyllenhaal.
- [49:38]
Ben Stiller
Oh, wow.
- [49:39]
Jesse David Fox
And I bring this up because you've talked about 2017 being a sort of transitional period in your career. Sort of Zoolander 2 came out and it didn't do as well as you thought it might. And you're like, what am I supposed to be doing? And then sort of, you talk about how after 2017, you're like, well, let me just do what I want to be doing. And it led to you doing Escape from Denemora and then which sort of led to the world in which you would do severance. And I was just thinking about that because, you know, Sunday in the park with George is a musical about an artist reckoning with how they want to live their life, how they want to interact their life and their personal life, how much they want to compromise their self for commerce, how much do they want? Whatever. And maybe it meant nothing to you, but can you talk about Sunset in the park with George and your 2017 and if it meant something to you, like, or if you see parallels or what do you think about that connection?
- [50:31]
Ben Stiller
Totally makes sense. I didn't never thought that. I never was aware that. Maybe because I just didn't understand the play enough or I'm not that self aware in my life. But that's a really good. Yeah, that's interesting. What I thought about Sunday in the park with George was. I remember seeing it as a kid. I grew up in New York, so I saw a lot of theater as a kid, and I remember seeing Mandy Patinkin do it. I remember watching Jake do it and thinking, oh, God, Jake, he's like, so talented and handsome and he sings also. He can do Broadway musicals. And yeah, I think my daughter was there too. And yeah, I mean, that's a great play. Sondheim talking about creativity. Sure. And I don't think I even understood it the first time I saw the play. My mom took me to see Annie hall when I was 10 years old at a screening, and I loved it. It was like a. Like a preview screen or something that didn't even have titles on it yet. And it really connected with me. Sometimes things just, you know, you just connect with something. That's the great thing about, I think Sondheim's music is so. It just pulls you in so much. I remember seeing Sweeney Todd too, when I was a kid and really being affected by that. I think musicals actually really affected me in terms of, like, my creative sense as a kid.
- [51:46]
Jesse David Fox
And you watch and you go, I'm gonna do Escape from Dead and More. You left it. Is that what you're saying? Have that for the record, I don't.
- [51:53]
Ben Stiller
Know where the connection with that is, but.
- [51:55]
Jesse David Fox
Well, it's like, oh, I should do my work. And then as a result, what's working.
- [51:58]
Ben Stiller
Maybe subconsciously that's what was happening, I think.
- [52:00]
Jesse David Fox
Well, it was. It was like at the beginning of 2017, so I was like, oh, maybe it's second tone. You have a documentary coming out later this year that you made about your parents and Mira and Jerry Stiller. And I thought it's interesting. You're working on this documentary about sort of their show business arc and also sort of your childhood when they were doing that. You're working in your career at this point. At the same time your children are about to enter in this career is this sort of like one hundred Years of Solitude. But not necessarily solitude, just sort of this, like generational, multiversal thing. I was wondering what you've learned about sort of a creative life from this sort of time period that seems so intense to be like, we are a show business family.
