Jason Bateman Reveals Big Star Wanted to Play Him in ‘Arrested Development’ Movie
Entertainment Reporter
Jason Bateman revealed the A-list actor who wanted to take over his role in the critically-acclaimed comedy Arrested Development.
On the latest episode of Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend, Bateman made that revelation and a few others about the beloved sitcom. “I remember Matt Damon coming up to me at—I think it was like a Golden Globes or something—and I was so excited to meet him and, and he was a huge fan of Arrested Development. And he was saying, ‘You know, I really think I could play, because I hear you guys are doing the movie, I think I could—can I play you?”
The show, which aired from 2003 to 2006 on Fox and had a two seasons on Netflix in 2013 and 2018, almost had a film version, but it never got off the ground. Bateman described that one idea for the movie would’ve actually allowed for Damon to fulfill his wish of playing the main character. Show creator Mitch Hurwitz “was thinking the story of the Arrested Development movie would be that in the show, Hollywood wanted to make a movie about [the Bluth family], and we certainly couldn’t play ourselves, because we’re not actors.”
Bateman’s character Michael Bluth “would be on set, watching Matt Damon play Michael Bluth and be so excited,” he explained, adding that his co-star Will Arnett had been talking to Will Ferrell about playing the “movie” version of his character GOB.
“Of course, David Cross would play Tobias in the film as well, because he was an actor,” Bateman continued, referencing the show’s running joke about Cross’ character’s pursuit of an acting career. As O’Brien tried to convince him that the movie would still have interest from the show’s fans today, even six years since the final season streamed, Bateman wasn’t convinced.
“I don’t think anybody gives a s–t, I think it’s done,” Bateman said about a potential Arrested movie.
“That’s not true,” O’Brien said, after having spoken at length about his son’s love for the show.
“Your son would be the only guy in the theater,” Bateman replied.
It wouldn’t be the first time Bateman underestimated interest in his work. He also revealed on the podcast that not long before landing his role on Arrested Development, he’d almost left the entertainment industry—and the country—for good.
“My 20’s were, it was not a comfortable period,” he said. “I was really petrified about being able to support myself and have the rest of my career not be anticlimactic. I thought about liquidating what little I did have, literally cashing out, and literally putting what cash I had in a duffel bag, driving to the Bradley terminal at LAX, looking up on that board, picking a city, and going and just kind of unplugging from this… competition.”
Before he could pack that bag, the opportunity he’d been waiting for landed in his lap. “When I heard about Arrested Development, like, here’s a single camera comedy and it’s kind of a mockumentary, and Ron Howard’s behind it,” he said, recalling that he thought at the time, “‘They don’t want my garbage on that.’”
“But I managed to guess right and get that job,” he said, which was a “huge reset button for me.”
Entertainment Reporter
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The actor also opened up in a new interview about how he almost quit show business and fled the country before his latest career resurgence.
Eboni Boykin-Patterson
Jason Bateman Was ‘Filled with Anxiety’ to Make Money as a Child Actor
The former child star says the “pressure” of being able to work was “immense for me”
NBCU PHOTO BANK; CHARLEY GALLAY/GETTY IMAGES FOR NETFLIX
Jason Bateman had lots of anxiety and felt plenty of pressure to continue working as a child actor — because he knew his family was relying on his income.
“I do remember being really filled with anxiety about being able to continue to make a living in a business that I was pretty aware … was tenuous at best,” Bateman, 56, told Conan O’Brien on the Feb. 24 episode of the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast.
Bateman was just 10 when he began acting, eventually starring on TV hits like Little House on the Prairie, Silver Spoons, and It’s Your Move in the ‘80s. He went on to star in the long-running sitcom The Hogan Family (originally called Valerie) and shared that his parents made more money as his managers than they did in their day jobs — which allowed his family to live in the home they had. As Bateman recalled, you weren’t allowed to work as a child if you didn’t have good grades — which added to his stress.
TIM MOSENFELDER/GETTY
“My parents were my managers, and they were making more money doing that than what they were: My mom was a flight attendant for Pan Am. My dad was a freelance writer, director, producer,” Bateman, whose sister Justine starred on Family Ties as a teenager, explained. “And, you know, 15% of what I was making at that time just ended up being more than what they were making in their careers.”
“It became an important component … like, we were living in certain condo that we wouldn’t be able to live in if they were just using their salaries,” Bateman said, adding that as a child actor, his work permit would be renewed every six months based on maintaining a C average in school.
“The pressure of midterms and finals every year was immense for me, because it was 60% of your grade,” Bateman explained, noting that he would think about how “if I fail my midterm, I don’t get my work permit, which means I’m kicked off the show, which means everyone on the show loses their job, we lose our house.”
FRANK CARROLL/NBCU PHOTO BANK/NBCUNIVERSAL VIA GETTY
After The Hogan Family ended in 1991, Bateman struggled to find his footing professionally.
“My 20s was not a comfortable period,” he told O’Brien. “I was really petrified about being able to support myself and have the rest of my career not be anticlimactic” until he landed Arrested Development in 2003.
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He called the show a “reset button,” saying he had been thinking about “putting what cash I had in a duffel bag, driving to the [international] terminal at LAX, looking up on that board, picking a city, and going — just unplugging from this kind of competition.”
Bateman recently starred in the Netflix movie Carry-On and stars in the streamer’s upcoming miniseries Black Rabbit alongside June Law.
