The Real Reason You Haven't Heard Much From Ben Stiller Lately

He quietly fought (and beat) prostate cancer.

Stiller dropped a bombshell on the pop-culture newsfeeds in the fall of 2016 when he revealed that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and beaten the disease before sharing the news with the public. Stiller first revealed his secret battle with cancer in an interview with The Howard Stern Show (via US Magazine), saying, "It came out of the blue. I had no idea At first, I didn't know what was going to happen. It just stopped everything in your life because you can't plan for a movie because you don't know what's going to happen."

Stiller then explained that he was fortunate enough to have detected the disease early on thanks to PSA testing, which may have saved his life, and went on to pen an essay urging others to consider the same testing regime, even if it is considered controversial in some spheres.

He's also been grieving for his lost mother.

Most people know that Ben Stiller's father Jerry Stiller is a legend in the comedy sphere, but his mother, Anne Meara, was also highly acclaimed in her own right. The actress passed away in May, 2015, and Stiller admitted to having a difficult time dealing with the loss. He told Parade Magazine, "It affects me constantly. You know, you're going through your life, everything is great and then like, Pow! She's not here. It's hard for me Obviously, my dad is a huge person in my life. I love him. But my mom was the person that I most looked up to for her point of view, her humor."

He helped set a world record that you probably didn't know about.

To celebrate the release of Zoolander 2, Stiller employed the help of a few (dozen) friends and laid claim to a world record. At the film's London premiere in February, 2016, Stiller snapped up the prize for longest selfie stick ever made when he took a picture with fellow attendants from on highvery high. Stiller wrote that the feat was "much more dangerous than it looks," but the accomplishment hardly landed top placement on any news feeds for the year, even if it was pretty cool and earned him a fancy prize from Guinness.

His wife has also been making a career comeback.

Stiller is married to actress Christine Taylor. As she told Good Housekeeping in 2016, "Now that my kids are a little older, it's nice to be able to go off to work and have them be OK. I struggled more when I started to go back to work because I would feel so guilty. It's been pretty easy for me to juggle both because my priorities are always there with them."

In addition to managing his projects, Stiller has also been lending his support to Taylor's new projects, joining her for the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival premiere of her latest film, Little Boxes, for example. Plus, he's been known to lend a hand when his children have begun their own worthwhile endeavors lately, like when they hosted a lemonade stand to raise funds for Project A.L.S.

He also does a lot of behind-the-scenes work.

Stiller's work in front of the camera is just one of the things he does for a living right now. He's also an Emmy-winning writer (for The Ben Stiller Show), whose recent credits include Zoolander and Tropic Thunder, in addition to his celebrated, self-titled series. He's also directed a ton of TV shows and feature films; in addition to well-known films such Reality Bites, The Cable Guy, and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, he also directed a short-lived TV series starring his parents called Stiller & Meara and the music video for Jack Johnson's "Taylor." That's all in addition to producing projects on both the silver and small screens, ranging from Tropic Thunder to The Ruins to a gaggle of television shows that didn't last very long. (Don't worry if you've never heard of the show names Burning Love, Next Time on Lonny, or Big Time in Hollywood, FL.)

He's been active with charity and politics lately.

Among the many hats Stiller wears in life, his public interest one has to be the most low-key of all. In 2016, he appeared in a celebrity-heavy refugee crisis awareness video and supported a petition handover at the United Nations on behalf of the #WithRefugees effort, but his history of good works extends well beyond those high-profile call to action moments. He's also been known to step out in support of smaller public efforts, like in October, 2016 when he took a break from filming to stand in solidarity with striking cafeteria workers at Harvard University.

In addition to appearing in the 2010 documentary The Cove to raise awareness for Japan's dolphin meat industry, he also founded The Stiller Foundation the same year in an effort to improve education opportunities for children in Haiti, after the nation was rocked by a series of devastating natural disasters that left many local schools in ruins. Stiller has also been an avid, albeit relatively quiet supporter of the Democratic Party's recent presidential candidates, including John Kerry, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton.

He's not been able to break character.

