Award-winning actor Jason Bateman has talked about the financial responsibility he carried as a child star and how supporting his family shaped his relationship with money and his career choices. He spoke candidly during a live recording of Vulture’s Good One podcast at the Tribeca Festival, saying his earnings became an important part of his family’s income, reports femalefirst.co.uk.
Speaking to podcast host, the actor described money as “an interesting subject”. He said: “Both my parents were my manager and so what I made was very helpful to our bottom line each month, and so there was a great deal of pressure to kind of, you know, like, ‘Don’t get fired’.”
Bateman explained that maintaining his acting career depended on meeting school requirements while working long television schedules. He added: “If you don’t keep a C average in school, you don’t get your work permit, and you’re fired.” Bateman recalled how the cycle repeated every six months while television production schedules often dominated most of the year.
Despite the anxiety he experienced, the actor said the circumstances gave him confidence about earning money, which has remained throughout his life. He said: “I have got some friends that are incredibly wealthy because their parents were incredibly wealthy and they inherited a bunch of money, and they're the tightest people I know because they never... they didn't make that money, and so they feel every dollar out they're not going to be able to get back.”
He added earning money himself from a young age helped him develop what he described as healthier attitudes towards finances. The actor’s comments offer a rare insight into the realities behind a career spanning more than four decades, from his breakthrough role as James Cooper Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie to acclaimed performances in Arrested Development, Ozark and the Horrible Bosses films.
More recently, Bateman has remained in the spotlight through the continued success of the SmartLess podcast alongside Will Arnett and Sean Hayes, as well as ongoing interest in Ozark, the Emmy-winning crime drama that cemented his status as one of television’s most respected leading men.