Ben Stiller On Not Acting in 'Escape at Dannemora': 'It Was a Relief Not to Have to Deal With Me'

Ben Stiller appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday night (August 6), and discussed his Showtime drama series Escape at Dannemora, which is nominated for 12 Emmy Awards.

The 53-year-old entertainer served as director and executive producer on the seven-part miniseries, which is based on a real prison escape that occurred in 2015 at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y.

“It was a relief not to have to deal with me,” Ben revealed about not having to act in the series, before clarifying that seeing himself on screen in the editing room is a difficult part of the job. “When you go to edit, and you have to look at yourself… it’s painful.”

“I was really excited to work with these actors,” Ben continued. “I’ve known Patricia [Arquette] for a long time, we did a movie like twenty something years ago. Benecio [Del Toro], we used to go up for the same roles together. They’re just such good actors and the story was so interesting.”

Ben Stiller also talked about vacationing in Hawaii, preparing for a big tennis match, watching the Tour De France, the album his punk band put out when he was 15, and the viral Instagram video of a fan meeting him on the subway.

READ MORE: Here is the full, updated list of Emmy nominees!