Ben Stiller

From ArticleWorld

Ben Stiller was born in New York City in 1965. His parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, are both comic actors. Ben is the younger of two children and his sister Alice is an actress, too. Stiller began his filmmaking career as a child when he and his friends would make Super 8 movies together. He made his acting debut on his mother's television series Kate McShaw.

Early career

Ben Stiller enrolled in at UCLA as a film student. He dropped out after nine months and moved back to New York. While in New York, he took acting classes, auditioned for rolls and looked for an agent. He got a roll in the Broadway hit The House of Blue Leaves. While working, he made a short mockumentry on the side. He parodied Martin Scorsese's film The Color of Money. In 1997, it aired on Saturday Night Live and two years later he was offered a spot as a writer on the show. This led to and MTV show and, later, 'The Ben Stiller Show on Fox. The show won an Emmy but was cancelled after just twelve episodes.

Fame

Ben Stiller directed and appeared in the movies Reality Bites' and the Cable Guy. Both got mixed reviews. It was his stint in There's Something About Mary that catapulted him to stardom. Following Mary, Stiller directed and starred in Zoolander which received great praise. He has been involved in the production of over forty movies in his career. In addition, he has appeared in cameo roles on television shows like Arrested Development and Curb Your Enthusiasm.