Zoolander is a 2001 film based on a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Ben Stiller for the VH1 Fashion Awards television show in 1996 and 1997. The short films and the movie feature Derek Zoolander, a dimwitted male model. The title role is played by Ben Stiller, and in the feature film (which Stiller directed), Zoolander's agent is played by his father Jerry Stiller.