Ben Stiller explains why he bans chairs and phones from his film sets

Ben Stiller has opened up about what 'drives him crazy' when working on a set as a director.

Despite being known for starring as an actor in movie hits such as Zoolander and Night at the Museum, in more recent years, Ben Stiller has been donning that hat of the director - most notably for an Apple TV+ series which has been branded 'one of the best TV shows ever'.

And Stiller has since opened up about his past experiences with directors and how their practices have informed him when taking on the role himself.

During an appearance on Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out podcast - which was released yesterday (January 27) - Stiller reflected that being on set with other directors is when he 'learn[s] the most'.

He continued: "Because it's so interesting to see you work with you, see how you do it, what is your process? Every director's process is different and it's subjective because directing is subjective, so it should be different, it should be your own point of view.

"But you can pick up things and go wow that's great. Like Noah Baumbach, no chairs on the set. No chairs."

It was 10 days into shooting Greenberg - directed by Baumbach - when Stiller realized there were 'no chairs' on set anywhere.

"That's his choice because he doesn't want to have people sitting around," he explained.

And it's a rule Stiller borrowed himself on set of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

There's no sitting down on Ben Stiller's sets (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Anti-Defamation League)

Stiller continued, noting it's not the only 'good idea' he's borrowed and enacted on his own sets, adding he also banned phones when it came to Apple TV+ series Severance.

"And crew have to use phones sometimes to communicate, but for me, I'm like, 'No phones anywhere near the eyeshot of the actors at all'," Stiller said. "My least favorite thing is to see a dolly-grip guy hunched down while an actor is like acting their brains out and he's just like scrolling or whatever. And by the way, it's fine, because he's being respectful, but [...] when I see it it drives me crazy."

The director noted what a 'vulnerable thing' it is to act on a set and how he wants to 'protect that environment for the actors'.

Is the floor allowed? (Apple TV+)

Although, he noted the importance of being 'respectful of the crew too', admitting when he directed his feature directorial debut, 1994 release Reality Bites, he 'was all about the actors and making jokes about the crew' but soon realized the crew were 'working really hard' too.

Stiller resolved: "And you have to figure out how to motivate them to want to be on the team - because they haven't been with the script you've been writing for five years [...] So it's on you as a director to figure out a way to get everybody on board."