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Humor & Life Quote by Ben Stiller

"I would like to do more dramas when I find a good role that will allow me to politely upset people's expectations of me as a comic actor"

About this Quote

Ben Stiller is naming the trap that comes with being reliably funny: the audience’s mental filing system. Once you’re “the comic actor,” your face becomes a promise of safety, a contract that the tension will break on cue. His phrasing is doing sly work. “Politely” is the tell - he isn’t declaring war on his brand so much as planning a controlled burn. He wants to disrupt the expectation without alienating the people who paid for it.

The key is “when I find a good role.” That’s not humility; it’s strategy. Comedy stardom gives you leverage, but drama demands permission. The “good role” is the permission slip: something sturdy enough to carry the weight of skepticism from casting directors, critics, and viewers who reflexively treat comedians in serious parts as novelty acts or awards-season bait. Stiller is saying he doesn’t want to cosplay gravitas; he wants a character that uses the audience’s assumptions as dramatic fuel.

There’s also a quiet pushback against the prestige hierarchy where drama is seen as the real test and comedy as the warm-up. Stiller’s best comic performances already hinge on pain, insecurity, and desperation; the distance to drama is shorter than the culture admits. His intent isn’t to abandon comedy. It’s to make the laugh and the wound live in the same face - and to enjoy the moment when viewers realize they underestimated him, without having to scold them for it.

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TopicMovie
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Stiller, Ben. (2026, January 16). I would like to do more dramas when I find a good role that will allow me to politely upset people's expectations of me as a comic actor. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-would-like-to-do-more-dramas-when-i-find-a-good-109206/

Chicago Style
Stiller, Ben. "I would like to do more dramas when I find a good role that will allow me to politely upset people's expectations of me as a comic actor." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-would-like-to-do-more-dramas-when-i-find-a-good-109206/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I would like to do more dramas when I find a good role that will allow me to politely upset people's expectations of me as a comic actor." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-would-like-to-do-more-dramas-when-i-find-a-good-109206/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

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About the Author

Ben Stiller

Ben Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is a Comedian from USA.

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