Ben Stiller remains haunted by the failure of “Zoolander 2,” which received negative reviews and underperformed at the box office. Despite the sequel's poor reception, Stiller credits it for jumpstarting his dramatic directing career, including “Escape from Dannemora” and “Severance.” In a recent podcast interview, Stiller expressed his shock and disappointment, stating,
I must have really f*cked this up. Everybody didn't go to it. And it's gotten these horrible reviews.
The critical backlash led Stiller to question his comedic approach and reconsider his future projects. He admitted,
It really freaked me out because I was like, ‘I didn't know was that bad… I had this space to kind of sit with myself and have to deal with it and other projects that I had been working on — not comedies, some of them — I have the time to actually just work on and develop.
Stiller's introspection led to his decision to focus on dramatic directing, which might not have been possible if “Zoolander 2” had been a success. He told Esquire in 2022,
If ‘Zoolander 2' had been a huge hit, and then people were saying ‘Zoolander 3! Do this movie! That movie!' I might have gotten distracted by other bright shiny objects, but instead it opened a path where I could just…develop [other projects].
Now, Stiller is grateful for the opportunity to explore different genres and is content with his decision to step away from comedy for the time being.
How do you think failure impacts artists' careers, and can it sometimes lead to unexpected opportunities? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
