Jason Bateman Biography

Jason Kent Bateman (born January 14, 1969) is an American actor, director, and producer. He began acting on television in the early 1980s on Little House on the Prairie, and in the sitcoms Silver Spoons and The Hogan Family. In the 2000s, he became known for his role of Michael Bluth using deadpan comedy in the critically acclaimed sitcom Arrested Development, for which he won a Golden Globe, and a Satellite Award. He has had starring roles in the films Juno (2007), Hancock (2008), Up in the Air (2009), The Switch (2010), Paul (2011), Horrible Bosses (2011), The Change-Up (2011), Identity Thief (2013), Bad Words (2013), Horrible Bosses 2 (2014), The Gift (2015), and Zootopia (2016).

Early life

Bateman was born in Rye, New York. His mother, Victoria Elizabeth, a former flight attendant for Pan Am, was English, born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. His father, Kent Bateman, is an actor, writer and director of film and television, and founder of a repertory stage in Hollywood. Bateman is the younger brother of Family Ties actress Justine Bateman. Bateman also has three half-brothers. Bateman was four years old when his family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, and later to California. Bateman told Best Life magazine that he and Justine supported their parents with the paychecks they earned from their television shows; he also revealed that he was managed by his father until Bateman dissolved the business relationship at the age of 20.

Career

Television

Bateman first appeared in a cereal commercial for Golden Grahams in 1980 and started his television career on Little House on the Prairie as James Cooper, an orphaned boy who, along with his sister, is adopted by the Ingalls family. From 1982 to 1984, he was a supporting character on the television show Silver Spoons as Ricky Schroder's "bad boy" best friend Derek Taylor. He appeared in the Knight Rider third-season episode "Lost Knight" in 1984, and a number of other small television roles. In 1984, in response to his popularity on Silver Spoons, the show's producers gave Bateman his own starring role as Matthew Burton on the NBC sitcom It's Your Move, from September 1984 to February 1985. In 1987, he appeared with Burt Reynolds on the men's team in the inaugural week of game show Win, Lose or Draw.

Bateman earned the status of teen idol in the mid-1980s for his television work, most notably as David Hogan on The Hogan Family (originally titled Valerie and later, Valerie's Family, after Valerie Harper left the series). He became the Directors Guild of America's youngest-ever director when he helmed three episodes of The Hogan Family at the age of eighteen. After the series ended its run, he gained international recognition in the motion picture sequel Teen Wolf Too, which was a box office failure. In 1994, he played opposite legendary actors Katharine Hepburn and Anthony Quinn in the television film This Can't Be Love. During this period, he had roles on four series"?Simon, Chicago Sons, George & Leo, and Some of My Best Friends"?none of which lasted longer than one season. He also directed an episode of Two of a Kind in 1999. In 2002, he played the frisky sibling of Thomas Jane's character in the feature film The Sweetest Thing.

In 2003, Bateman was cast as Michael Bluth in the comedy series Arrested Development. Although critically acclaimed, the series never achieved high ratings and ended on February 10, 2006. The show was revived in spring 2013. Bateman won several awards for his work on the series, including a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy. He was also nominated in 2005 for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series. New episodes of Arrested Development have been released on Netflix with the original cast, including Bateman. Bateman performed commentary on the 2004 Democratic National Convention for The Majority Report with Arrested Development co-star David Cross, and hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live on February 12, 2005. In 2006, he appeared as a guest star on the Scrubs episode "My Big Bird" as Mr. Sutton, a garbage man with a flock of vicious ostriches as pets. In 2009, Bateman became a regular voice actor for the short-lived Fox comedy series Sit Down, Shut Up. He voiced Larry Littlejunk, the gym teacher and only staff member that can teach.

In 2010, Bateman and Arrested Development co-star Will Arnett created "DumbDumb Productions," a production company focusing on digital content. Their first video was "Prom Date," the first in a series of "Dirty Shorts" for Orbit. In 2012, Bateman returned to his role of Michael Bluth for the revival of Arrested Development along with the rest of the original cast. The now-Netflix sponsored series released Season 4 on its Instant Watch website on May 26, 2013. The series was expected to continue its run as well as a potential feature film. For the new fourth season, Bateman was once again nominated for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series. However, season 4 was a one-off despite the success. There were rumours and talks of a season 5 being underway but Bateman confirmed that there aren't any solid plans yet in March 2016. Later in the same month, Will Arnett said everyone is willing to go for another season but there have been problems with Bateman's schedule.

