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I’m Jewish, but my mom’s Catholic, so the guilt area is covered. I have the highest expectations, along with the lowest. I tried to put as much of myself as possible in Reality Bites, but in terms of my humor, I’m still trying to figure out what my sensibility is. It’s a process, really.

Ben Stiller

People like to define you through what they’ve seen you do. There are aspects of my personality, I guess, that come through on-screen, but I don’t sit around thinking, ‘I’ve been a bumbling suitor all my life.’
BEN STILLER

People Personality Thinking
If you look at my eyes when I’m dancing, you’ll see that glazed look.
BEN STILLER

Dancing Eye Looks
Whatever talent I had, I’m sure it helped that my parents were in the business and that I grew up around actors, comedians and directors.
BEN STILLER

Comedian Directors Parent
I’m just not a naturally cheery person. I’m naturally moody. I know that from people who spend a lot of time with me. People who spend a lot of time with me may not wish to spend a lot more time with me.
BEN STILLER

May People Wish
I’m always willing to endure humiliation on behalf of my characters.
BEN STILLER

Character Comedy Endure
I don’t have a burning desire to be taken seriously as an actor. I don’t have a master plan in that way.
BEN STILLER

Burning Desire Taken
I think you never want to have to go into the scene having to improvise; you want to make sure its working on the page. But I do like to have the ability to try stuff just in the moment, to give it some sort of spontaneity.
BEN STILLER

Giving Thinking Trying
I don’t think know if anything’s going to translate anywhere. You’re making a movie, you hope it’s going to be funny, you can’t think about how it’s going to go over.
BEN STILLER

Comedy Thinking Translate
When we were visiting New York City, I took my kids to the same playground where I went growing up. It was fun to feel that connection of having gone there as a kid and being there as a parent.
BEN STILLER

Country Fun Growing
Moisture is the essence of wetness, and wetness is the essence of beauty.
BEN STILLER

Essence Moisture Wetness
I’m not an expert on the Malaysian sense of humor.
BEN STILLER

Country Expert Humor Sense
I have a lot of nervous energy. Work is my best way of channelling that into something productive unless I want to wind up assaulting the postman or gardener.
BEN STILLER

Energy Want Wind
I think the most serious genre is the thing you’re going to get the most out of. If you’re trying to satirise a comedy, it’s hard to do that – it doesn’t really work as well. But I love the war movie genre and I’m a fan of all those movies that are part of what this movie is.
BEN STILLER

Comedy Genre Movie Satrise Serious Well
My own parents were touchy-feely.
BEN STILLER

Own Parent Touchy
It’s great to work with the people who make you laugh and who are funnier than I am.
BEN STILLER

Laugh Laughing Make People
I’ve had a very good career and I’m grateful that the public has had some level of acceptance and appreciation of my work.
BEN STILLER

Acceptance Appreciation Grateful
I’m very interested in the early American history, the time when the country came together.
BEN STILLER

Country History Together
When you have kids you want to be able to go to movies and take the family too, and actually all enjoy it together. I don’t think there are that many great, live action family movies that everybody can enjoy.
BEN STILLER

Kids Thinking Together
It’s weird that people expect me to be funny. I find it a real burden when I’m expected to be humorous on talk shows.
BEN STILLER

Humorous People Real
A eugoogoolizer…one who speaks at funerals…Or did you think I was too stupid to know what a eugoogooly was?
BEN STILLER

Funeral Stupid Thinking
All those rumors about her being underweight are trash. She’s [Calista Flockhart] gorgeous.
BEN STILLER

Gorgeous Rumor Trash
When I was growing up, This is Spinal Tap [1984] was the ultimate comedy, and it was the kind of thing I wanted to do. But you get to a point with parody where you can’t go much further because ultimately it’s feeding off of somebody else’s creativity.
BEN STILLER

Creativity Grow Spinal Tap Up
It’s what I wanted to do with my life. Not necessarily just direct Jim Carrey movies, but to direct and act and write and create and along the way discover what it is that I’m about.
BEN STILLER

Wanted Way Writing
I recently watched that Lucie Arnaz-produced documentary [Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie, 1992] about her parents [Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz], and I saw so much of my own childhood there.
BEN STILLER

Childhood Home Parent
I don’t devalue comedy as compared to drama. Not one bit.
BEN STILLER

Comedy Devalue Drama
Words can only hurt you if you try to read them. Don’t play their game!
BEN STILLER

Games Hurt Play
Nobody makes me bleed my own blood – nobody!
BEN STILLER

Blood Dodgeball Underdog

I’m Jewish, but my mom’s Catholic, so the guilt area is covered. I have the highest expectations, along with the lowest. I tried to put as much of myself as possible in Reality Bites, but in terms of my humor, I’m still trying to figure out what my sensibility is. It’s a process, really.

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I’m Jewish, but my mom’s Catholic, so the guilt area is covered. I have the highest expectations, along with the lowest. I tried to put as much of myself as possible in Reality Bites, but in terms of my humor, I’m still trying to figure out what my sensibility is. It’s a process, really.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Ben Stiller Quotes