Ben Stiller was once left red-faced after he messed up dialogue in front of Steven Spielberg.

During an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers on Thursday night, the comedy star recalled how he had a small part as Dainty in the 1987 war film Empire of the Sun.

But during a long steady-cam shot featuring lead actor Christian Bale, Ben flubbed his line in front of the legendary director.

“It was really exciting ’cause I was a huge Spielberg fan. After three or four minutes of this shot, I say my line. I’m supposed to say, ‘Hey, kid, would you like a Hershey bar?'” he recalled. “And I screwed it up, and I said, ‘Hey, kid, would you like a chocolate bar?’ And then I went, ‘Oh, damn. I’m sorry. Cut.’ And then silence.”

Ben went on to describe how actors aren’t meant to declare “cut” on any set.

“I just hear, from out where the monitors are, ‘What?’ (I said), ‘I screwed up my line,'” the Zoolander star continued. “And then I hear Steven Spielberg say, ‘You never yell cut!’ And of course, my hero, my idol, I’m realising I just did the most embarrassing thing ever.”

To conclude, Ben admitted: “It worked out fine…”

The 56-year-old is currently promoting the sci-fi thriller Apple TV+ series Severance, which he directed alongside Aoife McArdle.

– Cover Media