Everyone Loves You When You're Dead. Neil Strauss

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       I talked to a number of people who’ve worked with you in the past, and I wanted to get your reaction to some of the things they said.

      BEN STILLER: Uh-oh. Okay.

       One of the former writers on The Ben Stiller Show said there was a joke among the writers that if they wanted to make sure their sketch would be used, they included a scene with you taking off your shirt. Have you ever heard that?

      STILLER: Oh my God, no. Jesus Christ . . .

       Was that not true?

      STILLER: You’re not going to tell me what writer said that, of course. I have no response to that, but they were probably right. That’s great.

       Someone else you worked with described you as competitive and afraid of failure.

      STILLER: I’ve obviously failed at that. I don’t know if fear of failure is necessarily a bad thing. On the other hand, the ultimate fear of failure would be paralysis and not doing anything. I guess somehow if that’s there, which I’m sure it definitely is, I don’t want that to be what stops me from trying something.

       “Micromanager” was another word that came up a lot.

      STILLER: That’s one of the hard things. I’m working on it. I’ve attempted to micromanage many things. And I feel like I’m in a place where I know that’s not bringing me happiness. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and too tired to do it all. [. . .]

       People also say that you’re one of the hardest working people they know, that work is an addiction for you.

      STILLER: The first part of getting rid of an addiction is acknowledging that you have it, and I acknowledge that I enjoy working. I think anyone that’s kicked heroin will tell you they enjoyed it until they realized it was screwing up their life. I haven’t hit my bottom yet. But I’ve gotten to a place where I realized it’s out of balance, and I’ve adjusted that. The area of my life that I have no question about is my commitment to my family and how much I love my family. And I think that’s the implication when people ask, “Oh, why do you work so much?”

       They didn’t say it as a judgment like that. But maybe your perspective comes from being raised by parents who were entertainers and not around a lot.

      STILLER: It’s all valid stuff. I grew up with parents who needed to work to take care of their family and also enjoyed working, too. They were great parents and also weren’t perfect parents. I’m all of those things, too.