When he started racking up the producer credits in the last decade was when Bateman realized he ’ d finally made good on his goal for lasting staying power . He has over 14 producer credits to his name , including HBO ’ s The Outsider and the original Netflix series Ozark . The latter being the incredibly successful 2017 binge-worth drama that earned him an Emmy for directing and a SAG award for acting .
In addition to directing several episodes , Bateman also stars in Ozark . Playing Marty Byrde , a financial adviser forced by the drug cartel to relocate to the Lake of the Ozark to launder $ 500 million in five years to save himself and his family , the juicy role positions Bateman as the antihero you can ’ t help but root for .
It ’ s a character that ’ s so “ close to the middle ” that he can go either way that appeals to Bateman . “ That ’ s who we all are ,” he told Steven MacKenzie for The Big Issue . “ Just a couple of steps left or right and you could be doing something embarrassingly funny or tragically dramatic . We ’ re all just trying to stay in the middle of the road and function in society but when the wheels start to wobble a little bit you can get into something that ’ s interesting .”
As fans eagerly await the fourth and final season of the hit drama , Bateman has his eyes set on the third act of his life with his family by his side . Married to Amanda Anka since 2001 , the pair have two daughters , Francesca Nora and Maple Sylvie .
Of his relationship to Anka , Bateman told Sirius XM Satellite Radio : “ There ’ s always going to be a hotter girl . There ’ s always going to be a different girl . And eventually if you want to be a husband , if you want to be a father , you ’ ve got to pick one .”
“ And , for me , I looked around at relationships in my life that did last and those were friendships ,” says Bateman . “ And I wasn ’ t sexually attracted to buddies , so I found a female buddy that I was sexually attracted to and asked her if she wanted to give it a go and that ’ s why it ’ s lasted so long .”
“
WE ’ RE ALL JUST TRYING TO STAY IN THE MIDDLE
OF THE ROAD AND FUNCTION IN SOCIETY BUT WHEN THE WHEELS START TO WOBBLE A LITTLE BIT YOU
CAN GET INTO SOMETHING THAT ’ S
INTERESTING .
”
NETFLIX NETFLIX NETFLIX
BATEMAN STARS AS JERRY THE CRAB IN MELISSA MCCARTHY AND OCTAVIA SPENDER ’ S 2021 SUPER HERO COMEDY THUNDER FORCE .
OZARK IS A DRAMA SERIES ON NETFLIX STARRING BATEMAN AND LAURA LINNEY AS A MARRIED COUPLE MIXED UP IN MONEY LAUNDERING .
BEHIND THE SCENES , BATEMAN WON BEST DRAMA DIRECTING FOR OZARK LAST YEAR .
DENTON COUNTY • 11