“It was a risky business”: Jason Bateman Opens Up about His Struggles with Drugs and Alcohol, and How it Almost Cost Him His Marriage
Hollywood, behind its blinding lights, is home to the dark reality of drugs, booze, and addiction to both.
And just like any other big names in Hollywood, Jason Bateman was also caught up in the tangle.
Known for his humorous roles in 80’s sitcoms The Hogan Family and Arrested Development, the then teenage star was all over the film industry at a very young age.
How young?
Well, by the time that he was just 18, Bateman already had a ten-year experience in acting and has already been a part of numerous films, which earned him a spot as one of the most famous childhood actors of all time.
Though he was known for making people smile with his humorous jokes, life wasn’t always great for this actor growing up.
After time in counselling Jason was able to openly admit his struggles with drugs and alcohol at a very young age which lasted for a very long time, both the public and the fans alike had a glimpse of his personal life, and it’s not necessarily a nice picture to look at.
Alcohol, drugs, and marriage: a deadly storm
Born and raised in Rye, New York, Jason Bateman is a son of a well-known writer, producer and director, Kent Bateman, who apparently is responsible for his love for acting. According to the actor, when his father is around, they didn’t play at a park like other kids.
Instead, they would spend hours and hours watching different foreign films, exposing the soon-to-be-actor to fascinatingly peculiar movies which helped him develop an interest for acting.
Soon enough, his neighbor, a close friend of his dad who also works for the film industry, encouraged the young Bateman to try out for auditioning for different acting roles, which the then 10-year old actor agreed with. He soon got accepted in the roles he auditioned in and started to act in different commercials shortly after.
He then went on to have his television debut in 1981, where he played the role of an adopted son in the 80’s drama series Little House on the Prairie (1974-1983). After the success of the series, the acting opportunities for the young Bateman come from left and right. He played a string of roles for the various TV shows such as The Silver Spoon (1982-1987) while also acting for a handful of movies.
Thanks to his hard work, the name “Jason Bateman” as we know it went all over the industry during this time and the success of the actor is undeniable. His boy-next-door looks can be seen being displayed at different places from small screen, to silver screen, down to the billboards and magazine spreads.
The public loved him, most especially teenage girls at the time, becoming one of 80’s true blue heartthrobs.
But this success came with consequences. The lifestyle that the young actor was living began to change as he was hooked to celebrity-type of parties and was already drinking alcoholic beverages at an early stage of his life, saying “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. I’d worked so hard that by the time I was 20, I wanted to play hard. And I did that really well.”
For years, he continued to live this kind of life, even after marrying his childhood sweetheart, Amanda Anka back in 2001.
During marriage, his habits began to worsen even more, graduating from attending multiple parties with insane amounts of alcohol to getting hooked into yet another addictive substance – drugs.
He said that taking booze would make him want to stay out all night to also do some cocaine on the side or smoke some pot, describing doing both as “French fries and ketchup” as he “doesn’t want to do one without the other”
Turning point
While Bateman continued to sink deeper into such a destructive lifestyle, his wife, Amanda, also started growing tired of him. She eventually gave him an ultimatum just to stop him from drinking alcohol and taking drugs
During this moment, Bateman started his first step to sobriety. He eventually decided to go to an AA meeting while his wife was not around, asking himself the question, “Do you want to continue to be great at being in your 20s, or do you want to step up and graduate into adulthood?”
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His decision has proven to be right, and although he also had a hard time turning over a new leaf, things got so much better for him when he did – credits to his dedicated wife who continuously forced Bateman to change the path that he’s currently in and helped him stay sober while at it.
Another day, another chance
When he finally decided to be sober the actor had so many good things coming his way.
Bateman’s acting career, having been on hiatus for a brief moment, was gradually revitalized. He was finally given opportunities to act again in films like The Invention of Lying (2009) where he acted alongside the likes of Jonah Hill and Jennifer Garner, Up in The Air (2009) with George Clooney, and Couples Retreat (2009) opposite Vince Vaughn, all showing in the same year.
Not only that but he was also granted one of the most amazing rewards he ever got in his life.
And no, it was not a reward he can get from any award-giving body in Hollywood. It was a reward only his decision to stay clean for good can give – fatherhood.
While his acting career was getting back to life again, the actor also became a father in 2006, welcoming a baby girl in the world whom they named Francesca and they went on to have another one whom they decided to call Maple.
