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01
Robert Downey Jr. received an Oscar nomination for his performance in Tropic Thunder 2008, which Ben Stiller directed.
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02
Stiller was considered for the role of Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 2005 before Johnny Depp was cast.
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03
His favorite actress of all time is Diane Keaton; he wrote an article about her for Premiere magazine in 1997.
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04
Stiller’s parents Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller, and his sister Amy Stiller often made cameo appearances in his movies.
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05
He is a member of what the media calls The Frat Pack, along with Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Vince Vaughn, Steve Carell, Owen Wilson, and Luke Wilson.
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06
His father is from an Ashkenazi Jewish family from Austria and Poland; his mother, of Irish descent, converted to Judaism.
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07
Stiller revealed in Medium magazine in 2016 that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014 and after treatment was declared cancer-free.
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08
One of his first showbiz jobs was working as an intern on the Alan Thicke show Thicke of the Night 1983.
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09
He holds a distinct Razzie Award record, nominated for Worst Actor in five films in 2004: Along Came Polly, Anchorman, Dodgeball, Envy, and Starsky & Hutch.
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10
According to Guy Oseary’s book Jews Who Rock, Stiller was once a drummer in a band called Capital Punishment that released an album titled Roadkill.
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11
Stiller is a major fan of Tom Cruise and has impersonated him for years; he portrayed Tom Cruise’s stunt double Tom Crooze on the 2000 MTV Movie Awards.
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12
Every so often he and his father enjoy going to Alaska to fish in the summer.
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13
He appeared on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in 2001, winning $32,000 for Project ALS; he lost on the $250,000 question after phoning his mother.
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14
He helped Jenifer Estess raise millions of dollars to combat ALS.
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15
Stiller is a frequent co-star of Vince Vaughn, appearing with him in three movies in 2004 alone.
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16
He auditioned for a part in Platoon 1986, meeting with Oliver Stone.
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17
Stiller is a big fan of Star Trek; he named his production company Red Hour Films after an alien riot in the episode The Return of the Archons.
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18
He and his wife Christine Taylor both guest-starred on the TV show Friends, though not in the same episode.
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19
In 2007, Entertainment Weekly ranked Stiller #20 on The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood.
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20
He produced a short film parody of The Color of Money titled The Hustler of Money which got him noticed by Saturday Night Live.
