Ben Stiller: The Hardest Working Man in Show Business (2004)

Ben Stiller is one of the busiest actors working these days. By the end of this year, he will have appeared in seven films all released in 2004.

Ben was born in 1965 to comedians Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller. He made his big film debut in Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun, in 1987. His first big starring role was in 1994's Reality Bites. In 1996 he directed Jim Carrey in the disappointing The Cable Guy.

In 1998 Ben hit the big time with the Farrely brother's smash hit There's Something About Mary. He has had a string of hits ever since. In 1999 there wasMystery Men. In 2000 there was Meet the Parents. In 2001 there was Zoolander. By the end of 2004 Ben will have appeared in Starsky & Hutch, Along Came Polly, Envy, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Anchorman, Meet The Fockers and Sledge: The Story of Frank Sledge.

One reason for Ben's success is that he basically sticks to two different characters. The first one is the lovable, insecure sad sack. This was his character in There's Something About Mary, Meet the Parents and Along Came Polly. You can't help but root for these guys.

His other character is the "don't hate me because I am beautiful" guy. This one can be found in Heavy Weights, Zoolander and Dodgeball. Ben plays arrogant like there is no tomorrow. You love to hate these characters. Both groups of roles actually have some similarities. Underneath these egos are some of the same neurosis that are all too obvious in the first group.

Ben often works with the same actors. Owen Wilson worked with him on The Royal Tennenbaums, Zoolander and Starsky and Hutch. Ben married actress Christine Taylor in 2000. She is best known for her role as Marcia Brady, in the Brady Bunch movies. She has costarred with Ben in Zoolander and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Together they have a daughter who was born in 2002.

Ben Stiller is an effective actor and writer. He made us all wince in the painful zipper scene in There's Something About Mary. He created the amazingly, all too human, egomaniac Derek Zoolander. We all felt Gaylord Focker's discomfort when meeting the in-laws. Ben Stiller is an actor who touches his audience while making them laugh.