Up until this day, the two have remained to have formed a strong relationship and have helped each other grow and learn from their mistakes.
Amazingly enough, Bateman continued on to reach new heights in his career as in 2014, he also tried his hand on directing Bad Words (2014). This moment was described by the actor as “one of the most amazing moments” of his life. And just recently, the actor was also recognized for his directing skills as he won an award for directing the Netflix series entitled Ozark (2017).
But more than the awards, the actor is more proud of the acknowledgement that he was getting to his peers because they are the ones who knew about what he went through in his personal life.
With things going great in the actor’s life, it is safe to say that he has no plans to get back in his old ways. He’s now living the best life he ever had, where he is away from all the bad things that alcohol and drugs had caused him.
Have an addiction story that you want us to know? We are listening to whatever you have to say! Feel free to share and let us know what you have in mind in the comment section. If you are looking for a more direct conversation however please do reach out for help
I’m so happy for Jason Bateman and I love his story It’s very encouraging.. I was an Orange county housewife married to a fireman. We had two kids by the time I was 18
I got married at 16. It was the right thing to do. I started getting verbally abused and then physically abused and at 28 years old I turned to alcohol. We ended up getting a divorce when I was 31 and I started partying backstage with some celebrities. I got hooked on cocaine. I went from Orange county housewife to Skid row addict strung out on cocaine and alcohop. I stepped into a world I had never known existed. Not so tired and I was so high, I actually got on my knees and I asked God to help me March 17th 2006. 2 days later is my sobriety on March 19th 2006 was my first day sober and now I have 15 years. It’s not always easy but it’s a lot better than that party life that took me into a dark evil world. I have my mother to think for all the prayers. Fortunately she got to see me get sober and 9 months later she passed away. She was my rock. Thank God I got out of that lifestyle and now I’m living in Hollywood,. I have my family back in my life and I am grandmother of seven and they’ve never seen me drunk or high. God is good all the time and I hope to encourage others that they too can do the same thing
I lived in Canoga Park CA from ages 2-13. I only had 1 sibling, a brother, whom unfortunately died in 2016 at the young age of 53. Our Mother remarried when I was 8 and he was 10. Our Stepdad moved us into a nice home and later on we attended Hale Junior High. I hated it there and since I was already getting high before class and already loved the taste of beer at age 12, the trouble had just begun. We made plenty of friends on the block, but none of them were a good influence. The family across the street had 3 kids and one of them smoked weed in his room with the parents consent. Weed and alcohol were readily available to us. Some of my Brother’s friends were old enough to buy alcohol and I was able to purchase cigarettes at a drive through dairy not far from school. The parents were almost non existent at a couple homes on the block and of course that’s where I preferred to be. So many crazy things were going on unnoticed, and unfortunately 3 of my friends were killed in tragic accidents, the first was a 12 year old boy, then a 16 year old boy…Several years before they passed, My friend Carol’s father had committed suicide and unfortunately, so did her Mom. I remember when it happened. Carol and I spent the night at our friend Amy’s house and the next day, the 3 of us walked Carol home and then I’m not sure where Amy and I went, but apparently Carol found her Mom dead inside her car from suicide. I remember the black exhaust spot on the driveway just outside the garage… Poor Carol was tragically killed while walking her bicycle through Topanga Canyon at just 16. This all happened in the 70’s. I’ve thought about writing a book about our bizarre, sometimes tragic childhood, but I would need help pulling it together. Anyway, that was just part of the story… I’m 56 now and had my battles with drugs, but thankfully nothing I couldn’t walk away from, well with the exception of alcohol, I still drink on occasion, but have done some extremely asinine things while intoxicated. Not proud of it. I have a 28 and a 38 year old Sons and unfortunately, one of them has been battling drug addiction for many years. His Father and I probably contributed greatly through genetics and it absolutely breaks my heart. The denial on my boy’s part, really sucks… I feel everything, deeply. God help this world
Is there any way to personally message or write to Jason? I actually met he and Kirk Cameron back on April 17, 1987, at the Doubletree Hotel lobby. They were going to be performing at Worlds of Fun! My parents had taken a friend and I there for my 13th birthday. At the time, I was just excited to see Kirk! Years later, my husband and I are watching a lot of Jason’s movies, and I look up to him now, as I learned that he has struggled with addiction and alcoholism. I am 10 1/2 years sober, and can relate. If there is any way of reaching out to him, I’d greatly appreciate it! 🙂