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Jason Bateman
Bateman in December 2007
Born	Jason Kent Bateman January 14, 1969 (1969-01-14) (age 41) Rye, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1981 – present
Spouse(s)	Amanda Anka (2001–present)

Jason Kent Bateman (born January 14, 1969) is an American television and film actor. After appearing in several 1980s and 1990s sitcoms, Bateman came to prominence in the 2000s for playing Michael Bluth on Arrested Development for which he won a Golden Globe and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Bateman has since established himself in Hollywood by appearing in several high profile films. He provided a supporting role in the comedy The Break-Up (2006) and starred in the war drama The Kingdom (2007). He provided a more wider role in the comedy Juno (2007). Since then, he has appeared in a string of successful movies including Hancock (2008), Extract and more recently Couples Retreat and Up in the Air (2009). He is set to release The Switch (2010), alongside Jennifer Aniston.

Early life

Bateman was born in Rye, New York, the son of Victoria Elizabeth, a former flight attendant for Pan Am, and Kent Bruce Bateman, an actor, film and television writer/director, and founder of a repertory stage in Hollywood.^[1][2] Bateman's older sister is Justine Bateman of Family Ties fame. He also has three half-brothers.^[2] His family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, when he was four.^[2]

Career

Early television work

Bateman began acting in 1981, playing James Cooper Ingalls in the television drama, Little House on the Prairie. He appeared in the Knight Rider third-season episode "Lost Knight" in 1984. He earned the status of teen idol in the mid-1980s in shows such as Silver Spoons, It's Your Move, and most notably Valerie (later renamed Valerie's Family and then The Hogan Family after Valerie Harper left the series), and became the Directors Guild of America's youngest-ever director when he helmed three episodes of The Hogan Family at the age of 18. After the series ended its run, his career slowed down for nearly a decade. During this period, he had major roles on four series — Simon, Chicago Sons, George & Leo, and Some of My Best Friends — none of which lasted for longer than one season. In 2002, he landed the role as the frisky sibling of Thomas Jane's character in the feature film The Sweetest Thing.

Arrested Development

In 2002, Bateman was cast as Michael Bluth in the comedy series Arrested Development. Although critically acclaimed, the series never achieved high ratings. It ended in a two-hour series finale (four episodes in a row) on February 10, 2006, broadcast opposite the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics. 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.

Film work

Bateman at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival

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. Bateman reunited with Vaughn in 2006's The Break-Up, and also did commentary on the 2004 Democratic National Convention for The Majority Report with Arrested Development co-star David Cross. He also hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live on February 12, 2005.^[3]

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, and as former lawyer Rupert "Rip" Reed alongside Ben Affleck in Smokin' Aces. In 2007, he starred in The Kingdom, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium and Juno. In 2008, he starred with Will Smith and Charlize Theron in the superhero film Hancock.

Bateman starred in the 2009 films Extract, written and directed by Mike Judge,^[4] and Couples Retreat, a comedy chronicling four couples who partake in therapy sessions at a tropical island resort (Kristen Bell played his wife).^[5]

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.^[6] The series originally premiered on April 19, 2009, airing its last episode in November. Fox is still airing repeats of this series.^[6] Kenan Thompson, Kristin Chenoweth, Will Forte, Tom Kenny, Nick Kroll, Cheri Oteri, Will Arnett, and Henry Winkler were the other main cast members.^[6]

Bateman, along with the rest of the main cast, will reprise his role as Michael Bluth in 2011 in the Arrested Development movie. The film will be directed by Ron Howard, the executive producer and uncredited narrator of the show, and will be written by the show's creator Mitchell Hurwitz and co-executive producer James Vallely.^[7]

Personal life

Bateman told Best Life magazine that he and sister Justine Bateman supported their parents with the paychecks they earned on their television shows, and that his father was his manager until Jason fired him at the age of 20.^[8]

Since 2001, Bateman has been married to actress Amanda Anka, daughter of singer and actor Paul Anka. Their first child, Francesca Nora Bateman, was born October 28, 2006. In late 2005, he had surgery to remove a benign polyp from his throat.^[9] The surgery and required recovery time halted production on Arrested Development, though enough episodes had been completed to get the show through the November sweeps period.

Bateman is a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers and wore Dodgers clothing in the 2008 film Hancock.^[10] Keith Olbermann stated on his May 14, 2009, MSNBC show, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, that he and Jason Bateman are friends and they occasionally attend baseball games and drink lemonade in New York with mutual friend, David Cross.

Filmography

Films

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Jason Bateman at the Internet Movie Database
• Jason Bateman at Allmovie