How Jim Carrey and Ben Stiller’s Movie Careers Are Connected

Jim Carrey and Ben Stiller might not be as directly linked as some other comedy stars. But the two actors’ careers have often crossed paths behind the scenes. In fact, many fans of Carrey and Stiller’s movies might have completely missed how the two men are connected. Here’s how the comedy actors have crossed paths.

Jim Carrey and Ben Stiller have worked together behind the scenes

For the most part, Carrey and Stiller’s careers ran parallel to each other. Even hardcore fans of the two actors might be having a hard time coming up with a project they worked on together. Carrey and Stiller appear in the Anchorman movies as rival news anchors to Will Ferrell’s Ron Burgundy. But Stiller is the in the first film, with Carrey’s Canadian newsmen among those in the sequel.

But there is one instance in which both Carrey and Stiller appear. The film is the 1996 dark comedy The Cable Guy, which stars Carrey and Matthew Broderick. Though Stiller is mostly behind the scenes as the movie’s director, he does briefly appear as alleged murderers Sam and Stan Sweet. Yet, this movie was never intended to be the one and only project for Carrey and Stiller.

The two actors have also been up for the same roles in the past

The Cable Guy’s box office underperformance probably had something to do with it. After all, the movie got more attention for being the film that earned Carrey a $20 million paycheck. But regardless of the fact Carrey and Stiller have yet to collaborate, they still very much run in the same circles. In fact, they’ve often been attached to some of the same future blockbusters.

According to Mental Floss, Carrey was originally in line to star in 2000’s Meet the Parents. That film — which eventually starred Stiller and Robert De Niro — led to an entire trilogy. Moreover, Carrey nearly reunited with his Dumb and Dumber and Me, Myself & Irene directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly. But Stiller stepped in for 1998’s There’s Something About Mary instead.

Finally, Stiller starred in and directed 2013’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. And once upon a time, Carrey was attached to star in that project for nearly a decade. But he finally exited the film — a remake of a 1947 movie starring Danny Kaye — in the mid-2000s, according to Variety.

Will there by a ‘Cable Guy 2’?

For years, Carrey and Stiller have tried to work together again. In the mid-2000s, the pair was even set to star in a comedy called Used Guys, in which they would have played clones. Even as late as 2009, the project was still in the works, as Variety reported. However, nothing has come together since.

And fans hoping for The Cable Guy 2 probably shouldn’t hold their breath. Although the movie has developed cult-classic status, the sting of its failure will be hard to overcome. Carrey’s also said he’s not usually interested in sequels. And the sequels Hollywood has often forced from his movies without his involvement probably only make him more hesitant to sign on.