Ben Stiller says his daughter called him out for 'not being there' during her childhood: 'It's hard to hear'

• Ben Stiller reveals his daughter called him out for "not being there" during her childhood.

• During a recent interview with Esquire, Stiller shared how he learned that children aren't "keeping score on your career."

• "They just want a parent who's emotionally present and supportive of them," he said.

Ben Stiller says his daughter is "pretty articulate" about him "not being there" during her childhood.

The "Zoolander" actor shared how his successful acting career has meant that he has not always been able to be a present father during a recent interview with Esquire.

"She's pretty articulate about it, and sometimes it's stuff that I don't want to hear. It's hard to hear," he said. "Because it's me not being there in the ways that I saw my parents not being there. And I had always thought, Well I won't do that.

"But then it's that thing that, like, I was trying to navigate my own desire to fulfill the hopes and dreams I had, too. And that doesn't feel great, but it's important to acknowledge."

Stiller was born to Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, a popular comedy duo during the '60s and '70s.

Stiller shares two children, Ella, 19, and Quinlin, 16, with his wife Christine Taylor – with whom he has acted alongside in "Zoolander."

"What I've learned is that your kids are not keeping score on your career," he said to Esquire. "It would be solipsistic to think that my kids actually care about that. They just want a parent who's emotionally present and supportive of them. That's probably what they want more than for me to be going off and pushing the bounds of my creativity."

Stiller has starred in, written, directed or produced more than 50 films, including the "Meet the Parents" trilogy.

"Severance," directed by Stiller, is out now on Apple TV+.

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