Ben Stiller's Beloved Santa Claus Character Silently Recognizes His 22-Year-Old Cameo in Another Jack Black Project

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Paramount+ Dear Santa Claus film.Ben Stillerthe surprise appearance of Dear Santa Claus is one of the film's best moments, and while it works well in isolation, Stiller's presence also serves as a clever nod to another Jack Black project from over two decades ago. Stiller Dear Santa Claus casting has him in his second Christmas movie of 2024 – the other being Hulu's Nutcracker. Then, This year's holidays mark the resurgence of Ben Stiller's acting after focusing much more on behind-the-scenes roles in recent years.

Although he doesn't appear until near the end of Dear Santa ClausStiller has a surprisingly large impact on the plot. Fans who have followed Jack Black's career outside of the film industry will enjoy Stiller's role in the Dear Santa Claus cast than those who only know Black as an actor. The duo has a long-standing relationship that is not limited to feature film productions, and Dear Santa Claus compensate one of your niche teams.

Dear Santa is the second time Ben Stiller has appeared in a Jack Black project about a deal with the devil

Ben Stiller had a brief cameo in Tenacious D's “Tribute” music video

Jack Black fronts a comedy rock band called Tenacious D. His bandmate, Kyle Gass, has a brief cameo in Dear Santa Claus as a teacher, but Ben Stiller is the true nod to Black's musical catalog. In 2002, Tenacious D released a song called “Tribute”, and Stiller showed his face briefly in the track's accompanying music video. The song's lyrical content and video chronicle Tenacious D's fictional encounter with the devil, where Lucifer challenges the band to play the best song in the worldor he will eat their souls.

Liam Turner, by Robert Timothy Smith, is also in danger of losing his soul in Dear Santa Clausand also due to a deal with the devil – albeit indirectly. The main differences are that Stiller's role in Dear Santa Claus It's much more substantial than his appearance in the “Tribute” video, and the respective bargains don't have exactly the same terms. The devil in “Tribute” will only harvest souls if something is not achieved, while Jack Black Dear Santa Claus character catches souls after granting them three wishes. Still, Stiller's presence in both Jack Black projects cements the existing connection.

Ben Stiller is good as hell, but Dear Santa missed some smart casting

Dave Grohl would have been a brilliant addition to the cast of Dear Santa

Stiller just plays a normal passerby in the “Tribute” video, not the devil. Instead, Tenacious D brought Foo Fighterand vocalist Dave Grohl took on the demonic role, as he also contributed drum and guitar parts to the song's studio recording. Although Stiller did a great job on Dear Santa Claus, Grohl not reprising his role in “Tribute” feels like a huge missed opportunity in retrospect. It wouldn't have changed particularly Dear Santa ClausStiller's story, but it would have been a much more direct reference to the music video than the one teased by Stiller's casting.