Ben Stiller reveals why he stopped taking lead roles for 7 years before new movie Nutcrackers: ‘I’m so happy’

> “I’ve been working on projects as a director and producer for a while, and wanting to act, but I kind of made the choice a few years ago that I was only going to do something if it really hit me,” Stiller said following the screening, elaborating that director David Gordon Green’s holiday-tinged comedy spoke to him on an emotional level.

> “I’m so happy that David called me about this movie. It’s so from the heart, it’s so organic, he sent me this email, and he said, I’ve got this idea and there are these four kids, they’ve never been in a movie before, but I think they’re incredible. I want to shoot at their farm in Ohio and there’s going to be hogs and cats,” Stiller remembered. “I was like, all right! There’s something so real about making this movie. It was unlike any experience I’ve ever had.”