The actor we see both in the director's chair and on the screen: Who is Ben Stiller?

Real name Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller was born on November 30, 1965 in New York City. Jerry Stiller, whose father is a comedian and actor, comes from a Jewish family that immigrated from Poland and Galicia. His mother, of Irish Catholic descent, is Anne Meara, an actress and comedian. Stiller has an actress sister named Amy.

His family often took Stiller to the sets of daytime television shows when he was 6 years old. Stiller became interested in filmmaking at an early age. He made his stage debut at the age of 9 when his mother made a guest appearance in the short-lived legal drama television series "Kate McShane."

In the late 1970s, hProe appeared in a variety of roles, including the lead role in "Clever Jack and the Magic Beanstalk" at NYC's First All Children's Theatre. In high school, inspired by the television sketch comedy show "Second City Television", Stiller realized he wanted to get involved in sketch comedy and was seen as the drummer for rock band Capital Punishment, which released the "Roadkill" studio album in 1982.

Stiller attended The Cathedral School of St. in New York. He enrolled at John the Divine and successfully graduated from Calhoun School in 1983. Later, he enrolled as a film student at the University of California, Los Angeles, dropping out after nine months to return to New York. Stiller, who took acting classes, auditioned and tried to find an agency.

At the age of about 15, he got a small role in the radio and television series "Guiding Light", but said in an interview that his performance was poor. He then starred with John Mahoney in the 1986 Broadway reenactment of John Guare's play "The House of Blue Leaves." The play received four Tony Award nominations.

During the play, Stiller produced a satirical mockumentary directed by fellow actor Mahoney. This comedy work was well received by the cast and camera crew of the play. This work was followed by a 10-minute short film called "The Hustler of Money", a parody of the movie "The Color of Money" directed by Martin Scorsese. The short film caught the attention of his 1987 program "Saturday Night Live" and offered Stiller a job as a writer two years later. Around this time, he had a small role in the war movie "Empire of the Sun" directed by Steven Spielberg.

In 1989, Stiller wrote and featured on Saturday Night Live as a featured actress. He then put together "Elvis Stories," a short film about a fictional tabloid focused on the recent sighting of Elvis Presley. In addition to celebrities such as John Cusack, Jeremy Piven, Mike Myers, Andy Dick and Jeff Kahn, the film also featured supporting actors. Thanks to the film, which was considered a success, he developed the short film "Going Back to Brooklyn" for MTV.

The producers at MTV were so impressed with the short film that they offered Stiller a 13-episode show. The program "The Ben Stiller Show" mixed comedy skits with music videos and included parodies of various television shows, music stars, and movies. While Stiller co-starred with Jeff Khan and Harry O'Reilly in the film, his mother, his father and his sister would occasionally appear as well.

After the show was canceled after its first season, another sketch comedy series called "The Ben Stiller Show" was made on Fox Network in 1992. Featuring a cast of Stiller, Janeane Garofalo, Andy Dick, and Bob Odenkirk, the show featured Stiller and Judd Apatow as its principal writers. Additionally, both Denise Richards and Jeanne Tripplehorn appeared as extras in various episodes of the show. The show frequently appeared at the bottom of the ratings, despite being critically acclaimed and winning an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program" after its conclusion.

In the early 1990s, Stiller appeared in small roles in the drama film "Stella"(1990) and the horror comedy "Highway to Hell"(1992). He also appeared behind the camera in the comedy film "The Nutt House" (1992). In 1992 Stiller was selected to direct the romantic comedy-drama movie "Reality Bites," based on a screenplay by Helen Childress. For the next year and a half, Stiller worked with Helen Childress to rewrite the script, raise funds, and arrange the casting for the film. In early 1994, the film was released, directed by Stiller, while also co-starring. Danny DeVito also produced the film. The film, which received mixed reviews, was successful with its revenue in return for its production budget. It was also the top-grossing movie in its opening weekend.

