It is quite a common occurrence that if a comedian is extremely funny, they have probably dabbled in writing, creating, and directing at some point. While a lot of them see great success through this, there are the rare few who fail miserably and never look that way again. Unfortunately for Ben Stiller, his case was the latter.
Although he is primarily known for his comedy, the actor was also the man behind the camera in the 2001 film Zoolander, acting as director. The film was a hit and became a cult classic in the best of ways. This is why, when the decision to make a second film was announced, fans were excited. However, when Zoolander 2 hit theaters, the reaction was concerningly negative.
Recently, Stiller opened up about how the film’s failure affected him, his perspective on his career, and his comedy.
Ben Stiller Was Blindsided
Ben Stiller recently made an appearance in an upcoming episode of the Fail Better with David Duchovny podcast, via People. Here, he went into great detail about how the disappointing performance of his 2016 film, Zoolander 2, affected him. He started by saying that when he was making the movie, through all of its steps, he was convinced that it was exactly what the public wanted. However, when the movie was released, the reviews and feedback said otherwise.
“I thought everybody wanted this,” Stiller said. “And then it’s like, ‘Wow, I must have really f**ked this up. Everybody didn’t go to it. And it’s gotten these horrible reviews.’” He added, “It really freaked me out because I was like, ‘I didn’t know was that bad?’”
He mentioned that when the wave of negativity came knocking at his door, he could not have been more surprised. He was convinced that the movie was exactly what the world wanted, so he was completely off-guard when that was not the case.
Then came the bad reviews and critics, tearing his movie to shreds. He realized that not only did audiences not ask for the movie, but they also did not enjoy it. The entire situation acted as a rude awakening for Stiller.
Ben Stiller Feared for His Career
Ben Stiller then went on to talk about how the degree of his shock manifested in other aspects of his life. Considering just how shocked he was at the response the movie got, it is not surprising that the actor’s fall from grace was brutal. He revealed that he started to doubt his own capabilities when it comes to comedy, something he is excellent at.
“What scared me the most on that one was l’m losing what I think what’s funny, the questioning yourself … on ‘Zoolander 2,’ it was definitely blindsiding to me. And it definitely affected me for a long time.”
He thought that he no longer knew what the definition of ‘funny’ was and started to doubt if he was cut out for the world of laughter. The fact that he was completely oblivious to what would come made everything a lot worse and had a lasting effect on him.
