Jason Bateman Quotes

I did a good bit of episodic television directing, but directing a movie is so much more complicated.

- Jason Bateman

Television, More, Movie, Episodic

People say: 'Why do you want to play the straight man?' Well, it's because he gets to be in every scene.

- Jason Bateman

Play, Want, Why, Straight Man

That straight man character is a short trip between comedy and drama in a project, so I can play the comedic beat on the same page as a dramatic beat. It gives me a lot of freedom as an actor to play scenes in multiple ways because I don't play the clown, nor do I play someone who is particularly maudlin.

- Jason Bateman

Project, Play, I Can, Straight Man

In most professions, if you stay at the office an extra four hours every day, you're gonna impress the boss. You're gonna get that promotion; you're gonna get that raise. You're gonna at least have job security. But with acting, if you're really ambitious and you have a good work ethic and are really good at your job, it might not really matter.

- Jason Bateman

Boss, Good Work, Every Day, Raise

I never looked at fan mail, for some reason. My mother and grandmother handled my mail - although it's not like I was ever in the stratosphere of Kirk Cameron or Scott Baio.

- Jason Bateman

Reason, Some, Mail, Kirk

People like Bill Murray are incredible at what they do and are definitely my flavour. Although Will Ferrell, Sacha Baron Cohen and Ricky Gervais are also incredible actors. In their comedy, they make these stupid people feel so real. These guys are really setting the bar very high, and I learn as much from them about acting as I do about comedy.

- Jason Bateman

Stupid, Very, Will Ferrell, Ricky

Not a lot of people get a second chance. And I think for a while there, my name kind of got in my way a bit, based on all of the television I was fortunate enough to do. But after a while, you sort of wear out your welcome in that genre, in that medium.

- Jason Bateman

Second Chance, I Think, Wear, Medium

People have often asked if I'm gay because I don't go out of my way to spit and scratch and give people attitude.

- Jason Bateman

Give, Go, Often, Scratch

Throughout my 20s I spent a lot of time just playing and not really working, but fortunately for me I continued to get just enough work, and have a reason to wake up in the morning. I really empathize with some of my peers who had success in the early years then it dries up, and so there's no reason to get up in the morning.

- Jason Bateman

Reason, Some, Peers, Fortunately

You do certain things in your twenties that are just not appropriate in your thirties and certainly not appropriate in your forties. Eventually you even the scales, and it's time to move on and become an adult and start working hard again and going to sleep a little bit earlier. Fortunately, I got a job to facilitate that transition.

- Jason Bateman

Facilitate, Appropriate, Fortunately

My mother is British; she's from Shrewsbury. She turned me onto 'Monty Python' very early.

- Jason Bateman

Very, Python, Turned, Monty Python

Starting at age 10, my personality and my identity all stemmed from employment. I had a set to be at. I was a certain way with the cameraman, a certain way with the makeup lady - a normal, routine environment.

- Jason Bateman

Makeup, Normal, Certain Way, Stemmed

Nothing would make me happier than doing nothing but drama for the foreseeable future.

- Jason Bateman

Doing, Drama, Happier, Foreseeable Future

It's a really exciting thing to collaborate with production designers, cinematographers and gaffers and costume designers and editors and composers.

- Jason Bateman

Designers, Composers, Collaborate

Pre-production and post-production is something that I've never been exposed to. I was pleasantly surprised that you could accomplish a lot during pre-production.

- Jason Bateman

Been, Could, Pleasantly, Pre-Production

I don't feel sorry for people in the public eye getting eyed by the public.

- Jason Bateman

Eye, Getting, Public, Public Eye

I was just a lot smarter about not getting caught. I mean, I never stuck anything in my arm, but I certainly enjoyed my youth.

- Jason Bateman

Caught, About, Certainly, Smarter

Ideally, that's what you've got in an acting career is an equal number of dramas and comedies and an equal number of small films and big films.

