Ben Stiller

by Terri Dougherty

Highlights the life and achievements of the actor known for his comedic roles in such movies as "There's Something About Mary," "Meet the Parents," and "Starsky & Hutch."

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Malek Sibai · Rating 4 out of 5]

This amazing book, Ben Stiller written by Terri Dougherty is the most interesting and fantastic book that I ever read. It all began when Ben had the determination to be a professional actor, with the influenced of his parents. As a child, Ben was not a star but appeared in few TV shows. His mom Anne Meara, and his father Jerry Stiller were both comedians that were on The Ed Sullivan Show. “His parents, Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller, were comedians who often performed on The Ed Sullivan Show, a popular variety program that showcased the top entertainment of the day” (Dougherty 13 pg.) His parents were actors their whole lives. They were married in 1954 and started to do comedy. Ben’s school was named Calhoun School which was a private school. One day when Ben was still in 8th Grade, the school shot a movie named The Rich Kids. Every day after school Ben and his mom worked on being a good actor and how to be the great comedian. One day Ben had an embarrassing performance where he played as a musician in a TV show. Ben and his sister played the violin, and Ben did not like it because he wanted to be a comedian and not someone that plays music in a TV Show. The idea of playing the violin in the TV show was his father aid that this was great for business in movies and TV shows. At the age of 22, Ben started his professional career as an actor which he had never thought to reach until that day. “Stiller’s Career as a professional actor was still in its early stages, but he was making progress. At age of twenty-two, he had a broadway play and a short film on his resume, and he was showing that he had raw talent as both a writer and actor. When The House of Blue Leaves concluded its, run he did what all actors do when a project wraps: He looked for more work” (Dougherty pg. 24). He started to play in a show that made a lot of success which was called The Ben Stiller Show, which later was produced by Fox. He played in every movie as the main character. The movies that Ben Siller made was Zoolander in 2001, Zoolander 2 in 2016, Tropic Thunder in 2008, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty in 2013, DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story in 2004, There's Something About Mary in 1998, Meet the Fockers in 2004, Along Came Polly in 2004, and many more. The TV Shows that Ben had played is Prehistoric Planet since 2002 to present, The Andy Dick Show since 2001 until 2002, and The Ben Stiller Show since 1992 until 1993. In conclusion, Ben Stiller made his dream of becoming one of the best comedian actors in the world come true by practicing and training hard to achieve it.


The book, Ben Stiller written by Terri Dougherty is a very inspirational book that tells a story of a man who his overcame troubles to become one of the best actors in the world. If I had a question that I could ask Ben Stiller it would be “Why did you want to be and an actor? How did you succeed to be one of the best actors in the world?” I know that this book is a biography because it is only about Ben Stiller and his life events and it was not written by him. The people that inspired Ben to become an actor was Ben’s parent’s because he loved how his parents were as actors and wanted to be like his parents and make other people laugh. Five facts that I did not know about the story was first Ben had an embarrassing performance as a musician in a TV show. The second fact that I did not know about Ben Stiller was his parents were professional actors and comedians just like him. The third fact that I did not know about Ben Stiller started his professional career at the age of twenty-two. “Stiller’s Career as a professional actor was still in its early stages, but he was making progress. At age of twenty-two, he had a broadway play and a short film on his resume, and he was showing that he had raw talent as both a writer and actor. When The House of Blue Leaves concluded its, run he did what all actors do when a project wraps: He looked for more work” (Dougherty pg. 24).The fourth fact that I did not know is that after school to be a better actor Ben practiced with his mom every day. The movies and TV show that I did not know that Ben Stiller played was Zoolander in 2001, Zoolander 2 in 2016, Tropic Thunder in 2008, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty in 2013, DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story in 2004, There's Something About Mary in 1998, Meet the Fockers in 2004, and Along Came Polly in 2004. The TV Shows that Ben had played is Prehistoric Planet since 2002 to present, The Andy Dick Show since 2001 until 2002, and The Ben Stiller Show since 1992 until 1993. Overall, the book Ben Stiller was an amazing and fun book to read because of all Ben’s interesting and fantastic events that he made.


