When I didn't have a family, I was much more of a workaholic. I still like to work, but I also want to be home with them. As you get older, you realize you need balance. If it's not fun, what's the point? Ben Stiller More Quotes by Ben Stiller More Quotes From Ben Stiller I don't think it's ever easy to be funny. I find it easy to amuse myself with a certain sort of cynical dark humor that tends toward the meaner side, like my character in Happy Gilmore. Those kinds of characters come easily to me. Ben Stiller dark character thinking I'm very interested in the early American history, the time when the country came together. Ben Stiller american-history together country I love history. I'm very interested by it and I think it's great to have a movie that brings it alive in a way. It's sort of that romanticized version of it. Ben Stiller alive way thinking I'd love to travel more. I really look forward to traveling with my kids. I'm just waiting for them to want to travel with me. Ben Stiller waiting kids looks I studied Tom Cruise running in all the Mission Impossibles. I think he's one of the best screen runners. Ben Stiller cruise running thinking I've been to Japan but I've never been to China, I'd love to go to China. I don't know, I like to go to places that are remote. So, I think I'd like to do that more. And just sort of also explore not having a structured work life someday, to have more free time to sort of see what happens. Ben Stiller someday japan thinking When I was growing up, This is Spinal Tap [1984] was the ultimate comedy, and it was the kind of thing I wanted to do. But you get to a point with parody where you can't go much further because ultimately it's feeding off of somebody else's creativity. Ben Stiller spinal-tap growing-up creativity It's weird that people expect me to be funny. I find it a real burden when I'm expected to be humorous on talk shows. Ben Stiller humorous real people There's a sense here in L.A. that everybody's aware of everybody all the time. It's funny but we choose it. People who are here want to be here, including me. Ben Stiller including want people The big-name stars . . . are always going to be playing what they've played before if they want to remain so-called A-list stars. That's why someone like Johnny Depp is doing more interesting roles not caring about the size of the movie. Ben Stiller stars caring names As a kid I had dreams about being successful, thinking it would be cool. Then, when I was in my 20s, I really thought I had it much more figured out than I do now. Ben Stiller successful dream kids Nobody makes me bleed my own blood - nobody! Ben Stiller dodgeball underdog blood I wanted to be funny for people who didn't care about fashion at all, to just to kind of exist as a silly character. Ben Stiller fashion silly funny Well, this movie I've been working on for a while. I had the idea for the movie like twenty years ago when I was doing 'Empire of the Sun' in 1987 because at that time that's when all these Vietnam movies were being made and my friends and I were going on auditions for these Vietnam movies and my friends were getting them and going away to fake boot camps. Ben Stiller fake years ideas Very quickly after meeting Dustin, the whole image I had of him was shattered. Ben Stiller shattered meetings comedy Paul is Starsky, and I met him before shooting. He was very kind and encouraged us to go with what we wanted to do. It was very sweet to see them back with the car after 25 years. Ben Stiller car sweet years First of all, the first cut of the movie was like three and a half hours and I walked away going, 'Wow, I know there's like twenty minutes that I can cut - ' when I first saw it 'But I don't know after that.' The first time I put up then in front of people I was like, 'Oh, my God, I can take that out and that out and that out.' Ben Stiller cutting twenties people People like to define you through what they've seen you do. There are aspects of my personality, I guess, that come through on-screen, but I don't sit around thinking, 'I've been a bumbling suitor all my life.' Ben Stiller personality people thinking When you're doing a comedy and you want to somehow satirise people who are taking themselves seriously, I think the most serious genre is the thing you're going to get the most out of. If you're trying to satirise a comedy, it's hard to do that - it doesn't really work as well. But I love the war movie genre and I'm a fan of all those movies that are part of what this movie is. Ben Stiller genre-is war thinking When we were visiting New York City, I took my kids to the same playground where I went growing up. It was fun to feel that connection of having gone there as a kid and being there as a parent. Ben Stiller growing-up new-york fun
