Benjamin Edward Stiller was born in 1965, to comedians Jerry Stiller (best known as
Frank Costanza or
Arthur Spooner) and Anne Meara.
After beginning his acting career with a play, Stiller wrote several mockumentaries, was a cast member on
Saturday Night Live (for all but three or four episodes during the show's 14th season), and was offered two of his own shows, both entitled
The Ben Stiller Show. After acting in a few films, Stiller had his directorial debut with
Reality Bites, and has since written, starred in, directed, and/or produced over fifty films and television shows. His films have grossed more than $2.1 billion, with an average of $78 million per film. In 2008, he starred in the film
Tropic Thunder, which he also co-wrote, co-produced, and directed.
Stiller is a member of
the comedic acting brotherhood colloquially known as the
Frat Pack. He seems to have a thing for self-deprecation, if his
Jerkass As Himself roles on
Extras and
Curb Your Enthusiasm are any indication. A lot of his characters also tend to have a hilarious
Berserk Button.
Heterosexual Life Partners with Owen Wilson, whom he's collaborated with numerous times on-screen; Wilson once said that Stiller was more defensive about Wilson's signature crooked nose than he was. Also really good friends with
Tom Cruise; Stiller helped revive the latter's career with a scene-stealing turn in
Tropic Thunder and has done
affectionate parodies of Cruise multiple times, most notably on
Celebrity Jeopardy! and while hosting the MTV Movie Awards. The two have been trying to collaborate on a film together based on
The Hardy Boys (with Frank and Joe grown up, obviously), but it's been stuck in
Development Hell.
Selected Filmography
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