Ben Stiller details parenting regrets after kids revealed difficult relationship 

In his latest documentary, Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost, Ben Stiller examined not just the celebrated partnership of his parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, but also his own experiences as a father. The project looked back on Jerry and Anne’s six-decade marriage, capturing their highs and lows as both performers and parents. The couple, who shared 61 years together before Anne’s death in 2015 at 85, raised two children, Ben Stiller and his sister, Amy Stiller. Jerry later died in 2020 at 92.

As reported by Us Weekly, Ben Stiller also used the film to acknowledge personal regrets surrounding his marriage to Christine Taylor and the years he spent away from their children, Ella and Quin. The actor, who separated from Taylor before reuniting during the pandemic, admitted that his drive to work had sometimes overshadowed family time.

In an interview with The Sunday Times in October, Stiller said,

“Like any parent, I remember things that weren’t happy about my childhood and go, ‘I’ll do better,’”

“And then I realized it was impossible to avoid making the mistakes they made. 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,” he shared.

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Ben Stiller addresses parenting regrets after daughter says she couldn’t remember him being around:

While filming Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost, Ben Stiller turned the camera inward. In one candid exchange, he spoke with his son, Quin, about a remark that had recently come from his daughter, Ella. “I literally can’t ever remember you being around when I was growing up,” Ella had told him, a line that lingered in the actor’s mind. When Ben Stiller asked Quin whether that perspective “resonates,” the 20-year-old replied that “maybe” it did. He admitted there were moments when it seemed fatherhood had slipped lower on his father’s list of responsibilities.

“After a tough day, or if something was going wrong, you can kind of get into your own head and when you get into that place, it’s hard to get you out of it, so that would kind of put a damper on the fun part of being on vacation,” Quin shared

“You have all these hats that you’re trying to balance, you know? Being a director, an actor, a producer, a writer. But also just, like, a father. And sometimes, I felt that would come last to these other things,” he added,

Beyond his role as a parent, Ben Stiller has built a stellar career with comedy hits like Zoolander, Night at the Museum, and Tropic Thunder. In recent years, he earned praise as executive producer and lead director of Apple TV+’s Severance.

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Ben Stiller reflects on repeating his parents’ mistakes in emotional talk with son Quin:

In one of the documentary’s most personal moments, Ben Stiller recalled telling his son, Quin, that he had to leave for several months to film Night at the Museum 3 in Canada back in 2014. Ben Stiller remembered seeing Quin’s face drop as his son quietly said,

“I wish you could stay home.”

Stiller admitted that he had tried to soften the blow by reminding Quin that he “loves Night at the Museum,” though he knew, even in that moment, the argument didn’t hold up.

“The irony is I thought I was doing so much better than my parents, I thought I was pulling it off. I was flying home on weekends and finding special places for the kids to play when they would visit the set. But in reality, just hearing them talk about it, for them, it was the same thing I was going through as a kid and I just couldn’t see that at all at the time,” he confessed.

Later in the film, Stiller reflected on the cyclical nature of parenting, telling Quin,

“You always feel like growing up you’re not going to make the mistakes your parents made and then you make different mistakes, or some of the same mistakes.”

He also examined how his own parents’ fame shaped his childhood. Stiller recounted a memory of confronting his father, Jerry Stiller, about not giving enough “attention” to him and his sister, Amy, because he was too busy engaging with fans.

“I remember one time we were on the street and I was literally talking to him about how I felt like he didn’t pay enough attention to us and a guy came up and was like, ‘Jerry, I love your work!’” Stiller said.

“And he started talking to him!”

Quin laughed at the story, noting the irony.

“We were out to dinner at a restaurant a few weeks ago, and I was stressed about college stuff and the people there wanted to get, like, a picture with you, and I was so frustrated, like, ‘The world just has to stop to get this picture!’ You know what I mean?” he shared.