The book that I had read Ben Stiller. Is a book that I would recommend to 8th and 7th graders. Although it is 190 pages which are a number that is the very small number of an 8th Grade, this book was more quality than quantity. This means that this book has more enthusiastic and interesting facts than boring quantitative facts that no one wants to read about. There are some words that were hard to understand, but other were also easy. This book is very interesting because it tells a great story about Ben Stiller. This book talk show Ben started as one of the worst and unknown actors in the world to one of the best actors that the world had ever seen. Ben made more than 35 movies which are incredible for someone that has the age of 50 years old. Ben is not the kind of actor that takes the role of any character, Ben is an actor that plays a character that fits him because Ben does not treat actor as a job he also treats it as a pleasure of playing the role. I recommend this book to people that's wants to be an actor because this book tells people how Ben became an excellent actor. This book is mostly recommended for 8th Graders because it is neither basic but a high standard level for Middle Schoolers, in which the reader need to know most of their knowledge to understand the vocabulary of this book.

[Rania Mohemmane · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Ben Stiller" by Terri Dougherty is a great biography of Ben Stiller. Ben Stiller wasn't really a child actor but, his parents were very famous comedians, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Since Ben was child he loved acting especially making people laugh. He was very common with show-biz because of his parents. As a child, sometimes he was on T.V shows with his parents. Ben and his sister, Amy Stiller, were very close, they both loved theatre. They would make parodies of movies or even create plays. They are natural actors. Ben Stiller had a lot of help from his friends and family to get into famous T.V shows. Ben learned a lot of acting from his mother because he used to sometimes go to work with her. Ben's father was very supportive to Ben when he told him he was going to become an actor. In high school Ben wasn't very popular and he said that he didn't fit in because he was into film-making and acting not like the other students. When Ben went to college he went very far from his home so he can find out who he really is. He dropped after nine months and came back home very eager to start his acting career. Ben Stiller is married to the beautiful Christine Taylor. I find Ben Stiller very interesting and very serious about acting. Ben Stiller is one of my favorite actors and he is very famous. As one can see, Ben Stiller had a very engrossing childhood and he had to make very big decisions.

November 21

It was very hard for Ben Stiller to become very famous and have a lot of accomplishments. Ben Stiller went through a lot of hard work and sometimes he got paid very little. Most of Ben's first roles were based on family connections. He also acted a lot in shows and movies with his family. Ben Stiller started his own show called "The Ben Stiller Show", the show didn't continue. THis show wasn't a very great success but it got Ben many other acting and directing offers. Later Ben directed and wrote a movie called "Reality Bites", this movie was a great success. Ben wasn't failing at his job, nor was he succeeding. Ben Stiller kept his personal life very private and he wasn't the type to date Hollywood actresses. Ben got a lot of roles with famous actors such as, Adam Sandler and Bob Barker in "Happy Gilmore". "Happy Gilmore" was a great success. Ben played as well as a mean bully in "Heavyweights" and he played in "Flirting with Disaster" with Patricia Arquette. In "Flirting with Disaster" Ben got the leading role without auditioning because he told the director that he was scared to ruin the audition and because the cast and crew knew his father. Later, Ben directed in "The Cable Guy", and it was a big failure he got a lot of bad critics for this movie. After "The Cable Guy" he didn't get other directing offers for five years. But, that didn't stop him from acting. Ben was very lucky to get a role in "There's Something about Mary" with Cameron Diaz. This movie was very successful. In conclusion, Ben Stiller had to take a lot of chances and worked very hard to become such a successful man.

December 5

Ben Stiller was a very hard-working man; he was directing, producing, and acting at the same time. Ben was very successful. But not all of his movies were appreciated by audiences. Ben's parents were the people who helped Ben build a career. One of Ben's most successful movies is "There's something About Mary". THis movie was a romantic-comedy in which Ben acted with Cameron Diaz. Because of this popular role, Ben was the host of the MTV Music Video Awards. After this big success in "There's Something About Mary", Ben decided to go back to directing. Later on, he opened hi own producing company called "Red Hour". Not all of his "Red Hour" films were appreciated by audiences. Most of them didn't make it to the box office. Ben and CHristine Taylor had a very strong and happy wedding. Christine was into show-biz as well, so they helped and understood each other a lot. Ben included Christine in a lot of his movies, they also had the opportunity to act together, and even act as a couple. But this never affected their real lives. Ben was criticized a lot about his movies. Even though there were a lot of bad critics, Ben never gave up. One of Ben's most successful movies are "Meet the Fockers" and "Meet the Parents". Audiences mostly appreciated "Meet the Parents" because most people could relate to the movie and it made people laugh a lot. "Meet the Fockers" was also a great success, but audiences didn't appreciate it as much because most critics said that Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) was being a jerk by worrying a lot about what the parents of his wife will think about his parents. After that, Ben directed, cowrote, and acted in "Zoolander". Most critics said that this role didn't really fit Ben. Ben never thought of himself as a funny guy, but audiences thought so. Throughout his career, Ben got more humorous as a person. Without Ben's parents, his career wouldn't have gotten anywhere because they gave him his first roles. But as Ben became more famous, he needed less his family to get roles. Even though Ben became famous he never forgot his family. "Along Came Polly", a romantic-comedy with Jennifer Aniston, was a a great success as well. Later on, Ben acted in a lot of movies, some were appreciated by audiences and some weren't. Ben had a leading role in "Night at the Museum", it was loved by audiences, also by kids. Thus, Ben Stiller is a very successful and hard-working man.

