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Ben Stiller's Days of Thunder
Reluctant funnyman still doing his own thing with Tropic Thunder
Stiller directs Tropic Thunder (2008).
Every kid has a collection of heroes and role models. For me, it was Carl Yastrzemski, Teddy Roosevelt and Steve McQueen. For my 15-year-old son, Nick, Ben Stiller is at or near the top of his list. So when the opportunity came to interview Ben for MovieMaker as he was finishing the edit of Tropic Thunder, I grabbed the assignment on the condition that Nick would be allowed to join us. After some loud protests from the publicist and even MovieMaker’s editor for what was admittedly an unusual (okay, “unprofessional” was the word I heard more than once) request, Ben stepped in and said it would be fine by him.
And that was my introduction to Ben Stiller, Easygoing Regular Guy.
When Nick and I went to visit him at his trailer on the Warner Bros. lot (Red Hour Films, Stiller’s company with producing partner Stuart Cornfeld, has a first-look deal with DreamWorks through 2010) Stiller had just been named one of the three most powerful actors in the world by Newsweek, and by all accounts he didn’t get there because he’s the shy, bumbling doormat he often plays in his films. I knew of his reputation as a perfectionist who’s unafraid to challenge his colleagues and whose self-described mood swings have often caused him to lose his temper on the set. But I went in thinking only happy thoughts about the guy who invited the kid to come along for the cover story interview.
Ben Stiller is the kind of guy you can’t help but like. He might be a little more earnest, a bit more “East Coast” than most Hollywood actors at the top of their game, complete with what seems like a touch of guilt about the coddled lifestyle of the movie star (and a straight line can be drawn from there to the concept behind Tropic Thunder), but I found that refreshing. He’s witty, self-deprecating and respectful. He has a way of letting you know that he never forgets where he came from, and he has that particular disarming quality of being sure of himself and unsure of himself at the same time. He’s direct but cautious, self-assured but wary. You can take the boy out of New York, but…
Ben’s office looks more like a preschool than the nerve center of one of Hollywood’s true heavyweights. Toys are scattered everywhere, as are photos of his children, daughter Ella, six, and son, Quinlin, three (by his wife and sometimes co-star, Christine Taylor). Despite the fact that his movies have at times included some shockingly raunchy bits, Stiller is a conservative family guy who worries about things like obscene billboards, the fact that L.A. is a “company town” and the effect that could have on his kids. His speech is peppered with references to his family, including his sister, his dad and his mom, who are all very much a part of his life.
That life is a very nice one and nobody knows that better than Ben. He takes nothing for granted, has both feet bolted to the ground and knows he’s almost as lucky as he is talented. He approaches his career with joy, but also with the faint resignation of a day laborer. He’s driven to achieve, he hopes he’s creating art, but at the end of the day he knows he’s doing a job. It may be the best one in the world, but it’s a job and he may not always be doing it. Which is okay by him. The job doesn’t define the man. Not to the man, it doesn’t.
Stiller is a warm, lively interview. And especially for a guy with the initials “BS,” he’s remarkably open and candid.
Tim Rhys (TR): I read comments on several sites that after the first preview people seemed to love Tropic Thunder.
Ben Stiller (BS): Oh, yeah? You did? See, I think the friggin’ Internet is horrible for that…
TR: For moviemakers it’s good and bad though, right?
BS: You know what? I think it’s just bad for the moviemaking process. I honestly do. Because the whole preview process, especially for a comedy, that’s where you’re learning and creating the movie. So much of that involves putting it in front of an audience, then going back and changing it. Now, with the Internet, with your first preview it’s literally out in the world. It hurts the process because everybody is afraid to put their movies out there to test them in any way because they’re going to be reviewed. I just got to the point where I’m like, alright, whatever, and I accept it because to me it’s still important to go through that early screening process.
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COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
- Comment by fairings on 8/26/08 at 7:47 pm
I love Ben Stiller… I’m sure your son enjoyed the experience of being near Stiller. I will definitely watch this film.
- Comment by Junior Cricket Bats on 10/10/08 at 1:00 pm
Not what I was expecting at all. Great performances by Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr and Jack Black. Would recomend this to anyone
- Comment by free g1 on 12/17/08 at 11:41 am
I am a huge fan of ben stiller, but not this movie.
- Comment by Drew on 7/01/09 at 3:53 am
Ben Stiller used to be one of my favorite actors but lately, he is lamer and lamer..or he was like that all the time and I just grew older..
who knows…- Comment by Cricket Supplies on 11/23/09 at 11:04 am
A great movie. Very good comedy with Ben Stiller as always.
- Comment by John on 12/05/09 at 11:45 am
Robert Downey Jr. rocked in Tropic Thunder.
- Comment by electronic income tax filing on 1/09/10 at 6:23 am
I know how to delete accounts-I just can’t delete the last one. Once I press triangle to delete the last account, the only option it gives me is information. I need to delete all accounts to send in the the PS3.
electronic income tax filing- Comment by Steve on 5/31/10 at 3:31 pm
I think Tropic Thunder is a great movie. I know it got some bad publicity for some of the terms used but it was very well written and it was impressive on the well known actors he got into the movie. I did not see it in a theater but on On Demand and I then talked about it for days. So much that two friends got me the DVD for my birthday. I let people borrow my spare because I don’t think that many of people saw it nor heard how great it was.
I don’t know much about Ben, this is the first article I read about him but I hope he comes out with more movies that are as good as Tropic Thunder.
- Comment by sniper2 on 9/27/11 at 4:44 pm
- Comment by sniper2 on 9/27/11 at 4:44 pm
- Comment by Cricket Bats on 10/28/11 at 4:01 am
Loved this movie, thought is was real at first lol
This story was published in the Summer 2008 MovieMaker Magazine. The headline was:
The Straight Man: The Making of Ben Stiller
Order this issue | Subscribe to MM
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