jason
BATEMAN
THE COMICALLY GIFTED ACTOR PUTS ON HIS “ BIG BOY ” PANTS
Generation X runs deep with the talents of many notable actors — Leonardo DiCaprio , Brad Pitt , Johnny Depp , the list goes on . However , one name is glaringly absent from the various “ Best Actors of Gen X ” lists — Jason Bateman .
Comically gifted and glaringly underrated , Bateman has graced us with his presence since the early 1980s with roles on Little House on the Prairie , Silver Spoons , and The Hogan Family . In an era of must-see TV , Bateman was a shining star . His cherubic face peering out from the glossy pages of Tiger Beat , Super Teen , and Bop magazines before being painstaking cut out and plastered to the inside of 13-year-old girls ’ locker doors across the country .
He was white hot and then suddenly not , seemingly pre-destined to travel the lonely path into obscurity like so many child actors before him . Booze , drugs , hard partying , Bateman succumbed to typical Hollywood temptations in the ’ 90s before an epic comeback in the show Arrested Development in 2003 . The ideal showcase for his dry wit , the role as the strait-laced , well-balanced Michael Bluth revived a spark in Bateman and reignited his career .
It ’ s a made-for-TV Hollywood reversal of fortune that Bateman is incredibly grateful for and one he doesn ’ t intend to squander the second time around .
“ I had all the money a 21-year-old could ever want , and I ’ d moved out when I was 18 . It was as if my parents went out often and they left me the keys to the car and the bank-account numbers and I didn ’ t know when they were coming home . I spent 10 or 15 years having so much fun with all of my buddies and obviously losing my place in the business ,” Bateman explained to GQ ’ s Brendan Vaughan in 2013 .
“ By the time I regained an appreciation for a career and a work ethic and all those types of things , I had a lot of catching up . It wasn ’ t necessarily there for me when I wanted it , and that was difficult and frustrating and extremely humbling . I just kind of had to start over — rebuild an ego and self-esteem and an identity .”
Redirecting his bad habits took effort , especially for a self described hedonist who follows an all or nothing mantra . “ If my fun level is like a six 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 ,” he told writer Michael Muller for Men ’ s Health of his hard-partying days .
“ If I ’ m enjoying something , I ’ d like to be able to just have it all . Frankly , that ’ s the way I ’ m approaching my career now . I ’ m a total workaholic .”
8 • JULY / AUGUST 2021