[Dalia]

Ben Stiller is a biography written by the author, Terri Dougherty. Ben was born in New York on November 30th. In 1972 he was already an actor. He participated in the show The Mike Douglas with his parents and sister. Before graduating from college, he had been part of another show with his mother. After leaving college, he comes back to New York and goes to the Actor’s studio. He then becomes part of many movies and shows. In 1994 he produces his own film. He had many ups and downs in his life but he learned to not care about what other people think of him and to try and never give up. He gets married in 2000 to an actress named Christine Taylor. After that, he produces more movies. After that, in 2002 he gets a daughter called Ella. Finally, he becomes of movies where drama is very frequent and then gets a son called Quinlin that is born. He had made many achievements in his life. As one can see, Ben Stiller finally succeeded even though he had many ups and downs in his life it is because he never gave up and always tried.

Ben Stiller is a very inspirational man that teaches the reader many important information for our lives. Before reading this book, the reader might have had questions similar to, who are you and how did you become famous. While reading, the author started talking about how he became famous and who helped him to achieve his goals. That is how the reader later on figured out the answer to the question. This book is a biography because it talks about someone’s life. The author is telling the reader what happened in somebody’s life. A biography is when someone else writes about your life. In this situation, his author wrote about Ben, his achievements and goals in life. If I could meet this actor I would ask him how did he succeeded and achieve his goals. What motivated him to do so? As one can see, Ben Stiller is a very inspirational man that achieved in life.


I recommend this book to all middle scholars that enjoy reading biographies especially about famous people. This book will teach them important and inspirational themes. It was very interesting because it taught me new information and it increased my knowledge on how to become famous. It is an appropriate book for young adults, 11- 15 years old. It consists of some challenging vocabulary but a clear understanding. Finally, the book also includes pictures making it easier for the reader to understand. As one can see, the biography about Ben Stiller is a very fun way to learn about his life. Read it!

[Alaeddine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ben Stiller

“As a kid, I always wanted to make a movie and direct”. Benjamin Edward Stiller was born on November 30, 1965 in New York City. Jerry stiller and Anne Stiller his parents were actors. Ben and his family grew up West side of Manhattan. Ben learned many things of having his parents who were actors, so Ben had the opportunity to be seen on T.V. At 1983 he graduates from high school, he went to the University Of California at Los Angeles. Ben dropped out of college and returned back to NYC to act. He worked as a waiter to help him self and begin his career for acting. At 1968, Ben had his first role in The House Of Blue Leaves. While having that role he had an idea to make his first film parody, the Hustler Of Money. Therefore, Ben Stiller is an amazing actor. He was in many roles and movies. In 2006 he did many movies such as the Heartbreaker Kid, Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny, The Persuaders, and The Night at the Museum.


Ben Stiller is a pleasing nonfiction book with a lot of pictures to look at and to read. But I really did not like the name of the title because it had his name. If I would change the title I would name it, The amazing actor Ben Stiller. I would choose this title because it makes you want to read it. I also like the pictures because while reading it shows you the picture of his family and a lot more about him. I know this book is a nonfiction book because he is a real actor not a cartoon character.


I would extremely recommend this book to anyone that likes being an actor. People would mostly learn about his life. Another reasons why I recommend this book because it talks about his life, what did he do to accomplish his goal and where he was born. This book is remarkable because even though I knew this actor I did not that parents was also an actor. Thus, I would highly recommend this book to anyone that likes acting