Jason Bateman turns 49 today and is one of my favorite funny actors on tv, who has also had plenty of success on the big screen throughout his 35+ years in the business. He is most well known for playing Michael Bluth in the hilarious series Arrested Development, (4 seasons 2003-2013, Netflix announced season 5 is coming), and is currently co-starring with Laura Linney in the crime drama series Ozark, (he moves his family after some dealings with a drug cartel go wrong). Watch in Arrested Development how he is able to balance the comedic absurdity from every other character in the show, connecting them all together, and yet also getting (sometimes more than) his share of laughs. Likeable by being calm, polite, and soft spoken, Bateman keeps things fresh by playing a variety of characters, but none more so than the average everyman. In Extract, (2009 comedy written and directed by Mike Judge) or in Horrible Bosses 1&2, (2011 & 2014 comedies with Jason Sudeikis), Bateman took his (funny) beatings from everyone while trying to hold it together. This Is Where I Leave You, (2014 comedy drama with Tina Fey), is perhaps my favorite Jason Bateman film because it is a brilliant mix of humor and sadness, Bateman pushed himself emotionally, and he had great chemistry with his entire family, (this time especially with Tina Fey and Jane Fonda). Jason is from Rye, New York, was 12 in his first role appearing on the series Little House on the Prairie (1981-1982), and will next be seen in the crime comedy film Game Night with Rachel McAdams, (about a group of friends who one night try to solve a murder). Other notable films of his include Zootopia (2016 animated Disney), Hancock (2008 sci-fi with Will Smith), Juno (2007 comedy drama with Ellen Page), and Teen Wolf Too (1987 fantasy as a teenager who starts turning into a wolf).

Jason Bateman

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