- Jason Bateman

Small, Big, Films, Dramas

I really like dramas that have a tone of comedy in them or the opposite, and those are done by people like Alexander Payne and Jason Reitman but also Spike Jonze and David O. Russell and Paul Thomas Anderson, the Coen Brothers.

- Jason Bateman

Tone, Brothers, Spike, Dramas

I became an adult before I had a kid, which I highly recommend. I just like to throw her around. She's a really good snuggler, and she likes to give kisses and hugs.

- Jason Bateman

Give, Which, Became, Kisses

Obviously, I did a couple of things right on the old casting couch.

- Jason Bateman

Old, Things, Couple, Casting

And I've always loved commercials. I like working out how to organically weave a brand's message into the writing process. It's like an improv show, where comics ask the audience to throw out a word and a skit is built around it.

- Jason Bateman

Show, Around, Comics, Writing Process

Meeting my wife Amanda was the best thing that could ever have happened to me. She wasn't going to let me screw around my life anymore, so I stopped drinking and started behaving like a decent human being.

- Jason Bateman

Best, My Life, Decent, Screw

You hit those valleys sometimes and it's really frustrating. It's like getting stuck in traffic on the freeway. But there's not much you can do about it.

- Jason Bateman

Sometimes, Like, Freeway, Traffic

My father was a writer/director/producer, so instead of throwing a ball around, our bonding was going to see movies. And at an early age, I knew if I wanted to impress my dad, it was not going to be by throwing a ball real far.

- Jason Bateman

Father, Going, Dad, Bonding

The directing is something that is incredibly satisfying to me and challenging to me because it's asking me to draw on everything I've been able to absorb over all these years of acting and having all this set experience.

- Jason Bateman

Over, Been, Having, Satisfying

I guess there's nothing funny about a guy who looks conservative and has it all together, but it's satisfying to see a conservative guy crumbling inside, and I think a lot of American comedy has cottoned on to that.

- Jason Bateman

Think, Conservative, I Think, Satisfying

I played a ton of team sports growing up, and team wins are just incredibly gratifying.

- Jason Bateman

Sports, Team, Wins, Gratifying

Kids want you to take them to whatever kid movie is opening, and you just hope it's good because you're going to buy a ticket, no matter what. If it's no good, you kind of drape your arm over your kid so they don't get smashed, and you take a little nap.

- Jason Bateman

Kid, Movie, Smashed, Arm

I don't want to be obnoxious with my ambition or sound like I expect any sort of entitlement here. Hollywood is not in the business of humoring people.

- Jason Bateman

Business, Here, Hollywood, Entitlement

I wasn't really interested in doing anything except going from pilot season to pilot season and sowing my oats in the months between and telling my agency to stop sending me movie scripts, because they'd pile up in my house and make me feel guilty because I had to read them.

- Jason Bateman

Doing, Movie, Telling, Sowing

My father was a freelance writer/director/producer, and my mother was a stewardess for Pan-Am. It was very non-traditional.

- Jason Bateman

Mother, Father, Very, Freelance

A straight factor is important in any comedy, because you need something to tee it up and also to ground it.

- Jason Bateman

Comedy, Need, Also, Factor

When you're playing a supporting character, you don't really have a lot of control of the quality of the film.

- Jason Bateman

Character, Playing, Lot, Supporting

I'm not a big, huge star, and so when people see me, it's usually to talk about something I've done, and that's a great conversation to have. That's what we're doing it for.

- Jason Bateman

Doing, Star, Big, Huge Star

Will Arnett is one of the funniest guys I know. He has seen it all and done it all and come out the other end pretty savvy and pretty strong.

- Jason Bateman

Strong, Pretty, Other, Savvy

I looked around at the relationships that were the longest in my life, and they were the ones I had with my friends. I thought, 'If I only wanted to get married once, I should probably marry a friend.'

