Los Angeles [US], November 10 (ANI): Singer and actor Ariana Grande has recalled her unusual first meeting with actor-director Ben Stiller, revealing that he was directing her in an orgy scene involving a hippo and Susan Sarandon in the 2016 film 'Zoolander 2', according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Grande, Stiller and actor Robert De Niro recently appeared together on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to discuss their upcoming film Focker-in-Law, which is scheduled to release on November 25.
During the conversation, host Jimmy Fallon asked Grande about her first meeting with Stiller, prompting her to recall the unusual circumstances of their introduction.
“I met Ben in a very different way,” Grande said, drawing laughter from the audience.
“He was directing me in an orgy scene in Zoolander 2 with a hippo and Susan Sarandon,” she revealed, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In the 2016 action-comedy directed by Stiller, Derek (Stiller) and Hansel (Owen Wilson) are drawn back into the fashion world in Rome, where they become targets of a sinister conspiracy. Grande made a cameo appearance as part of Hansel's eccentric romantic circle, referred to as his “orgy” group.
“So right off the bat, we had a comfortability,” Grande added. Stiller joked that the unusual encounter had given them an instant connection.
“It sounds like two truths and a lie, but it’s my reality,” the Wicked star said.
The two have now reunited for Focker-in-Law, in which Stiller returns as Greg Focker. The film follows Greg and Pam Focker's (Teri Polo) son Henry (Skyler Gisondo), who finds himself caught up in family chaos after deciding to marry Olivia Jones (Grande), a strong-willed woman who appears to be his complete mismatch, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Grande also recalled that her first scene with Stiller in the upcoming film involved another unusual experience — rehearsing a Heimlich manoeuvre.
“We were thrust into rehearsing the Heimlich scene, where I give you [Stiller] the Heimlich,” Grande told Fallon. “So I thought maybe we’ll sit in [director] John [Hamburg’s] office with a script and talk a little, get to know each other a little more and work on the scenes and talk about Greg and Olivia.”
“But no. We met the stunts team, and they were amazing. And they were like, ‘All right, Ben, bend over. Ariana, you’ll get behind and just put your arms around him.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, perfect. Yeah,’” she added with a laugh, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Recalling the experience at home, Grande said, “My mom was like, ‘How was your first day, honey?’ I was like, ‘Well, I gave Ben Stiller the Heimlich for a few hours.’ It was crazy.”
Grande's appearance on The Tonight Show marked her return to the public eye after she stepped back from the spotlight following the conclusion of her Eternal Sunshine Tour in September.
In August, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the singer would be “taking a step back from visibility” for a “much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny.”
Grande has faced a wave of online commentary about her health and body over the past year, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (ANI)
Ariana Grande recalls first meeting with Ben Stiller while filming ‘Zoolander 2’