- [52:43]
Ben Stiller
Yeah. I mean, that's kind of what the documentary is about, is sort of exploring that stuff within. Within our family. And I didn't think it was going to be about that at first. I thought it was going to be more. But just about my parents and their careers and their relationship. But then I realized it's so interconnected. And, yeah, I'm at this place where I'm the parent with my kids and my kids are just now going out into the world, and I'm feeling what my parents felt or, you know, my dad, I know, was very overprotective and didn't want his kids to have to suffer the slings and arrows of, you know, tough critics and success and failure because he, you know, he was just. He. Because I think, because he worked so hard and he knew how hard it was. And I feel that same way too. Yeah. Honestly. But then, of course, you gotta let your kids do their thing. And also they have to follow what they want to follow. So you want to support them and not, you know, sort of put, you know, tell them, no, don't do that. Especially because I don't have a leg to stand on because I. I didn't listen. I wouldn't have listened to my parents if they said that. My mom. My mom was always like. They were kind of like. Like at a distance going, like, go do your thing and we'll help you if you want help. And by the way, my parents helped me so much. You know, that's just a reality, like, I. I was grateful for. But they didn't do it. Like. Like, they. They did it. I. When I reached out and said, hey, you know, I'm, like, trying to get in for this thing or that. And I think, you know, they. That's got to be hard for a parent, too, because I. I can imagine that. And I haven't really done that with My kids, but. Or they haven't really asked me to do that, but yeah, like, it's. There was like, the first job I got. My mom helped me get the audition. Yeah, this is going to be clipped for the. Yeah, yeah, that's Nepo baby part. But, like, I like talking about it because I feel like it's a very complicated, you know, world of, like, your feelings about that kind of thing. But I don't feel like in. In this business, it's like you ultimately, like, she got me to go in for, like, a callback, the final callbacks, and then I was able to get the part, but I don't have any in my mind. I always. I know that, like, it could have been, like, really embarrassing or just could have been not gone well, but for her, I'm sure that must have been, like. She must have been going, oh, God, I hope he does okay, you know, so it's a very. It's very confusing with, you know, to feel all those different feelings. I feel like what I am, what I know and also from making this movie is that the. It's like it's something. It's like, what that is. All that outside stuff doesn't matter. It's like, as a person, if this is what you know, creatively, how you want to express yourself, and you grew up around it and it excited you, which I did. I grew up around it, and it's like, made me want to be a part of this. It's like, of course, go for that. Of course, follow your bliss. Go for what makes you happy and. And. And. And do it and just. And. And. And, you know, for the ups and downs and all of it. But you have to just follow that.
- [55:44]
Jesse David Fox
Yeah, I have a. So this is my severance theory. I have. No, as I said, I don't. I don't have any opinions or thoughts about the mystery of it. But this is sort of my theory of severance, which is sort of. It's about the reintegration and the integration is what the show is about. That there is if so much the question is like, who are we really? We are not one thing. We are the person. We are at work, we are the person. We are at home. We are sort of a prism of all these things, and that is one. And so reintegration is a sort of metaphor for that. And I was thinking about severance as a sort of example of integration for your career. It sort of is a marriage of the comedy work you did and a marriage of sort of the darker things you're doing. You know, it also seems to come at a time of an integration of your work life and your creative life. I was also thinking about a child is an integration of their mother and father in many ways.
- [56:36]
Ben Stiller
Yeah.
- [56:38]
Jesse David Fox
So I was wondering, was there a time where you did not feel like an integrated person? And what is it? Do you feel now integrated into this? And what is, what is that journey you've been on?
- [56:47]
Ben Stiller
It's very, it's very interesting. That's. I never thought about that, but it's. I think the. Yes, there have been times when I felt out of balance. I think, honestly, like, I feel like life is about trying to find that balance. And at first you have to be aware that you're out of balance. And I think that for me over the years, like, there's. There were times where I wasn't as self aware when I was younger, just going off of instinct and going. Or like, I don't know, I just, I want to be making something. I want to, you know, this is. Feels right to me, but I didn't really understand why. And I think over the years, yeah. Been out of balance at times personally. Relationships, marriage, you know, work, relationships, all of those. And I do feel like having an understanding of an awareness of like, okay, just an awareness of like, wait a minute, something doesn't quite feel right. I want to try to fix that. I want to try to understand that more is the first thing you have to do. And I, And I think over the years I sort of done that, have the awareness. But it's really hard because. Right. I mean, when you're going through life, you're. Sometimes you're just trying to survive, just like literally just try to get through the next day, no matter, you know, what's going on in your life. Sometimes if you're lucky enough to, you know, not have to worry about going out and getting food every day and finding, you know, a place to, you know, you have a home and all these things and you know, then it opens up all these other sort of conundrums to you of like, what is this all about? And ultimately the creative process has to be about. About like, what is it I want to say? Or what. What's gonna.
- [58:33]
Jesse David Fox
Why.
