Ben Stiller and Linda Cardellini Reveal Their All-Time Favorite Holiday Movies (Exclusive)

Ben Stiller’s film debut was way back in 1987 in the drama Empire of the Sun. A decade later, Linda Cardellini made her first big-screen appearance...via the goofy comedy Good Burger. Since then, they’ve amassed more than 125 movie credits combined. (Thanks, IMDB!). But other than Cardellini’s Daddy’s Home 2 and Green Book, neither has starred in a holiday-set movie. At least, not to their recollections.

“I’m trying to think!” Stiller says. “But I love holiday movies. You know, the holidays are complicated. I always look forward to them but they can be a very emotional time if there are people not with you anymore. So I think the best thing in the world is to be with family and watch movies that have become traditions. It’s nice to be a part of one.”

The drought officially ends with Nutcrackers, a sweet family comedy that opened the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival in September and streams on Hulu starting Nov. 29. Stiller stars as a Chicago real estate exec tasked with overseeing his four rambunctious nephews on their Ohio farm after their parents tragically die in an accident. Cardellini is the social worker who helps his character find a permanent home for the boys.

The festive spirit kicks in when the boys, played by real-life brothers in their own acting debuts, decide to stage their own quirky production of the Tchaikovsky classic The Nutcracker during Christmastime. “It’s not a cynical movie,” Stiller adds.

Offscreen, the two—who haven’t worked together since 1999 when Stiller made a cameo on Cardellini’s cult classic TV series Freaks & Geeks—are excited to spend the holidays with their own families. Stiller, turning 59 on Nov. 30, is dad to daughter Ella, 22, and son Quinlin, 19 (with actress-wife Christine Taylor). Cardellini, 49, and her longtime fiancé, former actor Steven Rodriguez, are parents to daughter Lilah-Rose, born on Leap Day 2012.

Now Stiller and Cardellini talk holiday movies, traditions and more with Parade.

Mara Reinstein: Ben, it seems hard to believe this is your first film since 2017. Why come back now?

Ben Stiller: I’d been directing and producing a lot and waiting for the right thing to come along. I didn’t really think this much time would go by. Then I got this email from [director] David [Gordon Green] and he said he was doing this little movie about these four kids and we were shooting at their farm in Ohio with a 35mm film camera and a small crew. I wanted to jump in because he was so passionate about it.

You’re also appearing next year in Happy Gilmore 2. What are you allowed to say?

Stiller: I'm not allowed to say anything. I've never seen so much security on a script! But I understand—they don't want to give away any of the fun things. But it's really fun. I thought they did a great job with the script. I had a blast doing it. And, you know, [angry nursing home orderly] Hal L. is still Hal L. He and Happy [Adam Sandler] still have some issues to work out.

It’s crazy that the movie is finally happening after all these years!

Stiller: Sandler is all on it. All in.

If Nutcrackers were made in the '90s, it would have been a gross-out comedy with a lot of broad humor. But it’s not.

Stiller: No. It’s so heartfelt—almost to the point where I thought he was trying to do a satire. Like, am I missing something? But David wanted it to be unique and not go through any studio system. It’s very homegrown.

And in another type of movie, the lead adult characters would have started a romance at some point. That doesn’t happen, either.

Linda Cardellini: She's just there for these kids and just wants it to work out. She sees something in Ben’s character—she knows he’s capable of doing this and knows that the kids need him as much as he needs them. So, she’s lucky enough to play matchmaker and make him get him outside of himself for a second and see what he really needs.

Have you watched Nutcrackers with your kids yet?

Stiller: My daughter hasn't seen it yet, but I know she's going to watch it. Maybe we'll watch it over Thanksgiving. I think it'd be fun to watch it with them. My son saw a cut of it when it was still being made,

Cardellini: Did he give notes?

Stiller: Yeah, of course. Always!

What are your favorite holiday movies? Let’s hear the list.

Cardellini: I love the Claymation films like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Stiller: We love The Year Without a Santa Claus [from 1974]. That's one that we watch every year. My kids, who are not kids anymore, always watch Elf and The Santa Clause. But parents are not invited to that. We all watch The Polar Express, and then we usually fall asleep. And I love It's a Wonderful Life. We always try to watch that. I do love watching movies and hanging out with the family.

Cardellini: There’s that feeling of sitting together. The house is warm and it's cold outside and you’re watching something comforting. That’s the best for me.

Stiller: It brings me back to my childhood. I grew up with Jewish and Catholic parents. My mom [actress Anne Meara] converted to Judaism. She was Irish Catholic, so we had Hanukkah and the Christmas tree. But I just loved Christmas and the toys and getting up at, like, five o'clock in the morning.

Linda, all those ER holiday episodes are fun to rewatch this time of year, too.

Cardellini: Oh! That was a great set to be on. My God, I miss those people. There’s still a lot of us on a text chain. What a wonderful place that was.

So what are your non-movie traditions for this year?

Stiller: Christine is always very festive. She makes all the holiday stuff around the house. We have the pumpkins for Halloween. Every holiday gets its due, and I love it.

Cardellini: Yeah, we love the holidays. Last year, I saw this giant snowman at Costco, and I really wanted it. And Steve was like, “We have nowhere to put that giant snowman.” I left, figuring it would sell out. But then he brought it home for me as a surprise. So we have this enormous 12-foot snowman in our house even though it’s supposed to go outside. It just makes us happy.

Stiller: Another holiday thing is my dad [actor and comedian Jerry Stiller] recorded this character called “Latke Larry” for Hanukkah that was like a doll that sang this little song. You press the button and the doll would go “Latke Larry sings for you” and it’s my dad singing a Hanukkah song. So we had that little doll around the house that we’d always pull out every year.

And of course, your dad is also responsible for Festivus thanks to Seinfeld.

Stiller: I know! He’s changed the course of holidays.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity