Ben Stiller: Anna Wintour made Zoolander 2 'happen'

Ben Stiller says Anna Wintour made 'Zoolander 2' "happen".

The 50-year-old actor - who stars as the titular character in the comedy film - believes he has the editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine to thank for the film's success as she has been an "incredible partner and supporter" of the movie.

He said: "The first time around, we didn't have the fashion world really aware of what we were doing. And Anna Wintour did put Derek Zoolander in Vogue, which was an amazing thing for Derek.

"And then, this time around, [she] was a huge part of making the movie happen, an incredible partner and supporter of the process of making the movie."

Meanwhile, Ben suffered tough criticism about the film's sequel from his 13-year-old daughter, who was less than impressed that he had cast Justin Bieber in the movie.

Ben's wife Christine Taylor previously revealed: "Our daughter - who is almost 14 - but of all of the 14 year olds on the planet, she is the one child who is like, 'Dad, I get it, everyone loves Justin Bieber, but I'm not one of them.'

"Benedict Cumberbatch? Let's not get started. Ella, our daughter, is obsessed with 'Sherlock', obsessed with Benedict, so Ben's street cred' rose in huge amounts the minute that she found out that Benedict was a part of the movie."