Ben Stiller is opening up about the mistakes he has made as a father of two.
“Like any parent, I remember things that weren’t happy about my childhood and go, ‘I’ll do better,’ Stiller, 59, told The Sunday Times in an interview published on Saturday, October 11, of what he learned not to do from his late parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara.
“And then I realized it was impossible to avoid making the mistakes they made,” he continued. “I feel like I have a really great relationship with my kids, but it’s complicated and has at times been strained. When they were young, I did not get it. I thought, ‘Oh, the kids are young, I can work away and be a good dad earning for the family.’ But the bonds you form with your kids when they’re young are so important.”
Ben shares daughter Ella, 23, and son Quinn, 20, with his wife and fellow actress, Christine Taylor. The actor admitted he had a complicated relationship with his late mother and father, who died in 2015 and 2020, respectively. The pair, both famed actors in their own right, were not entirely present for Ben’s childhood due to their Hollywood careers, which weren’t always lucrative.
Ben Stiller Shares Rare Look Into His Marriage With Christine Taylor
“It totally affected us,” Stiller told the outlet of his parents’ careers as working comedians, which often included late nights in New York or weeks away in Los Angeles. “I just remember missing them terribly. And when they would come back, my sister andI would act out Jesus Christ Superstar or something in the lounge.”
He continued, “But, then, I probably f***ed up more with my kids than my parents did with us.”
The Dodgeball star then recalled his decision to give his daughter, Ella, a role in The Secret life of Walter Mitty — which Ben directed — before he ultimately cut his daughter out of the film.
“My son tells me that being a dad might not have been at the top of my list,” Stiller recalled of the decision and while shaking his head in disapproval.
Ben also recalled his years-long separation from his wife from 2017 to 2020, explaining that the pair’s time apart was difficult for their two kids.
Ben Stiller Says He Was 'Lost' During Separation From Wife Christine Taylor
“That was a strain on my relationship with the kids,” Stiller explained. “And I’d think, ‘Well, my parents never did that.’ But a long relationship is hard. You lose the freshness. I feel bad about what us breaking up did to the kids, but it was possibly the best thing to happen to Christine and me.”
Ben opened up about the time he spent away from his wife in his new documentary Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost, which premiered at the New York Film Festival on October 5.
“My career had been going along for a long time but things actually weren’t great in my personal life,” the actor says in the film, per People. “I just felt out of balance and unhappy and kind of disconnected from my family, from my kids and just kind of a little bit lost.”