“I remember opening up the L.A. Times, and there was this writer who wrote a letter: ‘Dear God, stop putting Ben Stiller in comedies,'” he recounted. “I was just like, I don’t know, I’m here, I love doing what I do.”

Ben Stiller may not know why he emerged as a comedic movie star — but he's glad he embraced the genre while he could. The actor, who became a comedy movie staple with titles like Meet the Parents and Zoolander,

Ben Stiller is still thinking about an opinion piece from more than 20 years ago.