Exclusive 1:1 Interview: Ben Stiller talks While We’re Young

WHILE WE’RE YOUNG marks Ben Stiller‘s second time working with writer-director Noah Baumbach after 2010’s GREENBERG; although people who were turned off by that divisive film will be heartened to know Stiller’s character here is a lot more, shall we say, enjoyable to be with. That’s thanks to WHILE WE’RE YOUNG being an overall more engaging experience, a movie about the pressures of getting older while attempting to stay plugged into the culture of youth. Perhaps something we can all relate to?

In the comedy, a middle-aged couple (Stiller, Naomi Watts) whose relationship with a younger, artier one (Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried) changes their perspective on their priorities, careers and goals. Stiller plays Josh, a documentary filmmaker struggling to complete a film for almost a decade. While he almost can’t stand to toil at the thing anymore, his meeting with a younger, hungrier counterpart sparks a new fire in him that may, at long last, lead to the finish of his long-delayed passion project.

In the below interview, Stiller and I talk about his collaboration with Baumbach (who wrote this movie with Ben in mind), improvising (or not) on set, and relating to his character’s creative plight.