Millions around the world worship Lance Armstrong, who won the Tour de France a record six times on Sunday, July 25, for his courage.
Lance, as almost everyone on the planet knows, defeated cancer (he was given a less than 50% chance of survival) and become a champion the likes of whom are rare indeed.
Among his fans, reports People magazine, is funnyman Ben Stiller.
The star of Zoolander recently worked with the cycling ace on the film, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.
What was it like working with Lance?
'Having gotten a chance to know him, he's a very normal sort of guy,' Stiller told People. 'Here was a guy who had beaten cancer. His story is so amazing that after I read it I felt, "That's incredible. I am so inspired." And then I thought, "Wow, I really suck."'
Stiller said a scene in Dodgeball required his character to be motivated. 'We started thinking, "Who is the most inspirational person in the world?" and we thought of Lance.'
Armstrong -- who is seeing singer Sheryl Crow -- didn't even read the script before signing on.
How does Ben rate Lance's acting?
'He underplayed the whole scene perfectly,' the star of this year's Along Came Polly, which didn't do well in India, told People. 'Most people take him so seriously that they are intimidated by him. But he's got a great sense of humor about himself.'
