DeepSummary
In this episode, David Duchovny interviews actor and director Ben Stiller about his experiences with failure throughout his career. Stiller reflects on high-profile disappointments like the poor reception of his films The Cable Guy and Zoolander 2, and how those setbacks initially made him feel shame and humiliation. However, he also shares how failure ultimately gave him space to explore new creative avenues and develop different artistic projects.
The conversation delves into Stiller's upbringing as the son of comedy legends Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, and how their influence shaped his approach to comedy and handling failure. Duchovny and Stiller discuss the emotional toll of putting oneself out there creatively, and the importance of not tying one's self-worth to external validation or success.
Throughout their chat, Duchovny and Stiller emphasize the universality of failure, and how it can often be a catalyst for growth and self-discovery. They encourage listeners to embrace failures as opportunities to reassess priorities and find new paths forward, rather than sources of shame or reasons to give up.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Failure is an inevitable part of any creative or ambitious endeavor, but it can provide valuable lessons and opportunities for growth.
- How we react to and internalize failure says more about our own insecurities than any objective measure of the situation.
- Putting yourself out there creatively carries significant emotional risk and the potential for shame or embarrassment.
- Our parents and upbringings shape our perspectives on failure in profound ways, both conscious and unconscious.
- Embracing and learning from failure can open new creative doors and allow for unexpected second acts.
- External validation should not define your self-worth - at the end of the day, the people who genuinely matter still care about you regardless of success or failure.
- Handling failure with wisdom and perspective becomes easier with age and experience.
- Channeling difficult emotions like anger or rage into creative pursuits can produce poignant and relatable art.
Top Episodes Quotes
- βYou know, one of my most painful professional failures is kind of what prompted the whole idea for this podcast. I was in Canada shooting a movie, and my movie, House of D, that I wrote and directed, the first movie that I directed had just come out in the States. And what I read is, in bold letters, David Duchovny's House of D gets an F. An F. An F. And the, you know, the hairs on my neck started to do weird things.β by David Duchovny
- βFail better is a show where failure, not success, shapes who we are.β by David Duchovny
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Episode Information
Fail Better with David Duchovny
Lemonada Media
5/7/24
Believe it or not, Ben Stiller has failed. (Remember Zoolander 2? Heβd probably rather you didnβt.) As it turns out, Ben has had his share of flops βΒ a man after my own heart β and we chat for a good while about those times in his life, including how they sometimes led to something better. In my first-ever interview, he keeps me on track, answers questions I forgot to ask, and overall makes me feel like Iβm actually succeeding at being a podcast host.
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