It’s been seven years since his last leading role, but Ben Stiller returns to acting in the upcoming comedy Nutcrackers. Directed by David Gordon Green (Halloween Ends), Nutcrackers follows a middle-aged workaholic who is forced to care for his four nephews after their parents die in a car accident. Stiller did not mean to take a break from starring in films the last few years, but Nutcrackers offered the perfect opportunity at just the right time.
In an interview with Variety, Ben Stiller discussed his return as a lead actor in Nutcrackers, revealing his absence in front of the screen was not on purpose. When the industry was facing strikes, Nutcrackers, a wholly independent film, was allowed to get permission slips from unions to commence production. Principal photography took place in rural Ohio, where Stiller’s co-stars, four brothers named Homer, Ulysses, Arlo, and Atlas Janson, who are acting for the first time, lived on a farm along with a lot of animals. Due to the nature of the production, starring in Nutcrackers was the only thing Stiller could do at the time.
“I never thought I’d take this much time away from acting. It wasn’t intentional; it was just how things evolved. This movie happened in a zone where it was literally the only time I could have made it. A few months later, and I couldn’t have done it.”
The imminent future sees Stiller working behind the scenes, primarily on the hit Apple TV+ show Severance. However, he is currently set to star alongside Colin Farrell in Belly of the Beast, a true crime thriller by Andrew Haigh. Stiller could also return in a potential Tropic Thunder sequel, in which he lends his talents to both sides of the screen as lead actor, writer, and director. However, Nutcrackers presents a return not only to acting but also to a genre that suits him so well.
Nutcrackers Is a Change of Pace for Stiller & Green
With Nutcrackers, both Ben Stiller and David Gordon Green find themselves tackling a very different kind of project that veers from their recent output. Green, in particular, takes a break from high-profile horror after directing the latest Halloween trilogy, which had a mountain of expectations for them. Now, he does something less strict and more comedic, even though Nutcrackers deals with tragedy. For Stiller, Nutcrackers is a return to basics, playing a reluctant parental figure that audiences can relate to and will probably fall in love with.
Nutcrackers is written by Leland Douglas, and the supporting cast includes Linda Cardellini, Edi Patterson, Tim Heidecker, and Toby Huss. Check out the official synopsis below:
“Nutcrackers follows the work-obsessed Mike (Stiller), who must reluctantly travel to rural Ohio to look after his four rambunctious nephews after their parents die in a car accident. What begins as a three-day trip to find foster care turns into weeks of farm-life mayhem – and the realization that he doesn’t need to find them a home, they’ve found one for him.”
Nutcrackers
does not have a release date as it is still seeking a distributor.