Stiller appeared in the family comedy "Heavyweights"(1995), which received mixed reviews. He then appeared in an unnamed cameo in the sports comedy "Happy Gilmore" (1996), written by Adam Sandler. He later starred in the romantic comedy film "If Lucy Fell" (1996) and the black comedy film "Flirting with Disaster". He then made his next directorial debut with "The Cable Guy," starring Jim Carrey. Stiller starred once again as a twin in his own movie. While the movie received mixed reviews, it has since become a cult hit. The film also introduced Stiller to Jack Black and Owen Wilson.

Also in 1996, MTV asked Stiller to host the VH1 Fashion Awards. Along with its author, Drake Sather, Stiller produced a short film about a male model known as Derek Zoolander for the awards. The movie was so well received that he produced another short about the character and turned it into a movie for the 1997 VH1 Fashion Awards the following year.

Putting his passion for directing aside, Stiller starred with Cameron Diaz in the Farrelly Brothers' romantic comedy "There's Something About Mary" (1998). The movie was a hit with a long-lasting cult. That year, he appeared in several productions, including the mystery comedy "Zero Effect" (1998), the black comedy "Your Friends & Neighbors" (1998) and the drama "Permanent Midnight."

The following year, he played a superhero wannabe Mr. Furious in the superhero comedy "Mystery Men". He then acted in two other films. He then returned to his directorial career with the comedy science fiction television series "Heat Vision and Jack" starring Jack Black for Fox. However, the series was not picked up by Fox and was canceled.

In 2000, Stiller starred in three more films, most known for one. He was cast in the comedy film "Meet the Parents" as Gaylord "Greg" Focker and co-starring with Robert De Niro as a male nurse. The film, which was well received by the critics, was a huge worldwide success and two sequels were made. Also that year, MTV invited Stiller to make another short film. Stiller developed "Mission: Impossible II," starring Tom Cruise, and "Mission: Improbable," a replica of his role in other movies.

In 2001, Stiller directed his third feature-length comedy "Zoolander", in which he also played the role of Derek Zoolander. While the film featured numerous behind-the-scenes from various celebrities including Donald Trump, Paris Hilton, Lenny Kravitz, Heidi Klum and David Bowie, it was banned in Malaysia. Stiller reunited for the comedy-drama film "The Royal Tenenbaums" after working with Owen Wilson on the film.

Over the next two years, Stiller produced the box-office black comedy "Duplex", the comedy "Orange County" and "Nobody Knows A Thing!" continued with. He has also made guest appearances on several television shows, including an episode of the television series "The King of Queens".

Stiller appeared in six different films in 2004, all comedies, including some of his top-grossing films. These; "Starsky & Hutch", "Envy", "DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story", "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy", "Along Came Polly" and "Meet the Fockers". As a commercial fiasco, "Envy" grossed only $14.5 million. Among these films, the most successful was "Meet the Fockers", which grossed over $516.6 million worldwide.

In the same year, he made a long-term guest appearance on the TV sitcom "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and the TV sitcom "Arrested Development". The following year, he starred in the animated comedy "Madagascar", which was his first experience as a voice actor in an animated movie. The movie was a huge hit worldwide and he also voiced the sequels "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" (2008) and "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" (2012).

In 2006, Stiller was behind the scenes of the comedy "School for Scoundrels" and executive producer of the fantasy comedy "The Pick of Destiny on Tenacious D". In the same year, he played the leading role in the fantasy comedy "Night at the Museum". Although not a critical favourite, the film was a success, making over $115 million in ten days.

The following year, he starred in the romantic black comedy film "The Heartbreak Kid" with Malin Åkerman, directed by the Farrelly brothers. The film, which received mostly negative reviews, managed to gross over $ 100 million worldwide. In 2008 Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black directed, co-wrote, co-produced and starred in a satirical action comedy film called "Tropic Thunder." The film was also successful at the box office while receiving positive reviews.

