Jason Bateman biography

Synopsis

Early Film Work

Actor, director. Born on January 14, 1969, in Rye, New York. Starting out as an actor while in his early teen years, Jason Bateman has grown up to become one of today's leading comedic actors. He comes from a show business family—father Kent is a producer and sister Justine is an actress. Around the age of 10, Bateman began to act professionally. He soon started to land work in commercials.

Bateman made his television debut in 1981 with a recurring role on Little House on the Prairie. In the popular series based on the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, he played the adopted son of pioneer Charles and Caroline Ingalls (played by Michael Landon and Karen Grassle). Bateman first showed his comedic talents in the popular sitcom Silver Spoons starring Rick Schroder in 1982. On the series, Bateman played Schroder's scheming school friend. His boy-next-door good looks and sense of humor made him very popular with younger audiences, especially teenaged girls.

Leaving the show after the first two seasons, Bateman starred in the short-lived comedy It's Your Move, playing yet another scheming teen. He soon landed a supporting role on another family comedy with Valerie Harper of The Mary Tyler Moore Show fame. He played one of Harper's three sons. After a dispute with the show's producers, Harper left the series after the first season. The show continued on as The Hogan Family and Sandy Duncan joined the cast as the boys' aunt. Bateman also explored life behind the camera, directing three episodes of the show. For his efforts, he became the youngest person inducted into the Directors Guild of America, at the age of 18.

During the run of the series, Bateman found time for other projects. He co-starred with sister Justine in the 1986 television movie Can You Feel Me Dancing?, which was co-produced by their father. In the movie, Justine played a blind teenager trying to break free from her overprotective family and friends. Jason played her brother in the film. Bateman then made his feature film debut in the poorly received Teen Wolf Too, the sequel to the 1985 comedic hit starring Michael J. Fox. He played a relative of Fox's character who discovers that he also suffers from the family's werewolf curse. Grossing only $7.6 million at the box office, the film was considered a commercial failure. Bateman's father had also produced this film.

After The Hogan Family ended in 1991, Bateman continued to find work on television. None of these roles lasted for long, however. The family comedy Simon only lasted one season, from the fall of 1995 to spring 1996. The show focused on the lives of two very different brothers sharing an apartment in New York City. Next up for Bateman was Chicago Sons, a comedy about three brothers and their romantic misadventures.