Jason Bateman Biography

JASON BATEMAN

Date of Birth: January 14, 1969

Shortly after Jason Bateman was born in Rye, New York, his family moved to Boston, where they lived for four years. They spent another four years in Salt Lake City before finally settling down in California.

Showbusiness runs in the Bateman blood. Jason's father, Kent Bateman, is a film and television director and founder of a Hollywood repertory stage company and his sister is Justine Bateman, who rose to fame as a teenager on the hit series Family Ties (1982 to 1989).

At the age of 12, Jason first found his own taste of fame when he became a regular on the 1981 to 1982 season of the hit series Little House on the Prairie. Despite his young age, he easily portrayed a wide range of emotions in the role of orphan James Cooper, who is adopted by the Ingalls family.

His next regular role came on the sitcom Silver Spoons, playing slimy trouble maker Derek Taylor opposite Ricky Schroder from 1982 to 1984, earning him two Young Artist Award nominations. That was immediately followed by a regular role in It's Your Move, which only ran one season, but earned him a third Young Artist Award nomination. He then played Valerie Harper's son in five seasons of the NBC-TV sitcom Valerie, earning a fourth Young Artist Award nomination. At 18, he made history as the Directors Guild of America's youngest ever director when he helmed three episodes of the final season.

When the show came to an end, Bateman made his feature film debut in Necessary Roughness (1991), but spent most of the next ten years working in TV movies and as a guest on other series before landing a lead role in the short lived CBS comedy, Some of My Best Friends. Bateman regained his household name status when he procured the starring role in the Fox series Arrested Development, which went on to become a critical hit, then an audience favorite from 2003 to 2006. For his role as Michael Bluth, a level-headed man who has to deal with his dysfunctional family, Bateman won a 2005 Golden Globe.

During his time on the series, he began to make a name for himself in feature films, playing supporting roles in movies such as The Sweetest Thing (2002) starring Cameron Diaz, Starsky & Hutch (2004) with Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004) again with Stiller and The Break-Up (2006) co-starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston.

Since the series came to an end, Bateman has been able to concentrate on big screen work, appearing in films such as Juno, Hancock (2008), Couples Retreat (2009) and The Switch (2010), co-starring opposite Jennifer Aniston. He then starred in a string of comedy films including Horrible Bosses (2011), The Change-Up (2011), and Identity Thief (2013). He made his directorial debut with the 2014 film Bad Words which he also stars in. He also reprised his role in the sequel Horrible Bosses 2 (2014). Later, he starred in The Gift (2015), lent his voice to the Disney animated film Zootopia (2016), and acted alongside Jennifer Aniston in the ensemble holiday comedy Office Christmas Party (2016).

Taking a break from the big screen in 2017, Jason starred in the Netflix series, Ozark. For this role, he earned Emmy nominations in 2018, 2019 and 2020. He also earned Golden Globe nominations in 2018 and 2019. He also directed a few episodes of the hit series.

He then starred in the motion picture Game Night (2018), alongside Rachel McAdams and Kyle Chandler. In 2020, Jason starred in the HBO crime drama The Outsider, and he also directed the first two episodes.

Jason married actress Amanda Anka (Paul Anka's daughter) in 2003. Along with their daughters, Francesca (b. 2006) and Maple (b. 2012), they live in Los Angeles.

Filmography (Actor):

Game Night (2018)
Ozark (Netflix) (2017)
Office Christmas Party (2016)
Zootopia (2016)
The Gift (2015)
A LEGO Brickumentary (2015)
Bad Words (2014)
Horrible Bosses 2 (2014)
Bad Words (2014)
Identity Thief (2013)
Hit and Run (2012)
The Change-Up (2011)
Horrible Bosses (2011)
Paul (2010)
The Switch (2010)
Up in the Air (2009)
Couples Retreat (2009)
The Invention of Lying (2009)
Extract (2009)
State of Play (2008)
Hancock (2008)
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
The Promotion (2008)
Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (2007)
Juno (2007)
The Kingdom (2007)
Fast Track (2006)
Smokin’ Aces (2006)
Arthur and the Invisibles (2006)
The Break-Up (2006)
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
Starsky & Hutch (2004)
The Sweetest Thing (2002)
Sol Goode (2001)
Love Stinks (1999)
Breaking the Rules (1992)
Necessary Roughness (1991)
Teen Wolf Too (1987)