Podcast Summary: Ben Stiller on 'Severance,' Selling Out and Being Jewish Today

Podcast: The Interview (The New York Times)
Episode Aired: October 11, 2025
Hosts: David Marchese
Guest: Ben Stiller

Episode Overview

This episode features a deep and wide-ranging conversation between David Marchese and Ben Stiller, touching on the Emmy-winning series Severance (as Stiller returns with its anticipated second season), his shifting career from comedy stardom to creative control as a director, personal topics such as family and Jewish identity, and evolving attitudes toward comedy and success. The discussion flows candidly between career retrospection, thoughts on creative fear, generational change, and how the current cultural landscape reshapes the meaning of selling out, fame, and self-acceptance.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Comedy’s Influence on Severance and Its Evolution

• Workplace Comedy DNA:
  • Stiller considers Severance as rooted in the tradition of workplace comedies, though the series veers into stranger, darker places (03:25–04:07).
  • “The show has its basis in the workplace comedy like The Office or Office Space, but where it goes off... we probably went to some stranger places.” – Ben Stiller (03:25)
• Season Two's Tone Shift:
  • Acknowledges the second season gets “a little bit stranger” while retaining the core—people working jobs they don’t understand (04:07–04:30).

2. The Difficulties and Dynamics of Making Severance

• Production Challenges:
  • Addresses media reports about delays and creative tensions.
  • “It's not always perfect. We went through patches where there were difficulties, but... it all came out of everybody wanting something to be as good as it could be.” – Ben Stiller (05:00)
• Endgame Vision:
  • He confirms the team has a planned ending and set arc for the show—though he’s careful not to spoil anything (06:02–06:36).
  • “The series has always been about Mark... what happens with his Innie and his Outie...” – Ben Stiller (06:36)

3. Parallels Between Hollywood and Lumon’s Corporate Mystery

• Industry Power Structures:
  • Draws comparisons between real-life Hollywood and Severance’s Lumen—both are places where power and control are opaque (07:22–08:35).
  • “There's always somebody making a decision who is not making it to your face... and it can be really, really frustrating.” – Ben Stiller (07:22)

4. Stiller’s Movie Star Era and Audience Perception

• Typecasting and Audience Affection:
  • Discusses being typecast as the likable underdog and reflects humorously on public fatigue (“Dear God, stop putting Ben Stiller in comedies.”) (08:35–09:59).
• Navigating Success:
  • Explains that he made career choices based on passion (e.g., Night at the Museum stemmed from his childhood love of museums), not strategic planning (11:16–12:35).

5. Creative Tension and Fear as Motivation

• Opportunities vs. Aspirations:
  • Balancing “big offers” and desire to direct resulted in internal tension (12:35–13:24).
  • “Fear is always a big thing as an actor… sometimes [it motivates you] to jump into something, sometimes to go away from something.” – Ben Stiller (12:57)
• Regrets and Evolving Courage:
  • Aging has lessened his fear of failure; he values taking risks over being “the winner” (13:57–15:30).
  • “As you get older… you care a little bit less about [bad results].” – Ben Stiller (13:57)

6. The Shifting Concept of 'Selling Out'

• Generation X and Selling Out Anxiety:
  • Reality Bites is unpacked as a Gen X artifact—its obsession with “selling out” feels outdated in the influencer era (17:42–18:30).
  • “If you're not selling out, you're not doing what you should be doing.” – Ben Stiller (18:43)
• Social Media’s Impact:
  • Discussion on how modern youth are pressured to project curated versions of themselves online—now “selling out” is almost required (18:30–19:31).

7. Jewish Identity in Hollywood, Today and Historically

• What Makes Sammy Run? and Jewish Stereotypes:
  • Stiller describes the resistance to adapting this “self-hating Jew” story, especially in the current climate (20:15–21:38).
• Jewishness Post-October 7:
  • Speaks candidly about rising antisemitism and navigating Jewish identity in the public eye post-Israel attacks (21:48–24:16).
  • “I never experienced antisemitism. I heard about it, but I was never around it… to start feeling that now… is something I never thought I'd experience.” – Ben Stiller (21:48)

8. Personal Growth and Family

• Career Shift and Priorities After 2010:
  • Describes moving back to New York, reevaluating priorities, especially after Zoolander 2 flopped (25:10–26:31).
  • “Zoolander 2 gave me the gift of nobody offering me Zoolander 3 because nobody wanted it.” – Ben Stiller (25:10)
• Marriage and Reconciliation:
  • On separating and reconciling with Christine Taylor: COVID lockdown as a catalyst for healing and greater appreciation (26:31–28:09).
• Making a Doc About His Parents:
  • Stiller’s upcoming documentary about Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara becomes a vehicle for self-reflection (28:51–31:27).
  • “I see my father. I love my father, but also that tension of not wanting to be my father…” – Ben Stiller (29:30)
• Mother's Influence:
  • Anne Meara was a more critical audience, more serious and literary (32:18–33:21).

