Ben Stiller confesses ‘worst decision’ that still haunts him as a dad

Ben Stiller said the "worst decision" he ever made was cutting his daughter out of a film he directed and starred in. 

"I cut you out of 'Secret Life of Walter Mitty.’ It's probably the worst decision I ever made in my life," the 59-year-old told his daughter, Ella, 23, in his upcoming documentary about his parents, according to People magazine.

Ella admitted the scene where she was supposed to play Mitty’s daughter "didn't really make sense in the movie."

Stiller starred as the title character in the 2013 film. 

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"For me, it kind of goes deeper," Stiller continued. "What it relates to is my own issues with my own obsessions with my work, or perfectionism." 

His documentary "Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost," which debuted in select theaters Oct. 17 and will premiere globally on Apple TV+ Oct. 24, is about his parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. The two were a successful mid-century comedy duo who then transitioned into sitcom regulars on shows like "Seinfeld," "Sex and the City" and "The King of Queens."

In the documentary, Stiller opened up about growing up with parents who were often on the road or doing shows late in the evening.

"I think the deeper that you go into learning about your parents, and not about them as parents but just as people, always gives you a different perspective on your own life," he told Time Magazine. "I really do feel like the experience of delving in gave me more empathy for them."

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In an interview with The Sunday Times, he noted that he "probably f----ed up more with my kids than my parents did with us."

Stiller and his wife, actress Christine Taylor, also share a son Quinn, 20. 

"My son tells me that being a dad might not have been at the top of my list," he told the outlet. "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."

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Still, he said he feels like he has 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."

Stiller and Taylor separated in 2017 after 17 years of marriage before rekindling their relationship when the family quarantined together during the pandemic.

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"That was a strain on my relationship with the kids. And I’d think, ‘Well, my parents never did that,’" he said. "But a long relationship is hard. You lose the freshness. I feel bad about what us breaking up did to the kids, but it was possibly the best thing to happen to Christine and me."

In 2023, Taylor spoke about getting back with Stiller on "The Drew Barrymore Show." 

"We always stayed a family unit," Taylor told Barrymore. "So, when the pandemic hit, and we all had to figure out where to hunker down, we all ended up in our house together with two teenagers, and we found this way back.

"We had so much time to talk. There were no other distractions … it just happened organically."

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The "Zoolander" star told The Sunday Times the temporary breakup changed their relationship. 

"We don’t take it for granted anymore," he said of their marriage. "And if you are happy, you’re going to be a better parent. You have hurdles and try to figure it out, and if you stay, all you can do is acknowledge the past and try to repair. That’s what we have in our family. It’s not perfect — at all. But that’s just life."