In February, Ben exposed that Ella had a discussion with him about “not being there” throughout her youth due to his profession.
“She’s pretty articulate about it, and sometimes it’s stuff that I don’t want to hear. It’s hard to hear,” he described to Esquire “Because it’s me not existing in the manner ins which I saw my moms and dads [actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara] not existing. I had actually constantly believed, ‘Well, I will not do that.'”
While he kept in mind that it “didn’t feel great” to hear Ella state that, Ben stated it was “important to acknowledge” her sensations, including, “But then it’s that thing that, like, I was trying to navigate my own desire to fulfill the hopes and dreams I had, too.”
The star went on to state that Ella and her sibling Quinlin Stiller were never ever keeping notes on his lacks due to work, they simply wished to invest quality time with their daddy.
“What I’ve learned is that your kids are not keeping score on your career,” he described. “It would be solipsistic to think that my kids actually care about that. They just want a parent who’s emotionally present and supportive of them. That’s probably what they want more than for me to be going off and pushing the bounds of my creativity.”
