Ben Stiller Once Saw an Article Urging Hollywood to ‘Stop Putting Ben Stiller in Comedies,’ Left ‘SNL’ After Four Episodes Because ‘I Got Too Nervous’

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Reflecting on my journey, I, Ben Stiller, am still puzzled as to why I skyrocketed to comedy movie stardom in the late ’90s and early 2000s. My self-directed endeavor in “The Cable Guy” (1996) was a prelude to the powerful duo of “There’s Something About Mary” (1999) and “Meet the Parents” (2000), which collectively earned over $330 million globally, catapulting me into blockbuster status.

Looking back on it, Ben Stiller recalled an instance where he read a letter in the L.A. Times written by a certain author: ‘Dear God, stop casting Ben Stiller in comedies.’ During that phase of his career, he felt somewhat bewildered, saying, ‘I was just here, enjoying my work. Yet, it’s only now that I can appreciate, ‘Wow, something significant was taking place, and I happened to be a part of it.’ However, I’m unsure what the cultural mood (zeitgeist) was back then. If you examine comedies from the 2000s, they had a unique flavor, a particular tone, and there were many wonderful aspects in those films that we don’t see today. I wonder if we could replicate that era.

Stiller’s cinematic triumphs stemmed from his highly regarded television work on “The Ben Stiller Show,” a venture that took off following his departure from “Saturday Night Live” after only four episodes. In 1989, he became part of the NBC sketch comedy series as both a writer and performer. Lorne Michaels, head of “SNL,” responded to the news of Stiller’s departure by saying: “Ben will do what Ben wants to do.”

“Ben will follow his own path.”

Or,

Stiller’s film victories were built on the foundation of his well-received television work for “The Ben Stiller Show,” a production that flourished after he chose to part ways with “Saturday Night Live” following four episodes. In 1989, he entered the NBC sketch comedy series as both a writer and performer. When informed about Stiller’s departure, Lorne Michaels, head of “SNL,” stated: “Ben will act according to his desires.

Stiller admitted that he didn’t excel at SNL due to his inexperience with live performing. He confessed to feeling too anxious and preferring to focus on short films instead. At the time, he was also offered a chance to work on MTV’s ‘The Ben Stiller Show,’ which had been a long-standing dream of his. Reflecting on it now, he can’t quite explain why, but for some reason, he trusted his instinct and left SNL.

Stiller shared with The Times that he hasn’t approached his career from a particularly strategic perspective. For example, he chose to take on the role in “Night at the Museum” not because he anticipated it would spawn a series, but rather because he had fond memories of the natural history museum nearby and thought, “If I were a kid, I’d love this,” making it an enjoyable opportunity for him.

In conversations with The Times, Stiller revealed that his career decisions haven’t been overly strategic. For instance, he opted to appear in “Night at the Museum” not because he envisioned a franchise emerging, but simply because of his personal connection to the local natural history museum and thinking it would be fun to participate since, as a child, he might have enjoyed it himself.

The movie “Night at the Museum” turned out to be a highly profitable franchise for Stiller, amassing an impressive total of $1.3 billion over three films. Despite the motivation behind making sequels often becoming more business-oriented, Stiller enjoyed working on all three movies.

Stiller expressed his enthusiasm for collaborating with Robin Williams and Shawn Levy on the third ‘Night at the Museum’ film. However, he had one reservation: He wanted to explore different cinematic ventures as a director. Unfortunately, he hadn’t taken the time to pursue these other projects yet.

In terms of the philosophy guiding his career, Stiller expressed: “At this stage in my life, am I truly willing to make this risk at this moment? How much importance should I attach to a so-called unfavorable outcome? You become less concerned about it. The day after something doesn’t perform well or receives negative feedback, it doesn’t significantly alter your life. It’s all about emotions – you might feel embarrassed or disappointed because you wanted to excel. However, success doesn’t always occur. In fact, it rarely does. So how do you cope with that?

Actor Ben Stiller is currently promoting “Severance” Season 2, premiering January 17th on Apple TV+. For a comprehensive conversation with him, visit The Times’ website where you can listen to his interview on the popular podcast, “The Interview”.

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2025-01-14 01:48