9. Self-Understanding and Motivation

• Lorne Michaels & SNL Departure:
  • Walked away from SNL because his creative instincts weren’t a fit (34:44–36:00).
• Reflecting on Why He Performs:
  • Jerry Stiller’s advice: “See past the hype and... ask yourself why you want to perform.”
  • “I think it’s about trying to get closer to expressing my true self… make something that feels truthful and real…” – Ben Stiller (36:44)

10. Memorable Roles and Humor

• Iconic Comic Villains:
  • Confirms Tony Perkis (Heavyweights) and White Goodman (Dodgeball) are essentially the same character:
    • “No, they're not. They're totally different. One has blonde hair, and one has really dark hair.” – Ben Stiller (38:41)
    • On recycling a comedic voice: "I kind of just went into that voice... I never thought anybody would really, like, 30 years later, be talking about [this]." (39:19)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On making Severance:

  “Creatively it's been questions of, like, which way do we go… different perspectives, but… all those different points of view ended up making the show what it is.” — Ben Stiller (05:00)

• On life and creative fear:

  “Fear is what drives you sometimes to go away from something or… to jump into something…” — Ben Stiller (12:57)

• On generational attitudes:

  “The concept of selling out is a total phantom that doesn’t exist for people anymore.” — David Marchese (18:27) “If you’re not selling out, you’re not doing what you should be doing.” — Ben Stiller (18:43)

• On aging and priorities:

  “I just want to have this experience while I'm still here.” — Ben Stiller (15:28)

• On fatherhood and legacy:

  “I love my father, but also that tension of not wanting to be my father. But everybody loves my father. And so I would love to be loved as my father is loved, because he was a lovely person. But then there's also the thing of, 'Oh, but I'm me.'” — Ben Stiller (29:30)

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:25 – Ben Stiller defines Severance's comedic influences and evolution
• 05:00 – Honest take on production challenges and creative collaboration
• 06:36 – Stiller discusses series arc and the focus on Mark’s character
• 08:35 – Discussion on audience perceptions and star image
• 12:57 – Fear as both a motivator and an obstacle in creative decisions
• 17:42 – Generation X, Reality Bites, and the selling-out concept
• 21:48 – Jewish identity and rising antisemitism post-October 7
• 25:10 – Stiller’s post-2010 career transition and lessons from Zoolander 2
• 29:30 – Self-reflection on family, inheritance, and wanting to be one’s own person
• 36:44 – On his motivation to create and perform, inspired by father’s wisdom
• 38:41 – Playful exchange about Tony Perkis and White Goodman as the same character
• 43:08 (Follow-up call) – Oblique Severance teasers involving Gordon Lightfoot
• 46:10 – On how the freedom of comedy in the 2000s differs from today

Follow-up Segment Highlights ("The Little Follow-up")

• Gordon Lightfoot Reference in Severance:
  • Yes, the song melody appears, but Stiller (playfully) refuses to confirm its importance to the plot (43:08–43:32).
• Would He Do Another Fockers Movie?:
  • Open if the project is right, but sees his creative instincts pulled more toward directing and dramas now (44:11–45:50).
• What's Changed in Comedy Since the 2000s?:
  • There was more “freedom to not worry about how something was going to get interpreted”—less analysis, less anxiety about offense (46:10).
• On Ambition and Influence:
  • He still strives to achieve the creative honesty of his idols, especially Albert Brooks (47:55–48:59).

Takeaways

• Ben Stiller is both self-critical and self-aware, increasingly driven by the search for honest expression rather than commercial success or audience approval.
• Severance resonates as a metaphor not just for the modern workplace but for show business itself—and for the divided selves we all manage in personal and professional life.
• The episode investigates generational change regarding “selling out,” the nature of creative risk, and the evolving boundaries and expectations around comedy.
• Family legacy, especially complicated relationships to parents and children, underpins Stiller's personal and professional introspection.
• Jewish identity, social change, and new anxieties are openly discussed, with Stiller reflecting on feeling more exposed than ever in adulthood.

For fans and the uninitiated alike, this episode offers rare insight into not just Ben Stiller's public persona and creative process, but also his private self.