Ben Stiller both stars in and directs his new film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which reinvents James Thurber’s classic short story of an ordinary man with an extraordinary imagination.
In the film, Stiller’s Mitty embarks on a globe-trotting adventure that trumps anything in his daydreams. Inspired by his character’s epic trek, Stiller shared with Parade some of his own very personal, life-altering expeditions. Below, a few excerpts:
Father, Son, and The Holy Land
“My dad [actor Jerry Stiller] and I took a father-son bonding trip to Israel when I was about 16…We ended up diving in the Red Sea together…I met a girl on that trip and we had a whirlwind romance. Is it blasphemous to say we ended up making out near the Western Wall? It might be. But we did…It was one of those times you don’t ever forget.”
Failure is an Option
“Back in 1996 I directed a movie called The Cable Guy, starring Jim Carrey. It was a great creative experience but the movie was a big flop…And then a couple of years later I was in a movie that did well, There’s Something About Mary, and I knew that if people weren’t calling me as a director, I was fortunate enough to be able to work as an actor. It was good to have the Cable Guy experience before that success; it wasn’t that I just came out of the gate and everything was great…”
Finding The One
“ I proposed to Christine [actress Christine Taylor] when I was rehearsing Meet the Parents…I asked her father for permission before I did it…It was like Meet the Parents in real life, because Christine’s father is an intimidating guy who owns a security company; we’re good friends now, but at the time I was in the basement rec room saying, ‘I really would like to marry your daughter…’ He’s a man of few words but he was very welcoming. I was more nervous asking him than asking her…[Christine and my] relationship was a gradual thing that happened over a quick period of time, maybe seven or eight months. We just started hanging out with each other and it developed into, ‘Wow, this feels great. I really like this person. I think I love this person. I really do – I love this person.’ It hit me out of the blue.”
Baby on Board
“When your wife is pregnant for nine months, you get used to the idea of pregnancy. Obviously, you know where it’s leading, but it almost becomes this abstract idea; and then suddenly the next time you go back to the house, you have another person living with you. Who you’ve just met. Your child…I was thinking moment to moment: Just get her from the baby carrier to the crib…It’s a short distance but a huge change…My kids are 11 and 8 now, and I can see aspects of myself in them but I also see two totally unique individuals. And I wonder how they became so well adjusted!”
http://www.parade.com/244707/