Ben Stiller Says the Term ‘Nepo Baby’ Is a ‘Selling Point’: ‘Kind of Like That Brat Pack Thing’

During a recent appearance on “The Howard Stern Show,” Ben Stiller gave his thoughts on the term “nepo baby,” which describes children of celebrity parents who become famous themselves. Stiller, who recently immortalized the life of his own famous parents in his documentary “Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost,” said he considers the moniker more of a “selling point” than a put-down.

“I think it’s kind of like that Brat Pack thing, right? New York Magazine, they coined a phrase, and then it just became a thing,” Stiller said. “But it’s always been what it is, in humanity and life. It’s like, you buy a violin, a Stradivarius or whatever, it’s been in the family for hundreds of years. That’s a selling point.”

Stiller added that he does understand there are “other arguments to be made about access and all those things.” However, he also pointed out that when he was growing up in the industry, he also saw the less glamorous sides of Hollywood.

Stiller explained, “For me, I think growing up around it, we’re talking about all these things that I saw with my parents, you actually, as a kid, see the dark underside of it. The stress, the effects it has on relationships. You see that up close as a kid, and then you still wanna go into it.”

The “Zoolander” star recalled that his first acting job was an off-Broadway production of “House of Blue Leaves.” He said he got the final call back as “a favor” from his mom after he “couldn’t get in because the casting director didn’t want to see me.”

“If you have the passion, you do it,” he added. “You go for it.”