Ben Stiller Biography

Fast Facts

• Began shooting Super-8 movies when he was 10
• Earliest forays into show business included working as an intern in 1983 on Alan Thicke's Thicke of the Night and producing a short parody of the 1986 film The Color of Money
• That got him noticed by Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels, who offered him a writing gig in 1989
• Created a skit for the 2000 MTV Movie Awards where he plays Tom Cruise's stunt double, Tom Crooze
• Penned an article about Diane Keaton for Premiere magazine in 1997
• Coauthored a mock self-help book along with Janeane Garofalo in 1999 titled Feel This Book: An Essential Guide to Self-Empowerment, Spiritual Supremacy and Sexual Satisfaction
• Began his own production company, Red Hour Productions (named for a Star Trek reference), with Stuart Cornfeld
• Gave his mother, comedian Anne Meara, cameo roles in several of his films, including Reality Bites (1994), Zoolander (2001) and Night at the Museum (2006)