- Jason Bateman

My Life, Thought, Longest, Get Married

I only wanted to get married once, so when I felt I was ready to handle it, I looked at my relationships and noticed that boyfriends get tired of girlfriends, and vice versa, but you never get tired of your friends.

- Jason Bateman

Ready, Relationships, Your, Get Married

My goal is to get another 30 years out of this business. So I need to figure out the fuel to do that. And so far, I think it's respect and quality and company, not celebrity or box office or stardom. It's not a sprinter's approach. It's more like a long-distance thing. You can stick around a lot longer if you kind of slow-play it.

- Jason Bateman

Celebrity, Fuel, I Think, Long-Distance

It's not a sprinter's approach. It's more like a long-distance thing. You can stick around a lot longer if you kind of slow-play it.

- Jason Bateman

More, Like, Sprinter, Long-Distance

I think things that are really, really not good are easy to see. But films that are decent can either be made good or great based on the execution. At the end of the day, it's always a crapshoot about the execution, the level of taste, in any department.

- Jason Bateman

Taste, I Think, About, Department

To have the privileged position of being the guy who is responsible for shaping the entire experience for an audience as opposed to being just one instrument in that orchestra, being an actor, it's all-encompassing.

- Jason Bateman

Audience, Guy, Opposed, Shaping

I love a massage. I'd go every day if I could. I don't need to be wrapped in herbs like a salmon fillet, but I do love a massage.

- Jason Bateman

Love, Need, Like, Herbs

It was like 'Risky Business' for 10 years. My parents were out of town, they left me a bunch of money, the car, and the house, and I didn't know when they were coming home.

- Jason Bateman

Business, Like, Town, Risky

People still come up to me and say, 'Hey, 'Teen Wolf!' 'Teen Wolf Too' closed a week after it opened. Where did they see it?

- Jason Bateman

Wolf, Week, Still, Hey

It's not about the script: it's about who the director is and who the other people in the cast are. Because you can look at a great script and execute it in a very sophomoric way, and you can look at an OK script, and you can execute it in a very sophisticated way and come out with something really good.

- Jason Bateman

Other, Sophisticated, Very, OK

Marathons are good training goals.

- Jason Bateman

Good, Training, Goals

It was a blast. I was doing everything that teenagers do and everything people in their twenties do. I was playing as hard as I was working, which was an effort to really balance my life.

- Jason Bateman

My Life, Doing, Which, Blast

I think anybody who's doing work in their teen years on TV or in the movies, you're a teen idol by default.

- Jason Bateman

Doing, Think, TV, Teen Years

Acting is just playing the violin in an orchestra. Directing is being the conductor.

- Jason Bateman

Violin, Orchestra, Directing, Conductor

By definition, gay is smart. I see plenty of macho heterosexual idiots, but nine times out of 10 you can have a great conversation if you find a gay guy.

- Jason Bateman

I See, Nine, Plenty, Macho

I look at whatever the finish line is for the character and then kind of act backwards from that and play him in such a way so that that finish line is more rewarding.

- Jason Bateman

Play, Line, Rewarding, Such A Way

I can't assume that my kid is going to make the best decision all the time.

- Jason Bateman

Decision, Kid, Going, Assume

There's this little recipe that you have to hit pretty well to get somebody to laugh. And it's a combination of the way in which you say something, with the facial expression that you have, married with the body language that you have, etc.

- Jason Bateman

Pretty, Expression, Which, Laugh

If you laugh, we just do another take. Laughter is too rare nowadays. If you can bust a gut, let it go, and we'll just go back to one.

- Jason Bateman

Go, Another, Gut, Laugh

The kids can't watch 'The Wire,' but there's great educational stuff for them to watch on TV if it is TV time. There are great apps on the iPad that are interactive and educational.

- Jason Bateman

Interactive, TV, Educational, iPad

My father was a director and producer, so when I was a little kid, he would take me to movies and show me what's good and what's not good and why, and often that would take me to a conversation about directing.