Bateman features in the video for Mumford and Sons song "Hopeless Wanderer".

Film

In 2004, Bateman appeared in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story as ESPN 8 ("The Ocho") commentator Pepper Brooks, and in Starsky & Hutch as Kevin, Vince Vaughn's business partner. He reunited with Vaughn in 2006's The Break-Up. In 2007, he played former lawyer Rupert "Rip" Reed alongside Ben Affleck in Smokin' Aces, and also starred in The Kingdom, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, and Juno. In 2008, he co-starred with Will Smith and Charlize Theron in the superhero film Hancock. Bateman's 2009 films included Extract, written and directed by Mike Judge, and Couples Retreat, reuniting with Vaughn in a comedy chronicling four couples who partake in therapy sessions at a tropical island resort (Kristen Bell played his wife). In 2010, he starred in The Switch, a romantic comedy, with Jennifer Aniston. In 2011, he played the role of Special Agent Zoil in the comedy Paul, and starred in Horrible Bosses and The Change-Up. In March 2012, Mansome, Bateman's first executive producer credit with Will Arnett, was announced as a Spotlight selection for the Tribeca Film Festival. The documentary, directed by Morgan Spurlock, is a comedic look at male identity as it is defined through men's grooming habits, featuring celebrity and expert commentary. He made a dramatic turn in 2012 with the thriller film Disconnect, and starred in the 2013 comedy film Identity Thief and the 2014 comedies This Is Where I Leave You and Horrible Bosses 2. He also narrated the 2014 documentary Pump. In 2015, Bateman headlined Joel Edgerton's thriller film The Gift, opposite Rebecca Hall and Edgerton.

In 2013, Bateman made his directorial debut with Bad Words, in which he also starred. He also directed and starred in an adaptation of The Family Fang. Bateman voiced Nick Wilde, the con artist fox in Zootopia.

Personal life

In 1987, Bateman won the celebrity portion of the Long Beach Grand Prix. Throughout the 1990s, he struggled with an addiction to alcohol and drugs; he stated in a 2009 interview that "I'd worked so hard that by the time I was 20, I wanted to play hard. And I did that really well," and that "it was like Risky Business for ten years".

