Over his decades-long career, Ben Stiller has become known for big-screen comedies such as: There's Something About Mary, The ZooAnd Bump ball; and also Meet the Parents And Night at the Museum But in recent years, the 58-year-old actor has taken a step back, taking only smaller or supporting television and film roles.
This means Stiller is starring in David Gordon Green's comedy-drama for the first time in seven years. NutcrackersIn the film, Stiller plays a pompous, workaholic real estate agent who is forced to travel to rural Ohio for Christmas to help a child services worker find homes for his four orphaned nephews.
Speaking at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, where the film premiered on Thursday night, Stiller explained why he hasn't taken on a major acting role in so long. (His last two leading roles Meyerowitz Stories And Brad's Situation(Both in 2017.)
“I've been working on projects as a director and producer for a while now, and I wanted to get into acting, but I decided a few years ago that I would only do something that really resonated with me,” Stiller said after the screening. Entertainment Weekly“David emailed me one night and for some reason I read it right away.”
“My intuition hit me, there's something about this movie, I want to make this movie, I want to meet these kids,” he explained. “I can't explain it to you, I just feel like this is something I want to do and I want to work with David, knowing where he's coming from, it was a very organic, emotionally real place.”
The film also stars Stiller's nephews, four real-life brothers, Homer, Ulysses, Atlas and Arlo Janson, none of whom had acted before. All received a standing ovation.
“I was so happy that David called me about this movie. It was so heartfelt, so organic, he sent me this email and said, I have an idea and there are four kids, they've never been in a movie before but I think they're incredible,” Stiller recalls. “I want to shoot on their farm in Ohio and there's going to be pigs and cats. I said, OK! There's something very real about doing this movie. It was unlike any experience I've ever had before.”
The Nutcrackers also stars Linda Cardellini, Tim Heidecker, Edi Patterson, and Toby Huss as a child services officer. The film has yet to secure a distributor or confirm a release date, but will likely hit screens in 2025.