- [58:33]
Ben Stiller
Why do I want to say this? And I don't, I don't pretend to understand all that, but I do have more of a sense of understanding, like what's important for me to have in my life that feels connected. And it can't just be the creative. It also has to be my relationships. And my life with my friends and my wife and my kids and. And that. That feels more integrated to me now than it. Than it has. And. And creatively. Yeah, like, I think, you know, I got to this point. You talk about, like, two to 2017 or whatever after Zooland or, like, kind of having, like, a little bit more of a sense of, like, oh, no, I want to make something because. For. Purely. Because I want to have this thing exist. I want to see it. I want to, you know, bring it into existence. That's. That's what the main sort of voice that you have to listen to is, I think.
- [59:31]
Jesse David Fox
Would you accept a Mark Twain Prize for comedy?
- [59:38]
Ben Stiller
Oh, I mean, if I ever had to make that decision, probably, I guess. I don't know. But I think. Is it. Is it now because of the Kennedy Center? Is that like a whole thing or.
- [59:50]
Jesse David Fox
No, no, I just meant because I just. I did an interview where someone said they don't want it, and I do think. I wonder. It's like.
- [59:56]
Ben Stiller
I don't know. I mean, it's very like, it. That. The minute you say that, it's very stressful to me. Yeah.
- [60:03]
Jesse David Fox
Well, just sort of. I was talking about Adam at the beginning. Adam won.
- [60:06]
Ben Stiller
A couple years ago, I went to Adams. I went to Adams and did one of the, you know, like, the tribute things to him. And it was so stressful because, first of all, there's, like, all these people in the audience that are, like. They're like, you know, people from Washington, D.C. and, like. And then there's, like, everybody else in comedy. And then you're going out there to do this tribute, but really, you know, you don't want to bomb. You want to kill. But the best part of it was everybody loves Adam, and it actually brought out, I think, a lot of great stuff for people. But the best part for me was at. Afterwards, at the hotel, like, all these people from over the years that, you know, comedy friends that I hadn't seen for a long time, like, we're just hanging out. And that same thing of, like, we're talking about in the beginning working with Adam, just, like, being like, oh, wow, we're here. We're just like. That was the best part of it, but it's incredibly stressful. So I'm going to say no. I will. I would not accept.
- [61:06]
Jesse David Fox
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- [62:14]
Ben Stiller
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- [62:36]
Jesse David Fox
Ebay is the place for pre loved and vintage fashion.
- [62:39]
Ben Stiller
Ebay things people love.
- [62:43]
Jesse David Fox
Organizador de villages de expedia Vivies paratener tu propio Vivimos prajo d' artencontrad un lugar con alberca y playa expedia. Now it's time for a final segment of the show. It's called a laughing round. It's like a lightning round, but comedy. Do a favorite joke. Like a joke joke. Like a street joke.
- [63:06]
Ben Stiller
I don't have a favorite joke. The one I told my kids yesterday was one from when I was a kid. Like, what does what do the this, this Starship Enterprise and a piece of toilet paper have in common? They both circle Uranus in search of Klingons. Yeah, I know. Please cut that out. I don't have a favorite joke.
- [63:31]
Jesse David Fox
Do you have a short story of an interaction with a legendary comedian, living or dead, you're willing to share?
- [63:36]
Ben Stiller
I met Jerry Lewis backstage at Damn Yankees when he was doing at the Pantages theater. Probably like 25 years ago or 30 years ago. And my friend I was with George Draculius, the music supervisor Severance. He was with me. And you know, we're big Jerry Lewis fan. He's like, you should go backstage. And this was before people really knew who I was. But he goes, he'll know your parents or whatever. You should go Backstage. So we went backstage, and he wasn't like, accepting visitors. And I said. And he just, like, forced me to say, like, to the guy, like, yeah, I wonder if I could say hi. My parents. My parents, Jerry Stiller and Ann Mira. Who. They didn't really know him that well. They had done, like, some Vegas with him or something. And then he, like, a few minutes went by, and then they brought me back, and he's. And he was, like, in his, like, silk robe. Like, that went to, like, his thighs, and, like, he had his black socks on with, like, sock garters post show, and it was like, I felt like I was, like, in the presence of, like, show business, you know, history and greatness. And he was like. He was very nice. He was like. I did. He goes, I don't usually see people after the show, but I did, because your parents. I love your parents. And then I said, oh, I have my friends with me. Can I bring them back? He's like, no, I can't. I can't. Because after show, I give and I give, and there's just almost. You know, there's really just so much I can give. I was like, I totally understand. What.
