{"id":162138,"date":"2025-04-14T23:24:38","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T23:24:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/14\/ben-stiller-stayed-in-character-on-heavyweights-shaun-weiss-says\/"},"modified":"2025-04-14T23:24:38","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T23:24:38","slug":"ben-stiller-stayed-in-character-on-heavyweights-shaun-weiss-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/14\/ben-stiller-stayed-in-character-on-heavyweights-shaun-weiss-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben Stiller Stayed in Character on Heavyweights, Shaun Weiss Says"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Shaun Weiss<\/strong><\/a> recalled Ben Stiller<\/strong><\/a> wanting to keep a healthy distance from the younger cast on the set of 1995\u2019s Heavyweights<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen stayed in character,\u201d Weiss, 45, said on the Monday, April 14, episode of \u201cPod Meets World,\u201d<\/a> recalling Stiller\u2019s performance as Tony Perkis. \u201cHe really did, and I think you know, the way he did that was by separation, and he wasn\u2019t lax about it. It was like cut, \u2018I\u2019ll be over here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Weiss shared that Stiller, 59, was \u201cvery deliberate in not establishing friendly relationships\u201d with the kid actors . \u201cI don\u2019t know if that worked for him because he didn\u2019t like kids or fat kids or what,\u201d Weiss joked, adding that the actor \u201cdefinitely made a choice to do that and I think it worked.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Weiss, it was sometimes hard to keep a straight face in scenes with the Severance<\/em> director. \u201cIt\u2019s the only time I\u2019ve ever had an issue with that in my entire career,\u201d Weiss said. \u201cIt\u2019s just not a thing for me, but having a straight face when Ben was doing that thing like this close to you was difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>\u2018Heavyweights\u2019 Came Out 30 Years Ago: Where Is the Disney Cast Now?<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tBefore Kenan Thompson and Judd Apatow were household names \u2014 and Ben Stiller was still on the rise \u2014 they teamed up for 1995\u2019s Heavyweights. The Disney big-screen comedy about youngsters at a \u201cweight loss camp\u201d and the manic fitness guru Tony Perkis (Stiller) who takes over has since become a cult classic. \u201cSomehow, I [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

He continued, \u201cI can be honest, like Ben wasn\u2019t trying to be funny. He was very intense and very, like\u2026 scary. It was definitely a little scary. I think he wanted to have that effect on us, and I\u2019m pretty sure it worked on everyone. For me, definitely.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Richard Cartwright \/ \u00a9 Buena Vista Pictures \/ Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Along with Heavyweights<\/em>, Weiss is known for his roles in The Mighty Ducks<\/em> films and Freaks and Geeks<\/em>. Heavyweights<\/em>, written by Stiller and Judd Apatow<\/strong>, follows a group of kids attending a so-called \u201cfat camp\u201d that has been taken over by a fitness entrepreneur.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to say almost everything he said was his own off the cuff stuff,\u201d Weiss said of Stiller, 59, adding, \u201cI mean, they might have arranged it a little before the take, you know.\u201d He continued, \u201cIt was like that for all of us, where we had the freedom if we wanted to go off book. And that was just amazing to have that set up.\u201d<\/p>\n

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