black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

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

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 love New York. I was sad, depressed and incredibly moved by our fellow countrymen and what they’ve done. I wanted to give people a chance to see something funny, have a distraction.
BEN STILLER

Countrymen Depressed Fellow People
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
I think this whole celebrity world is weird anyway. Weird and funny and kind of pathetic and yet so right for parody.
BEN STILLER

Kind Thinking World
As a kid I had dreams about being successful, thinking it would be cool. Then, when I was in my 20s, I really thought I had it much more figured out than I do now.
BEN STILLER

Dream Kids Successful
Sometimes I wondered whether I hadn’t let my career get confined to one direction, but lately I’ve decided to accept the fact that I have this opportunity to be successful doing comedies.
BEN STILLER

Direction Opportunity Successful
The failure of The Cable Guy impacted my career. I had to start writing and acting again.
BEN STILLER

Careers Guy Writing
I’m not an expert on the Malaysian sense of humor.
BEN STILLER

Country Expert Humor Sense
You have to stay in character in between takes.
BEN STILLER

Character Stay Take
I grew up wanting to make movies, and along the way I suddenly found that I had a career doing comedy.
BEN STILLER

Career Movie Way
I don’t think it’s ever easy to be funny. I find it easy to amuse myself with a certain sort of cynical dark humor that tends toward the meaner side, like my character in Happy Gilmore. Those kinds of characters come easily to me.
BEN STILLER

Character Dark Thinking
Maybe forced retirement isn’t necessary after all.
BEN STILLER

After Comedy Force Retirement
I don’t even want to think of myself as an actor because it’s such an insecure place to go.
BEN STILLER

Actors Insecure Thinking
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 know what that weid fantasy is that makes people go, “Oh, you must have had a great childhood.”
BEN STILLER

Childhood Fantasy People
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
The cliches are that it’s the most generic Starsky and Hutch plot you can find.
BEN STILLER

Cliche Generic Plot
Words can only hurt you if you try to read them. Don’t play their game!
BEN STILLER

Games Hurt Play
If you look at my eyes when I’m dancing, you’ll see that glazed look.
BEN STILLER

Dancing Eye Looks
I had two projects that fell apart during preproduction. The first one was this movie that Judd Apatow and I had written about two guys following the Rolling Stones. It was going to be half concert film, half pseudo-documentary.
BEN STILLER

Book Ideas Simple
My parents used to throw great New Year’s Eve parties. They invited such an eclectic mix of showbiz people. All those cool people were always hanging out at our apartment.
BEN STILLER

New Year Party Years
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
God was showing off when he made you.
BEN STILLER

Faith Keep Made Showing
Jim Carrey, a comic genius, has a harder time overcoming the public’s desire for him to be funny simply because he’s so good at it.
BEN STILLER

Desire Genius Overcoming
I was a bad student. I liked archaeology actually, I was interested in maybe becoming an archaeologist but I was such a bad student and had such bad grades that I wasn’t going to get into any really good college so I fell back on acting.
BEN STILLER

Acting Becoming College
I know that I’m better as an actor when I’m working with a good actor. I think anytime you’re working with a better actor, it makes you a better actor.
BEN STILLER

Actor Knows Thinking
I don’t think the public is dying to see me necessarily be funny all the time.
BEN STILLER

Dying Necessarily Public Thinking

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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Ben Stiller Quotes