Ben Stiller surprised moviegoers by reprising his iconic Zoolander character, Derek Zoolander, during a Los Angeles film screening.
The actor and comedian introduced his classic 2001 comedy when the film was played at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Stiller did not come in costume to the event, but did welcome fans in the character’s iconic voice. A video was shared of the fun moment on X by The Hollywood Reporter.
"Hi. Thank you all for coming," Stiller told the audience as he recreated the character's iconic model facial pose. "I'd like to thank all of the people at Cinespia for having the courage to have the first-ever ninth anniversary screening of Zoolander 2!"
"What? Zoolander 1? Okay, cool," he added, appearing to make a joke about the original film and its sequel.
"Well, I hope you really enjoy it, and don't get freaked out by all those creepy gross dead people underneath you. And just relax and have a good time."
Zoolander is a satire of the fashion industry. The story follows male model Derek Zoolander, who is brainwashed by mogul Jacobim Mugatu (Will Ferrell) to assassinate the Prime Minister of Malaysia. At the same time, Derek reunites with his fashion rival, Hansel McDonald (Owen Wilson), and falls deeply in love with journalist Matilda Jeffries (Christine Taylor).
Zoolander 2 was released in 2016, but was widely panned by critics. Stiller said that this “really freaked me out” during a 2024 episode of Hot Ones.
"It really freaked me out. I was like, 'I didn't know was that bad?'" the actor shared.
"What scared me the most on that one was l'm losing what I think what's funny, the questioning yourself ... on Zoolander 2, it was definitely blindsiding to me. And it definitely affected me for a long time."
Stiller most recently appeared in the film Happy Gilmore 2.
