Nutcrackers: Ben Stiller to star in David Gordon Green-directed feature about discovering family

It’s been six years since Ben Stiller (Zoolander, The Royal Tenenbaums) agreed to a lead role in a feature film, though that’s about to change. Ben Stiller is starring in the upcoming David Gordon Green-directed film Nutcrackers, a story about discovering a family. In addition to leading the film, Stiller will produce through his Red Hour Films studio. Production is underway in Ohio, where much of the story takes place. Rivulet’s Rob Paris and Mike Witherill also produce, with John Lesher for Red Hour and Rough House’s Nate Meyer.

Green directs Nutcrackers from a script by Leland Douglas (The Wrong Woman, Call of the Wild) with Road House developing. According to Deadline‘s exclusive report, the story focuses on “the work-obsessed Mike (Stiller), who must reluctantly travel to rural Ohio to look after his four rambunctious nephews after their parents die in a car accident. What begins as a three-day trip to find foster care turns into weeks of farm-life mayhem – and the realization that he doesn’t need to find them a home; they’ve found one for him.”

Regardless of Stiller’s on-screen absence from significant roles, he’s remained a busy filmmaker. He directed and executive produced the first season of Apple TV+’s Severance, a workplace thriller starring Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation, Madame Web) about Mark, a man who leads a team of office workers whose memories have been surgically divided between their work and personal lives. When a mysterious colleague appears outside of work, it begins a journey to discover the truth about their job. Severance became an awards season darling with two Emmys, a Peabody, two WGA prizes, and other trophies for entertainment excellence. Shockingly, production for a second season shut down in May, becoming an early victim of the writers’ strike.

Nutcrackers marks a departure from horror for David Gordon Green, who directed the recent Halloween trilogy and The Exorcist: Believer for Universal Pictures. I wonder what it was about Nutcrackers that called to Stiller’s acting side, ending his six-year chill time from taking the lead. Was it the story? An opportunity to work alongside David Gordon Green? Maybe we’ll find out closer to the project’s release.