Bateman married Amanda Anka, daughter of singer Paul Anka, on July 3, 2001. The couple have two daughters. In late 2005, he had surgery to remove a benign polyp from his throat.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Teen Wolf Too	Todd Howard
1988	Moving Target	Toby Kellogg
1991	Necessary Roughness	Jarvis Edison
1992	Breaking the Rules	Phil Stepler
1992	How Can I Tell If I'm Really In Love?	Himself
1999	Love Stinks	Jesse Travis
2001	Sol Goode	Spider
2002	The Sweetest Thing	Roger Donahue
2004	Starsky and Hutch	Kevin Jutsum
2004	Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story	Pepper Brooks
2006	The Break-Up	Mark Riggleman
2006	Arthur and the Invisibles	Darkos	Voice
2007	The Ex	Chip Sanders
2007	Smokin' Aces	Rupert "Rip" Reed
2007	The Kingdom	Adam Leavitt
2007	Juno	Mark Loring
2007	Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium	Henry Weston
2008	The Promotion	Retreat leader
2008	Forgetting Sarah Marshall	Animal Instincts detective	Cameo
2008	Hancock	Ray Embrey
2008	Tropic Thunder	Himself	Cameo
2009	State of Play	Dominic Foy
2009	The Invention of Lying	Doctor	Cameo
2009	Up in the Air	Craig Gregory
2009	Extract	Joel Reynolds
2009	Couples Retreat	Jason Smith
2010	The Switch	Wally Mars
2011	Paul	Agent Lorenzo Zoil
2011	Horrible Bosses	Nick Hendricks
2011	The Change-Up	Dave Lockwood / Mitch Planko
2012	Hit and Run	Officer Keith Yert
2012	Mansome	Himself	Documentary
2012	Disconnect	Rich Boyd
2013	Identity Thief	Sandy Bigelow Patterson
2013	Bad Words	Guy Trilby	Also director
2014	Pump	Narrator
2014	The Longest Week	Conrad Valmont
2014	This Is Where I Leave You	Judd Altman
2014	Horrible Bosses 2	Nick Hendricks
2015	A LEGO Brickumentary	Narrator	Voice
2015	The Gift	Simon
2015	The Family Fang	Baxter Fang	Also director
2016	Zootopia	Nick Wilde	Voice
2016	Central Intelligence	Trevor Olson
2016	Office Christmas Party	Josh
2018	Game Night	Max	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981-1982	Little House on the Prairie	James Cooper Ingalls	21 episodes
1982-1984	Silver Spoons	Derek	21 episodes
1984	Knight Rider	Doug Wainwright	Episode: "Lost Knight"
1984-1985	It's Your Move	Matthew Burton	18 episodes
1985	Robert Kennedy & His Times	Joe Kennedy III	3 episodes
1986	Mr. Belvedere	Sean	Episode: "Rivals"
1986	St. Elsewhere	Tim Moynihan	Episode: "You Beta Your Life"
1986	The Wonderful World of Disney	Steve Tilby	Episode: "The Thanksgiving Promise"
1986-1991	The Hogan Family	David Hogan	110 episodes
1987	Bates Motel	Tony Scotti	Television film
1988	Moving Target	Toby Kellogg	Television film
1988	Our House	Brian Gill	Episode: "The Fifth Beatle"
1988	Crossing the Mob	Philly	Television film
1992	A Taste for Killing	Blaine Stockard III	Television film
1994	Confessions: Two Faces of Evil	Bill Motorshed	Television film
1994	This Can't Be Love	Grant	Television film
1994	Black Sheep	Jonathan Kelley	Pilot
1995	Burke's Law	Jason Ripley	Episode: "Who Killed the Movie Mogul?"
1995	Hart to Hart	Stuart Morris	Episode: "Secrets of the Hart"
1995-1996	Simon	Carl Himple	21 episodes
1996	Ned & Stacey	Bobby Van Lowe	Episode: "Pals"
1997	Chicago Sons	Harry Kuichak	13 episodes
1997-1998	George & Leo	Ted Stoody	22 episodes
2000	Rude Awakening	Ryan	Episode: "Star 80 Proof"
2001	Some of My Best Friends	Warren Fairbanks	8 episodes
2003	The Twilight Zone	Scott Crane	Episode: "Burned"
2003-2006, 2013, 2018	Arrested Development	Michael Bluth	68 episodes
2005	The Simpsons	Himself (voice)	Episode: "Home Away From Homer"
2005	King of the Hill	Dr. Leslie (voice)	Episode: "The Petriot Act"
2005	Justice League Unlimited	Hermes (voice)	Episode: "The Balance"
2005	Saturday Night Live	Himself (host)	Episode: "Jason Bateman/Kelly Clarkson"
2005	The Fairly OddParents	Tommy (voice)	Episode: "Oh, Brother!"
2006	Scrubs	Mr. Sutton	Episode: "My Big Bird"
2006	The Jake Effect	Jake Galvin	7 episodes
2009	Sit Down, Shut Up	Larry Littlejunk (voice)	13 episodes
2013	Yo Gabba Gabba!	Bateman	Episode: "Super Spies"
2014	Growing Up Fisher	Narrator (voice)	12 episodes
2015	The Muppets	Himself	Episode: "Pig's in a Blackout"
2017	Nobodies	Himself	Episode: "Mr. First Lady"
2017	Ozark	Marty Byrde	10 episodes; also director and executive producer

Video games

Year	Title	Voice role
2015	Disney Infinity 3.0	Nick Wilde

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result
1983	Young Artist Awards	Best Young Actor in a New Television Series	Silver Spoons
1984		Best Young Actor in a Comedy Series	Silver Spoons
1985		Best Young Actor in a Television Comedy Series	It's Your Move
1988		Best Young Male Superstar in Television	Valerie
2004	Television Critics Association	Individual Achievement in Comedy	Arrested Development
2005	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series	Arrested Development (episode: "Good Grief")
2005	Golden Globe Awards	Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy	Arrested Development
2005	Satellite Awards	Outstanding Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical	Arrested Development
2005	Screen Actors Guild	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series	Arrested Development
2005		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Arrested Development
2005	Television Critics Association	Individual Achievement in Comedy	Arrested Development
2006	Screen Actors Guild	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Arrested Development
2013	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actor: Comedy	Identity Thief
2013	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series	Arrested Development (episode: "Flight of the Phoenix")
2013	Screen Actors Guild	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series	Arrested Development
2013	Golden Globe Awards	Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy	Arrested Development
2016	Annie Awards	Outstanding Achievement, Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production	Zootopia
2017	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Animated Movie Voice	Zootopia
2017	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Frenemies (shared with Ginnifer Goodwin)	Zootopia

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