Ben Stiller fully supports his children's acting ambitions despite his fears

Ben Stiller fully supports his children's acting ambitions despite his fears.

The 59-year-old star has kids Ella, 22, and Quinlin, 19, with his wife Christine Taylor, and he compared his outlook to them following in his footsteps to the way his own parents Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara approached him wanting to emulate their careers.

He told The Hollywood Reporter: "I feel probably what my parents felt.

"I recognise their talent and their desire to do it, and I support it a hundred percent.

"And I also know it's a tough business, and as a protective parent, you don't want your kids to have to suffer the slings and arrows."

The 'Zoolander' actor is pleased to see that despite the way his own career impacted him as a father, his children haven't been put off by the idea.

He added: "I'm glad that for all of the things that I did wrong as a parent or being too caught up in my work, it's not like they were like, 'I don't want anything to do with this.' "