Director

Ben Stiller

Acting

Career Snapshot

Explained

These indicators come from TMDB. They are relative signals, not review ratings.

Directed credits

Active

Regular directing credits.

TMDB popularity

4.1

Moderate attention

TMDB internal trend index. Higher usually means more searches and page activity now.

Directed movies: 7Directed series: 1All crew credits: 56

TMDB ID: 7399

IMDb ID: nm0001774

Known for: Acting

Born: November 30, 1965

Age: 60

Place of birth: New York City, New York, USA

Gender: Male

Adult content flag: No

Career span: 1949 - 2026

Years active: 78

Average TMDB rating: 6.41

Wikidata: Q47100

Also known as

بَن ستِلَر • ベン·スティラー

Frequent jobs

Director (8)Executive Producer (21)Producer (17)Writer (3)Characters (2)Additional Writing (1)Associate Producer (1)Creator (1)Presenter (1)

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Biography

Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known for his blend of slapstick humor and sharp wit, Stiller rose to fame through comedies such as There's Something About Mary (1998), Zoolander (2001), and Tropic Thunder (2008). Stiller is also known for his work in franchises such as the Meet the Parents films (2000–2010), the Madagascar franchise (2005–2012), and the Night at the Museum films (2006–2014). His films have grossed over $2.6 billion in Canada and the United States, with an average of $79 million per film. His awards and honors include an Emmy Award, a Directors Guild of America Award, a Britannia Award and a Teen Choice Award. Stiller is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. He began his career writing mockumentaries and was offered a variety sketch series, The Ben Stiller Show, which he produced and hosted for its 13-episode run. The series ran on MTV in 1990 and Fox in 1992 and 1993, earning him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Program. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as the Frat Pack. Transitioning to acting in films, Stiller made his directorial debut with Reality Bites (1994) and went on to direct and star in films such as The Cable Guy (1996) and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013). He also starred in a string of successful studio comedies, including Along Came Polly (2004), Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004), Starsky & Hutch (2004), and Tower Heist (2011). His performances in independent films include Flirting with Disaster (1996), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), and the Noah Baumbach films Greenberg (2010), While We're Young (2014), and The Meyerowitz Stories (2017). Since the mid-2010s, Stiller has primarily worked as a television director and showrunner. In 2018, he directed the Showtime limited series Escape at Dannemora, earning a Directors Guild of America Award and two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Limited Series and Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series. In 2022, he was a director and executive producer on the Apple TV+ series Severance, earning two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series.