Jason Bateman

Jason Kent Bateman (born January 14, 1969) is an American actor and director. Widely known for his roles as Michael Bluth in the Fox / Netflix sitcom Arrested Development (2003-2019) and Marty Byrde in the Netflix crime drama series Ozark (2017–2022), as well as hosting the podcast SmartLess, alongside Will Arnett and Sean Hayes. Bateman is known for his numerous comedy films, and has received numerous awards including a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Bateman began his career as a child actor, appearing on television in the early 1980s on shows such as the NBC drama series Little House on the Prairie from 1981 to 1982 and The Hogan Family from 1986 to 1991. Bateman's early film roles include Teen Wolf Too (1987) and Necessary Roughness (1991) before taking supporting roles in Dodgeball (2004), The Break-Up (2006), Juno (2007), Hancock (2008), and Up in the Air (2009). Bateman took starring roles in the comedies Extract (2009), The Switch (2010), The Change-Up (2011), Horrible Bosses (2011), Identity Thief (2013), Bad Words (2013) This Is Where I Leave You (2014), Office Christmas Party (2016), Zootopia (2016), and Game Night (2018). He also acted in the drama films The Gift (2015), and Air (2023). Since 2020 he has co-hosted the comedy podcast SmartLess with Will Arnett and Sean Hayes.

Bateman made his directorial debut with The Hogan Family episode "Educating Rita" (Season 5, Episode 10) at the time setting the record for the youngest director in the Directors Guild of America. He has since directed and starred in The Family Fang (2015) and the Netflix crime drama series Ozark (2017–2022). Bateman was awarded the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series in 2019 for his direction of Ozark and has won three Screen Actors Guild Awards for his performance. In 2020 he had a recurring role in (and directed two episodes of) the HBO miniseries The Outsider.