Whatever Happened To The Actor From The Clear Eyes Commercials?

In the advertising world, it seems that companies seek out a specific variety of tones for their ads. To entice customers, most opt for friendly, upbeat, and cheery physical or voice performances. However, that industry trend hasn't always applied across the board, with Clear Eyes taking an unconventional approach in many of its commercials from the 1990s into the 2000s. The eye drop distributor notably gave audiences an ad campaign starring a drab, monotone character with seemingly little interest in the product he's selling. The person who played this role was Ben Stein, who has arguably earned his place among television's most famous commercial actors.

Aside from being the face and voice of Clear Eyes, Stein has appeared in a variety of films and TV shows in both in-person and purely vocal capacities. Since his professional career kicked off in the 1980s, he has starred in such feature films as "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," appearing in one of its best moments. His other big-screen highlights include "Ghostbusters 2" and "The Mask," and on the small screen, he's been on shows like "Melrose Place," "Duckman," and "The Fairly OddParents," to name a few. Despite taking on so many successful projects, though, Stein hasn't had much to do in the entertainment world in recent years.

Ben Stein's acting workload has lightened significantly since his tenure on the eventually rebooted "The Wonder Years," his one-off yet memorable appearance on "Seinfeld," and, of course, his time selling Clear Eyes. Throughout the 2010s, he only took on three projects, those being the series "Facetiming with Mommy" from 2016, 2018's "The Last Sharknado: It's About Time," and a short from 2019 called "Animal Sanctuary." As for the 2020s, his one and only acting credit is the role of G. Gordon Godfrey in 2021's fan film "What if Batman?"

So, if Stein hasn't been acting much, what else has he done to fill his schedule? Well, he has continued to commentate on the state of United States politics, written several books, and has made headlines for less than positive reasons. In February 2023, he found himself under fire on social media for comments he made regarding the retirement of the Aunt Jemima breakfast mascot. "I prefer when it was a Black person, showing their incredible skill at making pancakes," Stein said in a video from Truth Social, with many online swiftly calling out his remarks as racist and generally out of touch (via The New York Post).

Speaking strictly on his entertainment work, it's fair to say that between movies, TV shows, and commercials, Ben Stein has more than made his mark on pop culture.