Front page	From the Event Guide archive! This article refers to an event which took place on, or until, 22 January 2009 Film Interview - Ben Stiller / 'Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa’ Son Of The Father In ‘Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa’, Ben Stiller's cartoon lion tries to live up to his father's expectations. “That's certainly something I could relate to,” the Hollywood heavyweight tells Paul Byrne. Oscar Wilde once wrote, 'Fathers should be neither seen nor heard. That is the only proper basis for family life'. Such an ideal was not an option for Ben Stiller. That's because when Benjamin Edward Stiller was born, on November 30th, 1965, his father, Jerry Stiller, was firmly established on the American comedy circuit, as part of the Stiller And Meara double act, appearing regularly on the likes of The Ed Sullivan Show. The Meara side of the duo was Ben's mum, Anne Meara. More recently, the now 81-year old Jerry Stiller played the short-tempered father of George Costanza on Seinfeld, the scheming father-in-law in King Of Queens, and, earlier this year, the outrageously foulmouthed father of Ben Stiller's nice guy Eddie in the Farrelly Brothers' remake of The Heartbreak Kid. “So, you know, he wasn't the kind of father you could ignore,” smiles Ben Stiller, as he sits back in his Dorchester Hotel chair. “He was just this really funny guy, who also happened to be famous for being this really funny guy. I had no chance of escaping that.” And little chance of avoiding the pressure to live up to his father's quick wit and glowing reputation. Funnily enough, it's a dilemma that's at the core of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, the highly superior sequel to the 2005 smash hit that, like so many DreamWorks Animation offerings, was more than a little aggressive. And obnoxious. In the smoothed down, far funnier sequel, Stiller's Alex, a lion, finds himself and his three New York Zoo buddies stranded in the wilds of Africa, where he just happens to run into the parents he lost when he was snatched by poachers as a cub. Pops (voiced by the late Bernie Mac) is none too impressed when he discovers that his son has developed a severe case of jazz hands, being the all-singing, all-dancing main attraction at the Central Park zoo. Naturally, Alex is soon desperate to impress his father. Same for the young Ben Stiller? “That's certainly something I could relate to,” he smiles. “Although, jazz hands would have been a plus rather than a minus with my dad. My family is made up of actors, so, it was there all the time really. We don't go around trying to entertain each other though...” No funny monologues around the Thanksgiving table? “We did do monolgues, actually,” Stiller laughs. “Honestly, we did. This is sort of embarrassing to say, but, for fun sometimes, we would play around ,and do improvs, and funny character games. But not trying to... I don't know what, just playacting, my sister, my dad, my mum and I. My dad is just a funny guy. But it's weird when you talk about it out of context - it was not anything that was forced.” It was just destiny. “Yeah.” This had to happen. “Yeah, it had to happen. That was the religion in this household - the humour!” Well, unlike so many other religions out there, this one seems to be working wonders, for Ben Stiller at least. The rise up out of his dad's shadow was steady, starting with various Hollywood spoofs (such as 1983's The Hustler Of Money, a parody of Scorsese's The Color Of Money), support slots (in the likes of Miami Vice, Empire Of The Sun and Frasier) and, gradually, work both as a writer and director – such as TV's The Ben Stiller Show (1990), '94's Reality Bites, the early Derek Zoolander shorts, Male Model ('96) and University ('97). It was his work as a leading man that made Stiller a true Hollywood heavyweight though, scoring in such comedies as Flirting With Disaster ('96), There's Something About Mary ('98), Meet The Parents (2000), Zoolander, The Royal Tenebaums (both 2001), Starsky & Hutch, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (both '04), and, more recently, Night At The Museum ('06), The Heartbreak Kid ('07) and Tropic Thunder ('08). So, you know, I think this is one son who's stepped well out of his father's shadow... “Yeah, I don't really worry too much about that anymore,” nods Ben. “Then again, my dad is 81, and he's still going strong, so, he's obviously continuing to set the bar pretty high for me. Will I still be doing this at 81? I doubt it. Then again, I do love a challenge...” The challenge with Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is the same as any sequel – how to top a hugely successful first outing. Somehow, Stiller and co. have managed it, delivering a film that's superior in just about every way. Most importantly, it's just funnier. Was the man himself surprised by this? “I feel like we really didn't want to do it unless we thought we could do something better,” says Stiller, “and I think that the process is so strange really, for an actor, that you learn the first time. And you can't help but have a better feeling for it the second time. It's the process too. First time round, you don't see your character in action yet, but now that we have, you can have a little fun with that. You realise more what can be done.” All this talk about Jerry Stiller makes me realise that we may have shortchanged ma Stiller, aka Anne Meara, a woman who, as her name – and her flaming red hair - might suggest, is of good Irish Catholic stock. Which meant young Ben and his sister, Amy, spent most of their summer holidays growing up in not-so-sunny Ireland. “I know it's going to sound like some tourist blarney, but Ireland does feel like a second home to me,” says Stiller. “I feel I know it better than I know Hollywood. At least, I wish I did. It's been a long time since I made it over there though. The last time, I managed to slice off some guys wing mirror, as we took a spin around the country, but my wife, Christine, has never been, and we're planning to get over there with the kids real soon.” The kids being 6-year old Ella Olivia and 3-year old Quinlin Dempsey; the wife is the very fetching Christine Taylor, a fine comic actress who made a damn convincing impression of being repulsed by her husband in Dodgeball. Then again, Stiller made a damn fine job of being repulsive as a sleazy fitness freak gym owner. “I think I'm just about getting the hang of this life now,” finishes Stiller, “and a big part of that is having a family. I grew up in a very tight knit family, and it's something that I need. It puts all this – the work, the box-office, the junkets – into perspective. It makes you not take any of this too seriously. The important stuff is waiting for me at home...” ‘Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa’ is out now on nationwide release, classified G. www.madagascarmovie.com