In 2009, he co-starred with Amy Adams in the sequel "Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian" directed by Shawn Levy. The film, which received mixed reviews, was a box office success with its production budget. In 2010, he made a short cameo appearance in the mock documentary parody of Joaquin Phoenix's "I'm Still Here". He also appeared in the lead role in the comedy-drama film "Greenberg" directed by Noah Baumbach. He reprized the role of Greg Focker in his second sequel, the critically panicked but financially successful comedy "Little Fockers." That year, he originally planned to voice the main character of the animated superhero comedy "Megamind" with Robert Downey Jr. However Stiller, who later left, remained as executive producer and voiced a minor character in the film.

In 2011, Stiller co-starred with Eddie Murphy and Alan Alda in the heist comedy "Tower Heist," about a group of maintenance workers planning a heist on an apartment skyscraper. The film received mixed reviews from critics and the actors were praised for their performances. He produced, directed and starred in the adventure comedy-drama film "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", which was released in 2013. The film, which was released in theaters with a generally mixed reaction, was selected as one of the ten best films of 2013.

In 2014, he appeared as one of the lead roles in the comedy-drama movie "While We're Young". While the film received generally positive reviews, it also achieved success at the box office. In the same year, he reprized the same role in its sequel "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb". The film, which received mixed reviews like its predecessors, became the lowest-grossing film in the series with its gross.

Two years later, he reunited with Owen Wilson, Christine Taylor, Will Ferrell, Milla Jovovich, Nathan Lee Graham, Theroux, Kyle Mooney, Billy Zane, Tommy Hilfiger and Jerry Stiller in the sequel "Zoolander 2". Released to mostly negative reviews from critics, it caught the production budget and grossed just as well.

The following year, he starred in the comedy-drama movie "Brad's Status" with Austin Abrams, Michael Sheen, Jenna Fischer, and Luke Wilson. In the same year, he appeared in the comedy-drama film "The Meyerowitz Stories".

Personal life

Stiller dated several actresses at the  begining of his career, including Jeanne Tripplehorn, Calista Flockhart, and Amanda Peet. Stiller met actress Christine Taylor in 1999. The couple married in a ceremony in Kauai, Hawaii in May 2000. At the same time, the couple acted together in many movies and TV series. The couple adopted a vegetarian diet for health reasons.

After 17 years of marriage, Taylor and Stiller decided to separate in 2017. However, after living together during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine, they made the decision to reconcile. The couple has a daughter named Ella Olivia and a son named Quinlin Dempsey "Quinn" Stiller. The entire family lives in Westchester County, New York and Manhattan. 

Stiller supports and helps many charities. Stiller, who was appointed UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador on July 2, 2018, he takes part in fundraising campaigns, aid funds, support funds for the environment and nature order.

Styles is considered the leader of the Frat Pack, a core group of players. The group consists of people who have worked together on multiple films, and the group includes Jack Black, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Steve Carell and Paul Rudd. He played with Owen Wilson in 12 films at most.

For her work on Zoolander, he was nominated twelve times for the Teen Choice Awards and won the "Choice Hissy Fit" Award once. Styles has been nominated thirteen times for the MTV Movie Awards and has won three. These; The "Best Fight" Award with in film "There's Something About Mary", the "Best Comedy Performance" Award with in film "Meet the Parents" and the "Best Villain" Award with in film "DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story". In 2009, he won the MTV Generation Award, the biggest award of the ceremony, at the MTV Movie Awards. In March 2007, he was crowned with the "Wannabe Award" at the Kids' Choice Awards.

In 2011, he was awarded Excellence in Comedy by BAFTA Los Angeles. In 2014, Stiller earned a Best Actor nomination at the 40th Saturn Awards in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." On February 2, 2019, he received the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing Achievement in a Television Movie and Limited Series for the mini-series "Escape at Dannemora." In February 2016, Stiller broke the Guinness World Record for the longest selfie stick at the World Premiere of "Zoolander 2".