He is the son of Jerry Stiller who played Mr. Costanza, George's loud, obnoxious father on the series Seinfeld. Ben's mom was Anne Meara, also a comic legend. Ben was raised on the Upper East Side of New York City. A few months after enrolling at UCLA he decided to leave move back to New York City. Odd jobs here and there, his parental support, and a few Broadway gigs followed in the next year. Ben produced a few comic shorts, including a parody of "The Color of Money," in which Ben played the role Tom Cruise had played in the movie. The film found its way to the producers of Saturday Night Live and within a year, Ben was signed on.
MTV hired Ben to produce a show for them and invited him back to star in his own series. The "Ben Stiller Show" had lackluster ratings, but was well-received by critics. So, in 1993, he debuted "The Ben Stiller Show," on Fox. The show featured then unknowns Janeane Garofalo and Andy Dick. It was met with harsh criticism early on, and was yanked midway through the season. However, Stiller was later awarded an Emmy for his writing and the show still today has a large fan following.
Stiller shot back at critics, however, with his performance in "Reality Bites" later the next year. The film received rave reviews and a decent showing at the box office, establishing him as one of Hollywood's premiere actors.
His directorial debut was Jim Carrey's sole flop to date - "The Cable Guy." Despite many critical praises, the film saw a retreat from typical Carrey roles and thus a mediocre box office showing. But it was 1998's "There's Something About Mary" that established Ben as a comedy titan.
Off the screen, Ben's longtime girlfriend was Jeanne Tripplehorn; but he just recently married Christine Taylor, from the Brady Bunch movies.
Credits: Mr. Showbiz
Starsky & Hutch (2003) .... Starsky
Untitled John Hamburg Project (2003) .... Ruben
Envy (2003) .... Tim Dingman
Duplex (2003)
Bloodfight: The Frank Sledge Story (2003) .... Himself
You'll Never Wiez in This Town Again (2002) .... Himself
"Liberty's Kids" (2002) TV Series .... Thomas Jefferson
74th Annual Academy Awards, The (2002) (TV) .... Himself
Orange County (2002)(uncredited) .... Firefighter
"Andy Dick Show, The" (2001) TV Series .... Himself (2001)
Royal Tenenbaums, The (2001) .... Chas Tenenbaum
Zoolander (2001) .... Derek Joseph Zoolander
America: A Tribute to Heroes (2001) (TV) .... Himself
MTV Video Music Awards 2001 (2001) (TV) .... Himself (presenter)
2001 MTV Movie Awards (2001) (TV) .... Himself
73rd Annual Academy Awards, The (2001) (TV)(uncredited) .... Himself
Mission: Improbable (2000) (TV) .... Tom Crooze
MTV Video Music Awards 2000 (2000) (TV) .... Himself
Meet the Parents (2000) .... Gaylord 'Greg' Focker, R.N.
2000 MTV Movie Awards (2000) (TV) .... Himself/'Tom Crooze"
AFI's 100 Years, 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies (2000) (TV) ....
Himself
Keeping the Faith (2000) .... Rabbi Jacob 'Jake' Schram
Independent, The (2000) .... Cop
Hooves of Fire (1999) (TV)(voice: USA version) .... Robbie the Reindeer
Black and White (1999) .... Mark Clear
Mystery Men (1999) .... Mr. Furious (Roy)
Suburbans, The (1999) .... Jay Rose
Backstreet Boyz (1998) (TV)
MTV Video Music Awards 1998 (1998) (TV) .... Himself/Host
Nobody Knows Anything (1998)
Saturday Night Live: Game Show Parodies (1998) (V) .... Tom Cruise
Permanent Midnight (1998) .... Jerry Stahl
Your Friends & Neighbors (1998) .... Jerry
There's Something About Mary (1998) .... Ted Stroehmann
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (1998) (TV) .... Himself
Zero Effect (1998) .... Steve Arlo
Intimate Portrait: Mary Tyler Moore (1997) (TV) .... Himself
Derek Zoolander University (1997) (TV) .... Derek Zoolander
1996 MTV Movie Awards (1996) (TV) .... Himself/Host
Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond (1996) (TV) .... Himself
Derek Zoolander: Male Model (1996) (TV) .... Derek Zoolander
Cable Guy, The (1996) .... Sam Sweet/Stan Sweet
Flirting with Disaster (1996) .... Mel Coplin
If Lucy Fell (1996) .... Bwick Elias
Happy Gilmore (1996) .... Orderly in Nursing Home
Heavyweights (1995) .... Tony Perkis/Tony Perkis Sr.
Reality Bites (1994) .... Michael Grates
"Ben Stiller Show, The" (1992) TV Series .... Host
Nutt House, The (1992)(uncredited) .... Pie thrower
Highway to Hell (1992) .... Pluto's Cook and Attila the Hun
Working Tra$h (1990) (TV) .... Freddy Novak
Stella (1990) .... Jim Uptegrove, Jenny's scumbag boyfriend
That's Adequate (1990) .... Chip Lane
"Ben Stiller Show, The" (1990) TV Series .... Host
"Saturday Night Live" (1975) TV Series .... Himself (1989)
Elvis Stories (1989) .... Bruce
Next of Kin (1989) .... Lawrence Isabella
Fresh Horses (1988) .... Tipton
Hustler of Money, The (1988) (TV) .... Wince
Empire of the Sun (1987) .... Dainty
House of Blue Leaves, The (1987) (TV) .... Ronnie Shaughnessy
Hot Pursuit (1987) .... Chris Honeywell
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