- Jason Bateman

Father, Kid, Director, Conversation

I'd much rather have the freedom, and the obligation to use it responsibly, than be put in a box.

- Jason Bateman

Freedom, Obligation, Rather, Responsibly

Not many get a chance to hit the career re-set button.

- Jason Bateman

Chance, Career, Hit, Button

I just think technology is pretty amazing. Like all things that are great, you have to be responsible about how much you use it.

- Jason Bateman

Think, Pretty, Like, All Things

There are worse things than being constantly hired to do anything.

- Jason Bateman

Than, Things, Being, Hired

The people at Netflix are extremely intelligent about the way they monitor activity on their platform.

- Jason Bateman

Activity, About, Extremely, Monitor

I try to see everything I do. It's a good learning tool for me. You kind of remember what you were going for when you were shooting it, and then see how it comes across in the context of what comes before and after it.

- Jason Bateman

Kind, Going, Before, Context

If people are going to complain about stereotyping, it's as likely to be Italian-Americans as gay people.

- Jason Bateman

Going, About, Likely, Stereotyping

Do you want to continue being great at being in your twenties, or do you want to step up and graduate into adulthood?

- Jason Bateman

Want, Continue, Twenties, Graduate

It earns you a lot of snark if you're able to convey vulnerability.

- Jason Bateman

Vulnerability, Able, Lot, Convey

I was very surprised to get a reading for 'Arrested Development' because it really seemed to be the opposite of that which I was known for doing.

- Jason Bateman

Very, Which, Arrested, Surprised

Things are going better now than ever, but in 24 months? I could be hearing crickets.

- Jason Bateman

Going, Better Now, Months, Hearing

It's not new: In the '70s, Archie Bunker said terrible things on 'All in the Family,' but it was all in Carroll O'Connor's performance. You saw lack of intelligence, and you laughed.

- Jason Bateman

New, Bunker, Saw, Terrible

We had this neighbor who was an actor, and he was going to an audition one day, driving by our house, and he asked if I wanted to tag along. He was reading for the part of the father, and they were reading for the part of the son the same day, and he told me to sneak in there and make it look like I knew what I was doing.

- Jason Bateman

Father, Doing, Part, Sneak

I really empathise with some of my peers who had success in the early years; then it dries up, and so there's no reason to get up in the morning.

- Jason Bateman

Reason, Some, Peers, Early Years

I'm in a little bit of a different situation, because working in the business that I do and living in the city that I live in, I haven't had a problem with people who are gay. Since I was 10 I've been working alongside them, and some of my best friends are gay.

- Jason Bateman

City, Some, Been, Gay

You can say your lines a million different ways and play your character a million different ways and still hit the common, agreed-upon finish line.

- Jason Bateman

Play, Line, Still, Lines

I like to give my daughter some rope and let her make her own decisions.

- Jason Bateman

Give, Her, Some, Decisions

Acting in something that I'm directing... I'm really enjoying it because, if for no other reason, that particular acting is like reading my mind on every single take. It's kind of efficient, for better or worse.

- Jason Bateman

Mind, Reason, Other, Directing

Television is much more of a producer's writer's medium, so a lot of the time, when you're directing a television show, they have a color palette on set or a visual style and dynamic that's already been predetermined, and you just kind of have to follow the rules.

- Jason Bateman

Color, Show, Been, Directing

Directing films is incredibly exciting to me.

- Jason Bateman

Exciting, Films, Incredibly, Directing

I enjoy editing when I'm directing, but when someone else is directing, that's their film to cut.

- Jason Bateman

Someone, Cut, Else, Directing

Tony Hale is a devout Christian and is a complete retard when it comes to swearing. The script called for him to swear for about 30 seconds and he just couldn't do it.

- Jason Bateman

Him, Swearing, About, Swear

I wanted to be Dustin Hoffman or Robert De Niro or Al Pacino. I thought I was going to be a dramatic actor, but comedy sort of started out first, and I was like, 'Maybe I'll find some more drama later on in my career.'

