Ben Stiller Explains Severance’s Early Days, Mysteries & "Weird" Tone, Talks Happy Gilmore 2

Good One: A Podcast About Jokes

Vox Media Podcast Network

Comedy, Comedy Interviews

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 7 August 2025

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week on Good One, Ben Stiller joins us for a conversation about his journey from being a comedy superstar in legendary films like Zoolander, Tropic Thunder and Meet the Parents, to the director and executive producer who brought the creepy, crazy world of Severance to life on Apple TV+. 00:00 Intro 00:01:00 Happy Gilmore 2 00:04:30 Severance 00:18:34 The Mystery of Severance 00:23:48 Severance season finale 00:31:17 The Cable Guy vs Severance 00:38:07 Tropic Thunder 00:43:40 Working with Robert DeNiro 00:46:10 Zoolander 00:48:40 Sondheim 00:52:04 Parenthood 01:05:28 The Laughening Round Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	If you haven't tried Abercrombie denim yet, you're missing out.
0:03.8	Denim should fit like this.
0:06.0	It's all about proportions.
0:07.7	Abercrombie has their classic fits and athletic fits for guys who want a little more room in the thigh.
0:13.1	When you find your staple fit, it'll be the pair you reach for day after day for every plan.
0:19.2	Shop Abercrombie denim in the app, online and in store.
0:27.1	Hello podcast fans, I'm Bradley Simpson.
0:29.8	When I think about the stories that stayed with me, one that immediately comes to mind,
0:33.6	is Ratatooie.
0:34.5	A talented route who just wants to cook and honestly I was glued to my screen
0:38.1	straight away and now I'm hooked on FX's The Bear on Disney Plus. I love everything about it.
0:43.3	I love the styling, the tension, the drama. It's the best thing I've watched in ages.
0:47.6	Only the greatest stories stay with you for a lifetime and honestly it's true. So what will be
0:52.2	your next great story on Disney Plus? Copyright 2025
0:55.1	Disney and its related entities. 18 plus subscription required. It was the one time I wished I did not
0:59.3	have courtside seats because I could see like Miles Turner like looking down and they almost like
1:03.6	fell on top of us and it was just awful. It was the worst. This is Good One. I'm Jesse David Fox, senior writer at Bolteran, author of comedy book.
1:16.6	My guest this week is Ben Stiller.
1:18.6	The Ben Stiller.
1:20.6	It's wild.
1:22.6	We talk about severance and what it's like returning to the Adam Sandler universe of movies appearing in Happy Gilmore, too.
1:29.3	We talk about also a lot of the comedies Ben Stiller made and how it reflects the work he's doing on Severance.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 19 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Vox Media Podcast Network, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Vox Media Podcast Network and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.