Ben Stiller to Star in Scripted Television Adaptation of 'Three Identical Strangers'

by Darian Scalamoni

    After years away from life in front of the camera, Ben Stiller is set to return with a high-profile television role. According to Variety, Stiller (Zoolander, Tropic Thunder) is lining up to play not one, but three roles for his next project: a scripted TV adaptation of the documentary, Three Identical Strangers. Streamers and other premium networks are currently bidding on the series to air on their respective platforms.

    Stiller is still in talks to not only star but also executive produce the decades-spanning true story of three identical triplets who were separated at birth. The scripted series will be written by Party of Five's Amy Lippman. The documentary of the same name is set in New York and follows the men: Bobby Shafran, David Kellman and Eddy Galland over several decades. When the men all come together through their miraculous discovery, they gain national celebrity attention before letting a chain of events lead them evidently to a series of extraordinary and disturbing events. The original documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018. I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it before as it's one of my favorite documentaries of all-time.

    Stiller had appeared in small cameos recently in Bros and Hubie Halloween, but this would be his first prominent acting role in quite some time. Stiller's last starring roles were in the indie dramas Brad's Status and The Meyerowitz Stories back in 2017. In the time since, Stiller has focused on honing his directing efforts for television. He first directed the limited series Escape at Dannemora at Showtime which starred Benicio del Toro, Paul Dano and Patricia Arquette. The series was nominated for 12 Emmy Awards and helped Stiller get recognition for his ability to helm a series of that magnitude. However, he followed up that success with an even bigger show, Severance. The dystopian drama for AppleTV+ is amongst their most popular series to date and was personally, my favorite TV show of 2022. The series is currently filming its second season.