- [64:57]
Jesse David Fox
Oh, wow. For a few weeks, you and Timothee Chalamet became the face of the Knicks fandom. Do you have one moment which is the highlight of you guys being there?
- [65:08]
Ben Stiller
Oh, my God. I have the low light. The low light, sure.
- [65:12]
Jesse David Fox
Do you have a memory of the low light?
- [65:13]
Ben Stiller
Yeah. It was when Paris Halliburton, in the Indiana series, hit the incredibly freak, lucky freak shot that basically changed the course of the playoffs. And no, you know, disrespect to him. He's a great player. But the shot changed everything. It just happened to go, and the entire team came together hugging, you know, hugging, celebrating. And it was right on top of where Timothy and I were sitting in the front row. It was the one time I wished I did not have courtside seats because I could see, like, Miles Turner, like, looking down at me, and they almost, like, fell on top of us. And it was just awful. It was the worst.
- [65:56]
Jesse David Fox
You were famously on Saturday Night Live for a very, very short time. Do you have any memories from when you were still on the show?
- [66:04]
Ben Stiller
When I was on the show, yeah.
- [66:06]
Jesse David Fox
Like, that week, like, what stands out is, like, what it was like to actually be on the show.
- [66:08]
Ben Stiller
I mean, I remember how hard it was. It was so hard because I remember feeling like by the time you'd get to Saturday night at 11:30, it was. You were so exhausted because you spent the whole week staying up trying to write spots, trying to write sketches, trying to get on. Then you get something. You get on and then you do like a short film and you're part of that. And then you do the dress rehearsal at 8 o' clock or whatever. And it goes kind of well in the dress rehearsal. And then it gets to 11:30 and you're like, oh, wait a minute, I haven't done anything yet. Nobody has seen anything. Like, you know, like, it's just like this entire lifetime happens from. From Monday to Saturday. I mean, I remember writing a sketch where I did Bono from U2 with Dolly Parton. She was guest hosting and we did it at the read through and it bombed horribly. But she was so nice and she was like. She just totally went for it. I remember her being great and Jon Lovitz being great to me too.
- [67:09]
Jesse David Fox
Do you have a memory of your favorite day ever on set?
- [67:13]
Ben Stiller
Oh, wow. I remember the first day of shooting with Robert De niro on the 1st. On Meet the Parents and doing the first scene with him and just thinking, this is crazy. This is like. This is just the. I can't believe I'm doing a movie with Robert De Niro. Because it was just. He was so in my mind, you know, like, he just is movies. And I think I felt like that throughout the whole shoot. But doing that first scene with him, I was like, oh, this is pretty great.
- [67:47]
Jesse David Fox
The first scene was when you enter.
- [67:49]
Ben Stiller
The first scene when we meet each other for the first time. Yeah. And, yeah, that was fun. And then I remember also some uncomfortable moments with them too, when we were doing some car scenes and we'd be like the are you a pothead fucker Scene or whatever. And then we'd be in a real car and then there'd be the scene, we'd shoot it and then they'd have to take the car back to the first position, you know, and take like 5 minutes or 10 minutes to get the car back in position. And we'd just be in the car together and not really have a lot to talk about.
- [68:20]
Jesse David Fox
Perfect.
- [68:20]
Ben Stiller
Yeah.
- [68:22]
Jesse David Fox
Thank you so much.
- [68:22]
Ben Stiller
All right, that's it. All right, man. Great talking to you. Thank you. Appreciate it.
- [68:31]
Jesse David Fox
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