Ben Stiller recently dropped an F-bomb while talking about his worst parenting decision regarding his daughter, during the making of his 2013 movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. He shared the same in the Apple TV documentary film Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost. Directed by Stiller, it focuses on the life of his parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Additionally, the documentary delves into how it influenced him and his sister Amy when they were younger.
Ben Stiller shares what his worst ever decision was
The Tropic Thunder actor admitted in the documentary that his worst decision ever was cutting out his daughter, Ella Olivia Stiller’s scenes from The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
In Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost, Ben Stiller told Ella, “I cut you out of Secret Life of Walter Mitty. It’s probably the worst decision I ever made in my life.” However, she responded to him by remembering how scared she was. Ella also remarked that the scene she was part of didn’t make sense in the movie.
Nevertheless, Stiller went on to explain his deeper view on the same. He also explained how his parents’ perfectionism and the stress and tension they worked with influenced his decisions as a parent.
The Severance director recalled in the film, “I was flying home on the weekends and having special places for the kids to play when they come visit the set, but in reality, and 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.”
Ben Stiller further addressed the aspect of parenting in his life in an interview with The Times. He mentioned, “But, then, I probably f—-d up more with my kids than my parents did with us. 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,” the Zoolander star added.
Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost arrives in select theaters on October 17, 2025. It will then land on Apple TV+ on October 24.
