Steve Martin and Ben Stiller will appear alongside one another in a Super Bowl commercial for Pepsi, and to hype the spot, the soft drink company has released a couple of teasers featuring the two comics sniping at one another.
“Hey, I’m actor Ben Stiller,” Stiller says in the first 30-second clip. “And I’m better actor, Steve Martin,” the 77-year-old adds, to Stiller’s befuddlement. “Well, you’re a comic actor. That’s not really acting.”
In response, Stiller fires back that Martin couldn’t act his way out of a paper bag, to which Martin counters, “Oh, you couldn’t act your way into the paper bag that I was acting in.” When Stiller points out that the jab makes no sense, things escalate with some back-and-forth name-calling and accusations of being a “sell-out” when they both realize that they’re in a commercial.
“Pepsi Zero Sugar,” says Martin, to which Stiller concludes, “Tastes great!” before trading a few more insults under their breath.
In the second clip, the Only Murders in the Building star and Severance creator only escalate their apparent feud.
“As actors, in a way, we never really stop acting,” Stiller says, to which Martin responds, “For example, Ben is acting right now, like he’s not intimidated standing next to me.”
“And Steve’s acting like he’s not lucky to be here,” the 57-year-old snipes back. “Oh, and Ben’s acting like that whole awkward thing he does is a character and not his actual personality,” Martin quips, leading to the younger of the two men to prove his point completely.
“Banjo player,” Stiller grumbles, to which Martin shoots back: “Nepo baby,” as Stiller is the son of comedy legend Jerry Stiller and actress Anne Meara.
“You know what Steve, I actually don’t want to do this because I’m a huge fan of yours,” he then says to Martin, who concedes, “Thank you and, honestly, I’m a big fan of yours.” “Really?” Stiller asks, to which Martin then admits, “No, I was acting.”
It’s unclear how the pair will outdo themselves on the night of the big game on Feb. 12, but perhaps they’ll just throw down in an actual cage match. Maybe Philly will have some grease leftover from the city’s poles!