- Jason Bateman

Career, Some, De Niro, None

If the goal is to be believable when you're acting, I've got the best idea of what that believability might look and feel like. And because you need a normal guy in a comedy so that the eccentricities can pop, that's a good part for me.

- Jason Bateman

Feel, Idea, Part, Believable

I think NBC got a little reluctant to get behind single-camera shows after 'Scrubs' didn't do what they thought it was going to do following 'Friends.'

- Jason Bateman

Think, Behind, I Think, Scrub

Our kids will never have to remember things, because it's all in pictures. Want to remember your fourth birthday? There'll be video of it on your phone.

- Jason Bateman

Birthday, Want, Will, Fourth

I really enjoy playing that everyman part because that part is us, the audience. And you need somebody inside a comedy to tether the absurdity to reality.

- Jason Bateman

Comedy, Audience, Need, Everyman

I think it's always a good time to be in a political film in America because there's so much material for comedy.

- Jason Bateman

Think, Always, I Think, Good Time

I'm not talented enough to drop everything and become somebody different.

- Jason Bateman

Enough, Drop, Everything, Talented

Our job as actors is to just try to be as accurate and as mindful of what the audience is going through and receiving and processing.

- Jason Bateman

Audience, Through, Receiving, Processing

My sense of humor lies a little closer to the middle.

- Jason Bateman

Humor, Sense Of Humor, Lies, Closer

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.

- Jason Bateman

Career, Like, Approaching, Workaholic

I'm a pretty normal guy. I'm really good at knowing how a normal guy would react in situations.

- Jason Bateman

Normal, How, Pretty, Situations

My upbringing as a child was very atypical.

- Jason Bateman

Child, Very, Upbringing

I think I'm actually much too shy to do any performance art. I admire the big swings those guys take, but I'm not a one-man band.

- Jason Bateman

Art, Think, Big, Swings

Guys like Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Sacha Baron Cohen, they do things you love to watch. I like to do the other half.

- Jason Bateman

Love, Other, Half, None

I haven't met a lot of 'Hogan Family' fans.

- Jason Bateman

Family, Fans, Lot, Met

If you're stumbling out of a bar, and people tweet about it, well, don't be dumb. If you're going to get falling-down drunk, stay at home - which I did a lot of.

- Jason Bateman

Going, Stumbling, Which, Bar

I wanted to marry somebody who wasn't someone I had to be in any particular mood to want to be around - with close friends, you can be with them no matter what mood you're in.

- Jason Bateman

Want, Mood, Close Friends, Particular

I would rather do three or four small parts every year as opposed to some of the lower-hanging fruit that might get my name above the title.

- Jason Bateman

Small, Some, Opposed, Parts

Jennifer Aniston and I have always just really gotten along well... I was just fortunate to be a good fit for parts in her films.

- Jason Bateman

Always, Films, Jennifer, Parts

Acting has always been very comfortable for me, so it allows me to pay attention to other parts of the process literally while I'm acting.

- Jason Bateman

Always, Been, Very, Parts

I think you get the parts that people are comfortable with seeing you play.

- Jason Bateman

Play, Think, I Think, Parts

I was doing everything that a kid would be doing anyway, but on top of that, I was able to fly to different cities.

- Jason Bateman

Fly, Doing, Would, Anyway

I feel incredibly fortunate I walked away, took care of other business, and then came back to show business.

- Jason Bateman

Other, Away, Took, Walked

We had, like, the greatest time you could ever imagine doing 'Arrested Development.' And as grateful as we are for the careers we have afterwards, it was - we still miss it.

- Jason Bateman

Grateful, Doing, Arrested, Miss

I remember my dad working with me on breaking down my script and writing out a back story for my character and all that stuff.

- Jason Bateman

I Remember, Back, Dad, Script

If it's a good part in a good movie, I'll do it.

