Ben Stiller is riding high this season behind the camera. As executive producer/director of Apple TV+’s Severance, he has seen his series explode in its long-awaited second season with a leading 27 Emmy nominations including two for him (as producer of Outstanding Drama Series, and as Director of the season finale). He had similar nominations but didn’t win for the first season in 2022, but clearly the show has built tremendous momentum in the three long years it has taken for it to come back. Fanticipation was high no doubt and the results have paid off.
Stiller joins me for this latest edition of my Deadline video series Behind the Lens, not only to talk about what is making the series such a growing phenomenon but also his unique career that takes him both in front of and behind the camera, and which he prefers. Plus, he reveals the movies that inspired him to want to direct. We also talk about new projects including a fourth go-round with the Fockers, the comedy franchise that started with Meet the Parents and continues with Robert De Niro and much of the cast returning for Focker In-Law — in which the tables of the first film are switched on Stiller’s character and now he is the imposing parent. It starts production today. Stiller is also deep into making a documentary on his famous parents Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller called Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost, and we talk about the personal journey doing this has set him on.
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As a director, Stiller has a filmography including the limited series Escape at Dannemora which won him two Emmy nominations and a DGA Award; The Secret Life of Walter Mitty; Cable Guy; Zoolander 1 & 2; and the classic Tropic Thunder among others. As an actor, he continues to find roles he wants to do and can currently be seen with Adam Sandler reprising Hal L in Happy Gilmore 2 on Netflix, as well as the terrific holiday comedy Nutcrackers on Hulu and which opened last year’s Toronto Film Festival. The long list also includes The Meyerowitz Stories, Greenberg, Night at the Museum, Dodgeball, There’s Something About Mary, and so many more including the upcoming Pickleball comedy Dink, which was just announced today as being acquired by Apple TV+ and which he produces and co-stars.
To watch our conversation and to go “behind the lens” with Ben Stiller, watch the video above.
Join me every Monday and Friday this Emmy season for another edition of Behind the Lens.