Ben Stiller is lastly performing once more… although his comeback car shouldn’t be what you’d count on.
Stiller — who hasn’t headlined a film for the reason that 2017 dramedy Brad’s Standing — stars in a Tremendous Bowl business for Pepsi Zero Sugar (watch beneath) that satirically performs up his performing prowess.
“Yep, that is it, that is the large comeback,” Stiller laughed throughout a Zoom interview with Yahoo.
Directed by Jorma Taccone (MacGruber, Popstar), the minute-long spot finds Stiller in master-thespian mode performing faux film faux scenes — killing an evil alien, proposing to his girlfriend at a restaurant, freezing to dying in snow-covered forest, interacting with a droid on a distant planet — as he demonstrates the final word aim of performing.
“My job as an actor is making you consider what you’re seeing is actual,” Stiller says to the digicam. “However it’s not actual — it’s simply performing.”
Stiller’s montage additionally consists of one very actual position: Derek Zoolander, the lovable however dim-witted male mannequin of the 2001 comedy favourite Zoolander. (The actor returned to the half in 2016’s much less enthusiastically acquired sequel Zoolander 2.)
“Derek has actually managed to endure, towards all odds, within the cutthroat enterprise of male modeling over time,” cracks Stiller, who admitted he is all the time had a particular place in his coronary heart for the self-styled “ridiculously good wanting” innovator of “Blue Metal,” amongst different famed poses.
So how does any of this relate to Pepsi Zero Sugar? Does any of this relate to Pepsi Zero Sugar?
Stiller takes a swig of the mushy drink (“Wow, that’s actually good”) earlier than turning once more to digicam: “Or was I simply performing?”
Credit score Pepsi for having enjoyable with the idea of movie star endorsement campaigns and a query viewers usually ponder: Does so-and-so truly actually use that product in actual life, or are they simply performing (for some huge cash)?
Whereas Stiller prefers to play up the thriller of the business, he implied that sure, he does take pleasure in Pepsi merchandise. Requested if he is taking part in a job in re-stoking the so-called “Cola Wars,” Stiller shoots again: “Hey, it is higher than some other sort of warfare.”
With Derek Zoolander, Stiller is the newest actor to reprise an iconic position whereas cashing in on business {dollars} for Tremendous Bowl’s huge viewers. Sigourney Weaver resurrected her Alien(s) heroine Ripley for DirecTV in 2007, Matthew Broderick introduced again Ferris Bueller for a Honda spot in 2012, Laurence Fishburne morphed into Morpheus for a 2014 Matrix-inspired Kia business (whereas Hugo Weaving’s Agent Smith as soon as shilled for Basic Electrical), and Invoice Murray revived his Groundhog Day weatherman Phil Connors for a 2020 Jeep advert.
Stiller isn’t even the one one again at it this yr. Additionally on faucet for Sunday’s matchup between the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles are spots that includes Breaking Unhealthy stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul cooking up a business for Doritos and Clueless alums Alicia Silverstone and Elisa Donovan reuniting for Rakuten.
In an interview with Yahoo Leisure in early 2022, Stiller mentioned his relationship with performing.
“It hasn’t been completely intentional besides I actually do take pleasure in directing and producing,” mentioned Stiller, whose latest performing work has been restricted to cameos in a pair movie comedies [2020’s Hubie Halloween and 2022’s Bros] as he has centered behind the digicam, together with serving as director and government producer on the Apple TV+ hit collection Severance.
“I get to the purpose now the place I’m sort of lacking performing slightly bit and want to determine methods to do one thing once more.”
Stiller might have not too long ago discovered his precise comeback car. On Monday, it was reported he’s in closing talks to play a trio of roles within the restricted collection Three Similar Strangers, based mostly on the 2018 Sundance-winning documentary of the identical title.