Like it or not, Stiller has been grouped into a troupe of actors that have been dubbed the "frat pack." He's not in bad company by any means; that list also includes Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Owen and Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn, and Steve Carell, among others. But what he shares in common with this crew is that he's adopted so many kooky characters that he could easily be considered to be typecast as that guy who always plays the hilariously misunderstood sap slash lovable weirdo.

Stiller tried to break that tradition with his directorial effort in 2013's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, but the film wasn't quite as groundbreaking for his career momentum as he might've hoped. Critics gave it ho-hum reviews, and audiences didn't show the movie nearly as much patronage-style love as, say, the terrible third installment to his Meet the Parents series, Little Fockers. Stiller did have a Punch Drunk Love-style moment with 2010's Greenberg, in which he impressed reviewers with his subtleties on-screen, but the movie didn't earn anything close to a wide release so that audiences could see that side of him, too.

Some of his surefire hits have fallen flat, too.

Perhaps more surprising is the fact that even when he has stayed true to traditional form, some of his recent flicks have had trouble selling tickets. For example, his 2012 comedy The Watch (which boasted fellow genre all-stars Vince Vaughn, Will Forte, and Jonah Hill, and was written by time-tested funnymen Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Justin Theroux), sunk with critics and moviegoers alike. Also, 2011's Tower Heist, which also boasted a formidable fellowship of Hollywood's elite (including co-star Eddie Murphy), barely made its money back on the domestic front, despite decent reviews. The most unexpected wallop happened in 2016, when Zoolander 2 (which he wrote, directed, produced and starred in), proved to be a critical nightmare and of little interest to the public, despite his formidable reprisal of the really, ridiculously good-looking "blue steel" pose.

Given how many successes he's had over the decades he's been in showbiz, his career can and most likely will survive these setbacks, but such a series of disappointments might be causing him to take pause and consider the changing interests of his audience before moving forward onto the next project(s).

He's been making big changes with his production company.

Stiller's production company Red Hour Films recently made a major move by partnering with Bold Films, which will help finance the company's film slate. The merger means that Red Hour Films will be relocated. The merger also means that the Stiller family has to move to a new condo as well, it seems. The deal also means that Stiller would be working alongside other industry vets to make sure they chose the right films to greenlight under their new deal and ensure its success, no pressure there, of course.

He's still been working like crazy.

Despite everything that's been going on in his life, both personally and professionally, Stiller has also been plugging away with camera work. For starters, there's Brad's Status, a forthcoming dramedy on Amazon which features Stiller as a man who's envious of his old schoolmates' accomplishments as he takes his son on a college visit. He'll also be seen on-screen in 2017's Yeh Din Ka Kissa, about a family celebrating their father's artwork. Plus, he's expected to produce and direct the pilot for Showtime's adaptation of the hit 2010 novel Super Sad True Love Story, and he's developing a comedy series for Hulu called Bitches under his upgraded production company's banner. Suffice it to say, even if you haven't heard as much from Ben Stiller lately, he's still been keeping plenty busy behind the scenes.

He has been in so many movies that he has felt the need to step back.

Throughout his career he has written, starred in, directed, and/or produced more than 50 films, including The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Zoolander, The Cable Guy, There's Something About Mary, the Meet the Parents trilogy, DodgeBall, Tropic Thunder, the Madagascar series, and the Night at the Museum trilogy.

He can be difficult to work with.

He revealed on Late Show with David Letterman in 1993 that he had a heated argument with Greg Kinnear on the sets of "Mystery Men." He even wanted to be released from the movie. Ironically he was given a chance to direct the film but turned down as it was a massive project to handle.

He is a well-known clutz.

During the filming of "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" in 2004, he broke three cameras in succession while filming one scene. Even his wife Christine Taylor also got smacked by a ball in the face due to Stiller.

He has been spending more time with his kids.

The couple has two children: daughter Ella Olivia and a son Quinlin Dempsey. The family resides in Westchester County in New York.

#15 Since childhood he has been in Hollywood, so he has been taking a break to focus on other things.

He considered his childhood unusual, stating "In some ways, it was a show-business upbringinga lot of traveling, a lot of late nightsnot what you'd call traditional."