- Jason Bateman

Good, Movie, Part, Good Movie

I owe everything to 'Arrested Development.' It just shows that everybody is kind of a job away from having relevance again.

- Jason Bateman

Development, Away, Arrested, Owe

Music is such an incredibly affecting part of any movie-going experience, and it just... it shapes your whole experience.

- Jason Bateman

Music, Part, Incredibly, Shapes

I've been fortunate, but I'm also not very precious about making sure I'm the star of a film.

- Jason Bateman

Making, Been, Very, Fortunate

I have to warn you: I bet horses like a girl.

- Jason Bateman

Girl, Like, Bet, Warn

Actors are sellers, and I figured out a long time ago that if you wanted to work a lot, you had to be on the buying side.

- Jason Bateman

Work, Side, Figured, Buying

Actors, by very definition, we want people to pay attention to us, and so usually, that comes in the package of insecurity. So if we're not comfortable, we don't really show you a lot.

- Jason Bateman

Pay Attention, Package, Very, Insecurity

If you make a mistake, people are going to know about it really fast - and I was making a ton of them when I was a kid.

- Jason Bateman

Mistake, Making, Going, Ton

I don't have anything to fix! I don't smoke, I don't drink, and I don't eat carbs. My life is just great now. Normal. Vanilla.

- Jason Bateman

My Life, Normal, Carbs, Fix

You want 100% and 100% to make 200, instead of 50 and 50 making 100.

- Jason Bateman

Want, Making, Make, Instead

I have a tendency to evolve into William Shatner, with my big fat face.

- Jason Bateman

Face, Big, Evolve, Shatner

On the whole, a director who make the set a comfortable place to work is really important, whether it's a comedy or drama.

- Jason Bateman

Work, Director, Set, Comfortable

I just love doing sitcoms. I'd be in them till I was gray if they'd have me.

- Jason Bateman

Love, Doing, Till, Gray

I think the Internet is a huge positive.

- Jason Bateman

Think, I Think, Huge, Internet

My family is pretty funny. My mother is British, so she's got a very dry sense of humor. That's where I got that from.

- Jason Bateman

Sense Of Humor, Pretty, Very, Dry

I didn't really watch 'Beavis & Butt-head' that much or 'King of the Hill,' but I was a huge 'Office Space' fan.

- Jason Bateman

King, Office, Really, Fan

There's a bunch of different flavours of funny. It's all about the execution of it.

- Jason Bateman

Execution, Different, About, Bunch

The comedy community is very friendly right now. I think that's why you see all the synergy and people doing each other's movies.

- Jason Bateman

Doing, Think, Very, Synergy

It's very difficult to pretend you're throwing a car.

- Jason Bateman

Car, Difficult, Very, Throwing

I'm never happier than in the bed.

- Jason Bateman

Never, Bed, Than, Happier

I was never at a place where rehab would have been appropriate.

- Jason Bateman

Never, Been, Appropriate, Rehab

I don't really find a problem with technology or television or anything. I'm a product of it. I grew up watching TV, and I don't think I'm too dumb or too crazy.

- Jason Bateman

Think, Watching Tv, TV, Product

I don't worry about people misinterpreting my kindness for weakness.

- Jason Bateman

People, Worry, About, Weakness

I'm looking forward to playing Michael Bluth many, many more times.

- Jason Bateman

Forward, More, Times, Michael

As disciplined as I am, I'm also a huge hedonist.

- Jason Bateman

I Am, Also, Huge, Disciplined

I try to figure out how much of the character I can find in myself because you don't want to get outside of your skill-set.

- Jason Bateman

Myself, Want, Your, Figure

I'm just going to try to stay employed. That's the tough part in this business.

- Jason Bateman

Business, Going, Part, Employed

I'd worked so hard that by the time I was 20, I wanted to play hard. And I did that really well.

- Jason Bateman

Play, Really, Worked, By The Time

I really appreciate comedy a lot.

- Jason Bateman

Comedy, Lot, Really, Appreciate

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