Jason Bateman lives a dangerous life.
The actor and director enters this Emmy cycle with a problem that many performers would envy. Two acclaimed limited series, two wildly different roles, and an ever-expanding directorial and producing resume even as he approaches an age where his peers start thinking about slowing down. “Even as we start to reach the age where we should[slow down]our tolerance for trying more things actually increases,” Bateman says. “You gain so much knowledge through experience, and I just want to be in the fortunate position of having a job that challenges everything I’ve learned.”
Having just arrived in Los Angeles this morning, he looks as relaxed as his public persona. His four decades in the industry started as a child actor on the classic series “Little House on the Prairie,” which at the time made him the youngest director in history to earn a DGA card. Three weeks from now, he will begin filming Dodos, his first feature film since Family Fang (2015), co-starring Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson. But before that, he can enjoy some award spotlight.
It’s the script for “Ozark” that Bateman reprises in Netflix’s thriller “Black Rabbit,” starring opposite Jude Law. He is executive producing through his production company, Aggregate Films, and is directing the first two episodes, one of which has already been nominated for a DGA this winter. But it was a deliberate swing to play the deranged Vince on the show. “I’ve been playing Jake for a while and (thought) it would be fun to play Vince,” he said. “I realized what a heartbreaking failure this guy had made.” After knocking it out of the park, he pivoted to an unexpected location.
Jason Bateman and Harbor in “DTF St. Louis”
HBO
The HBO Max miniseries “DTF St. Louis” is Stephen Conrad’s twisty detective story built around a love triangle, with Bateman playing smiling weatherman Clark Forrest and co-starring David Harbour’s Floyd Smarnich and Linda Cardellini’s Carol. Bateman molded Clark from the page, transforming the vain TV personality into a wide-eyed innocent who calls Floyd his big brother. “That could lead to the misleading idea that, oh,[Clark]definitely killed him because he was obsessed with him,” Bateman says. “He’s a nice, strange guy, because in our cynical world, we just misunderstand it.”
Bateman competed in the Lead Actor category for “Rabbit” and the Supporting Actor category for “DTF,” and is credited on EP for both. Even with both producer nominations, he would be one of only a handful of people in Emmy history to be nominated for double producer. He has already been nominated for Best Actor (formerly SAG) and is mentioned in the DGA as the director of the episode “The Black Rabbits.” But he only has 14 career nominations (which he doesn’t keep track of) and one for Best Director. “This is important to me, but fortunately not as much as knowing the numbers,” he laughed.
And while we’re talking about his TV work now, there’s also an important issue to address: a sequel to “Game Night.” Bateman, who developed the 2018 hit and then handed over the directorial duties to screenwriters John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, said he would be open to reuniting the band. “If John and Jonathan wanted to write a script, I’m sure you[Warner Bros.’s]Mike[De Luca]and Pam[Abdi]would be into it, and I’d certainly be on board as an actor,” he says, calling the studio’s ensemble comedies “a great job.”
Asked about AI, Bateman cited his famous friends, “smart people like my friend Ben Affleck,” adding, “I’m looking forward to the next time I talk to him and wrap my head around AI, because he has time.” What he wants most is the industry’s hardest tricks, the lane occupied by Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan: big tent-pole studio projects. “My highest possible dream would be to Trojan Horse a truly great work of art as one of the giants of the studio business.”
A noteworthy (and arresting) development.
Emmy nomination voting will continue until June 22nd.
