In the forthcoming May 7 episode of David Duchovny’s Fail Better podcast, Ben Stiller unpacked what Zoolander 2 bombing did for him — for better or worse.
The 2016 movie tanked at the box office and was critically drubbed, which took a toll on him, Stiller says in the interview.
“It hurt,” Stiller said, according to The Wrap.
“I thought everybody wanted this, and then it’s like, ‘Wow, I must have really f***** this up. Everybody didn’t go to it. And it’s gotten these horrible reviews.”
Stiller adds, “It really freaked me out because I was like, ‘I didn’t know [it] was that bad?'”
The director of the 2008 comedy Tropic Thunder recalls, “What scared me the most on that one was l’m losing what I think what’s funny, the questioning yourself,” he added. “It was definitely blindsiding to me. And it definitely affected me for a long time.”
That said, there was a silver lining. “The wonderful thing that came out of that for me was … if that had been a hit, and they said ‘Make Zoolander 3 right now’ … I would have just probably jumped in and done that.”
Stiller added, “Even if somebody said, ‘Well, why don’t you go do another comedy or do this?’ I probably could have figured out something to do. But I just didn’t want to.”
What came from that break was developing some limited series, like 2018’s Escape at Dannemora, for which he was nominated for an Emmy in the directing category, and the Emmy-nominated Apple TV+ series Severance.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Related Posts
Dabney Coleman, ‘9 to 5’ and ‘Tootsie’ star, dead at 92
May 17, 2024
CBS via Getty ImagesDabney Coleman, best known for his role as the sexist boss of Dolly Parton,…
Music notes: Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter and more
May 17, 2024
Olivia Rodrigo's debut album, SOUR, just hit a major milestone. It's now the all-time…
Hear Miley Cyrus sing Talking Heads, Demi Lovato sing The Temptations
May 17, 2024
A24Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato are two artists who can pretty much sing anything, and they both…
Laura Dern, Margaret Qualley to star in series adaptation of ‘Forever, Interrupted’
May 17, 2024
Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images, Pascal Le Segretain/Getty ImagesLaura Dern and Margaret Qualley are…
‘Young Sheldon’ goes out with a big bang: series finale hits four-year audience high
May 17, 2024
Robert Voets/2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.It’s no theory – Young Sheldon went out with a big…
New Music Friday: Bebe Rexha, Dinah Jane, NKOTB and more
May 17, 2024
Bebe Rexha is back with a new single, "Chase It (Mmm Da Da Da)," which also has a video to go with…
Report: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce stayed in $21,000 per night Italian villa
May 17, 2024
Kevin Mazur/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights ManagementTaylor Swift had a few days off before her…