Jason Bateman is an American actor, director, and producer who began his career as a child artist in the 1980s and appeared on sitcoms such as The Hogan Family and Silver Spoons. As an adult actor, Bateman made a comeback on television with the TV show Arrested Development and also won a Golden Globe Award for his performance in the series. The actor has appeared in several Hollywood movies such as Juno (2007), Horrible Bosses (2010), Horrible Bosses 2 (2014) and Zootopia (2016).
Early Life
Bateman was born to Victoria Elizabeth, who worked as a flight attendant with Pan Am, and Kent Bateman, who is an actor and director. His elder sister, Justine, is also an actor, writer, and producer best known for her role as Mallory Keaton on the sitcom Family Ties. The actor was managed by his father until he was 20 that is when Bateman dissolved his business relationship him.
Personal Life
In 2001, Bateman married Amanda Anka, daughter of the singer Paul Anka, and the couple has two daughters.
Television Career
In 1980, Bateman, as a child artist, first appeared in an ad for Golden Grahams, a brand of breakfast cereal, and then began his acting career with the television series Little House on the Prairie. Essaying the role of James Cooper, an orphaned boy who is adopted by the Ingalls family. He next appeared on the TV show Silver Spoons in supporting role as Derek Taylor. Much impressed by Bateman’s act in Silver Spoon, the producers of the show gave a chance to star in a lead role on the NBC sitcom It’s Your Move. However, his breakthrough performance as a child actor came with his role as David Hogan in the sitcom The Hogan Family. He played the character on the series for five years from 1986 to 1991 appearing in By the mid-'80s, Bateman had already achieved the status of a teen idol.
Bateman then appeared alongside actors Anthony Quinn and Katherine Hepburn in the TV movie This Can’t Be Love in 1994. In the following year, he starred a single episode of the TV shows Burke’s Law and Hart to Hart. However, he was seen in a substantial role, spanning 21 episodes, on the TV show Simon, in which he starred as Carl Himple. In subsequent years, Bateman appeared in several TV shows such as Ned & Stacey (1997), Chicago Suns (1997), Rude Awakening (2000), and Twilight Zone (2003).
One of Bateman’s most prominent and successful roles on TV came with the 2003 sitcom Arrested Development wherein he played the character, Michael Bluth. Although the show was critically acclaimed, it never received substantial ratings and had to be canceled in 2006. The series was later revived in 2013. However, Bateman was highly praised for his performance and went on to receive several nominations; he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy. In the next few years, he appeared as a voice actor on several TV shows such as King of the Hill (2005), Justice League Unlimited (2005), and The Fairly OddParents (2005). In 2009, he became a regular voice actor on the adult animated TV series, Sit Down, Shut Up, aired on FOX: Bateman voiced the character of Larry Littlejunk, a gym teacher. In 2016, he appeared on the TV show The Muppets.
Movie Career
Bateman made his movie debut in 1987 with the movie Teen Wolf Too. Although the movie was a box office failure, Bateman, who starred in the movie as Todd Howard, gained international recognition. In 1991, he essayed the character of Jarvis Edison in the American spot comedy film Necessary Roughness. In the next decade, Bateman primarily worked in the TV industry and only appeared in a few movies such as Breaking the Rules (1992), Love Stinks (1999), and Sol Goode (2001).
In 2004 he starred in the movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story portraying the character of Pepper Brooks, a commentator for ESPN 8. He next appeared in the 2006 movie The Break Up that stars Vince Vaughan and Jennifer Aniston. This was the first of several movies that saw Bateman co-starring. He went on to co-star Anniston in movies such as The Switch (2010), Horrible Bosses (2010), and Horrible Bosses 2 (2014). The following year he starred in the critically acclaimed movie Juno essaying the role of Mark Loring, one of the parents who decides to adopt Juno’s (Ellen Page) child.
In 2009, he was seen in the commercial and critical hit, State of Play, a political thriller directed by Kevin Macdonald. The film that stars Russel Crowe in the lead role saw Bateman portraying the character of Dominic Foy, a PR executive. The following year he appeared in a lead role alongside Jennifer Aniston in the movie The Switch directed by Josh Gordon & Will Speck. The performance of both the lead actors was praised by the critics, however, but panned the plot of the movie. In 2011, Bateman appeared in another comedy, Paul, portraying the character of Special Agent Lorenzo Zoil. The actor later described his character to be ‘an exaggerated nasty guy’ and also stated that he based the character keeping in mind Tommy Lee Jones’ role in The Fugitive and Yaphet Kotto’s role in Midnight Run. In the same year, he starred in the movie Horrible Bosses which includes an ensemble cast of Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis, Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx, and Charlie Day. The movie that turned out to be a surprise hit at box office went on to become the highest-grossing black comedy of all time at the time of its release. However, his next movie, The Change-Up, which also released in the same, turned out to be a disaster at the box office, receiving negative reviews from the critics.
In 2012, he appeared in a documentary directed by Morgan Spurlock, titled Mansome which was panned by the critics with The A.V. Club, an entertainment website, naming it as one of the worst movies of 2012. In the next few years, he starred in movies such as Identity Theif (2013), Horrible Bosses 2 (2014) which is a sequel to the 2010 movie Horrible Bosses, and The Gift (2015). Bateman’s 2016 releases include the movies Zootopia, Central Intelligence, and Office Christmas Party, which also stars Olivia Munn, Courtney B. Vance, T.J. Miller, Jennifer Aniston, Randall Park, and Kate McKinnon.
As a Director
Bateman made his directorial debut in 2013 with the black comedy Bad Words, which also saw him essaying the titular character of Guy Trilby, a middle-aged eighth-grade drop-out who manages to participate in the National Golden Quill Spelling Bee through a loophole. The movie that couldn’t recover the total production cost received contrasting reviews from the critics: while some critics appreciated the humor and direction, some critics stated that the lead character was unlikeable and found the humor to be offensive.
A couple of years later, Bateman directed and acted in the comedy-drama, The Family Fang, which also stars Nicole Kidman and Christopher Walken. The film premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival and received positive reviews at the box office.