Jason Bateman

Birthday: 14 January 1969, Rye, New York, USA

Birth Name: Jason Kent Bateman

Height: 180 cm

Jason Bateman is an American film and television actor best known for his role as Michael Bluth on the television sitcom Arrested Development (2003), as well as his role on Valerie (1986).He was born in Rye, New York, USA. His father, Kent Bateman, from a Utah-based family, is a film and television director, and founder of a Hollywood repertory stage company. His mother, Victoria Bateman, was born in England and worked as a flight attendant. His sister is actress Justine Bateman. In 1981, at the age of 12, young Bateman made his debut on television as James Cooper Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie (1974): Uncle Jed, appearing in 18 more episodes in one season. Jason also appeared in the original Knight Rider with David Hasselhoff for the season 3 episode "Lost Knight" (aired Dec 1984) playing the character "Doug" who befriends Kitt when he loses his memory. In the mid-1980s, he became the DGA's youngest-ever director when he directed three episodes of Valerie (1986) at age 18. During the 2000s, Bateman's film career has been on soaring trajectory. In 2005, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy, for Arrested Development (2003), and received other awards and nominations.Bateman has been enjoying a happy family life with his wife, actress Amanda Anka (daughter of singer Paul Anka). Their first child, Francesca Nora Bateman, was born in Los Angeles on October 28, 2006. The Batemans reside in Los Angeles, California. Show less «

(On quitting drinking) I was never at a place where rehab would have been appropriate. Booze was wha...Show more »

(On quitting drinking) I was never at a place where rehab would have been appropriate. Booze was what would make me want to stay out all night and do some blow or smoke a joint or whatever, so shutting that off was key. It's like ketchup and French fries - I don't want one without the other. So that's the moment: Do you want to continue being great at being in your twenties, or do you want to step up and graduate into adulthood? Show less «

This is a tough town to live in if you're not relevant. I'm not making my decisions based on the fea...Show more »

This is a tough town to live in if you're not relevant. I'm not making my decisions based on the fear of that. But there's a reason people have a long career. And it's because they're doing respectful work. I really want to be in that group. Show less «

I've been offered a couple of leads in some movies that really suck. I mean, you know, if they're of...Show more »

I've been offered a couple of leads in some movies that really suck. I mean, you know, if they're offering me the lead, the script ain't that great. The stuff that's good, I'm a little further down the cast list. Show less «

I would rather do three or four small parts every year as opposed to some of the lower-hanging fruit...Show more »

I would rather do three or four small parts every year as opposed to some of the lower-hanging fruit that might get my name above the title. If you take that big paycheck for that, it's going to be real high-profile, you're going to be famous for a couple of weeks, and then your career is over and you've got to make sure you don't spend all your money before you die. Show less «

I don't blame the industry for asking me to continue to play parts that they've seen me play before,...Show more »

I don't blame the industry for asking me to continue to play parts that they've seen me play before, and since Arrested Development, it's been a very similar role, so it's kind of the chicken or the egg. I'm not going to be asked to do something different until they see me do it, but they're not going to let me do it until they see me do it. Show less «

By definition, gay is smart. I see plenty of macho heterosexual idiots, but nine times out of 10 you...Show more »

By definition, gay is smart. I see plenty of macho heterosexual idiots, but nine times out of 10 you can have a great conversation if you find a gay guy. Show less «

I feel sympathy for anybody that is living a very high-profile life right now. The media is ten time...Show more »

I feel sympathy for anybody that is living a very high-profile life right now. The media is ten times the size it was when I was a little guy, you know. Plus everybody's got a camera. If you make a mistake, people are going to know about it really fast - and I was making a ton of them when I was a kid. Show less «

I don't look for Jason Bateman vehicles. I played a ton of team sport growing up, and team wins are ...Show more »

I don't look for Jason Bateman vehicles. I played a ton of team sport growing up, and team wins are just incredibly gratifying. Guys like Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Sacha Baron Cohen, they do things you love to watch. I like to do the other half. Show less «

(On his career - Details Magazine, 2010) This isn't a way to make a living that you can have any con...Show more »

(On his career - Details Magazine, 2010) This isn't a way to make a living that you can have any control over. You can't kiss the boss's ass and work extra hard to get that promotion. Things are going better now than ever, but in 24 months? I could be hearing crickets. Show less «

I try to perform my characters inside my skill set. Which means I try to keep them close to me. Mich...Show more »

I try to perform my characters inside my skill set. Which means I try to keep them close to me. Michael Bluth is very much an exaggerated version of one of my sides. It's very easy for me to be him. I know my abilities. I'm not Daniel Day-Lewis, who's able to fully morph into different people. Show less «

[on Arrested Development (2003)] I mean, my career was not vibrant, not robust, to say the least. An...Show more »

[on Arrested Development (2003)] I mean, my career was not vibrant, not robust, to say the least. And then that show came along and gave me a second chance. If it hadn't appeared, you know, I may have turned to something else ... It was the most important thing I've ever done. Show less «

There are less films being made today... since there's no longer a bias against television, it's no ...Show more »

There are less films being made today... since there's no longer a bias against television, it's no longer a detriment to your film career to, you know, 'get your hands dirty with television'. It's extremely prestigious to do TV nowadays; it's no longer a second-rate medium. Show less «

[on his past drinking] As disciplined as I am. I'm also a huge hedonist. If my fun level is like a 6...Show more »

[on his past drinking] As disciplined as I am. I'm also a huge hedonist. If my fun level is like a 6 when I'm out, why not take it to a 10? That's how I was with drinking. If I'm buzzed, let's get drunk. And if I'm drunk, let's black out. I mean, why not? I didn't understand why you'd stop. Show less «

I have a tendency to evolve into William Shatner, with my big fat face.

My goal is to get another 30 years out of this business. So I need to figure out the fuel to do that...Show more »

My goal is to get another 30 years out of this business. So I need to figure out the fuel to do that. And so far, I think it's respect and quality and company, not celebrity or box office or stardom. It's not a sprinter's approach. It's more like a long-distance thing. You can stick around a lot longer if you kind of slow-play it. Show less «

Jason Bateman

Jason Bateman's FILMOGRAPHY

Jason Bateman'S roles

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