Jason Bateman Compares Michael Landon To George Clooney | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

I know that you uh directed quite a bit. on Ozark. and that you must have been watching the. whole time. I mean, this was go back to. when you're a kid where you're watching. other people make these decisions. Someone explained to me a lot of. directing is making choices. Do you want. this or do you want that? You know, so. you're watching that and saying, "I want. to be doing that." Yeah. It was it was. uh it was Michael Landon on Little House. in the Prairie. So, right right as I was. starting to like, you know, I'd done a.

couple of years of commercials and stuff. like that, but um but I was starting to. really kind of notice what what this. magic trick is of making fake life like, oh, okay. So, you point like, you know, cuz we all look through the paper towel. tube when we're a kid, you know, and. like, you know, you kind of like, you. know, you make that little tunnel that. you're seeing stuff through and outside. that tunnel, the stuff you can't see, like that's where all the gak can be, right? Like the microphone and the. lights and all that stuff. And so just. inside that tube needs to be pristine. And so I started to I started to watch.

directors and crews kind of create this. fake life. And Michael Landon was the. director, executive producer, star, writer. Um, everybody loved him. What. did you What was he like? I just because. I grew up. He was brother. My brother is. obsessed with. Bonanza and has been his whole life and. has made sure that all of us around him. have watched almost every episode of. Bonanza. So, um, even though yes, I know.

he he went on Little House in the Prayer. and everything, I just can't believe. that's that's Joe Cartwright. Yeah. I. can't believe you even knew him. Right. Right. What was he like as a person? He. was George Clooney would be like the the. perfect comparison today. um his ease. with people, with the process, with the. business, with just Joe on the street. Uh women are crazy about him. Guys want. to be his buddy. Um and so watching him. juggle all those balls and and kind of. be this leader and and presence on a set.

and be kind with people, but also be. kind of a a you know, a stern boss if he. needs to or what. That was that was. pretty inspirational. And so, um, that's. kind of where it started that. And my. dad never really took me to the park to. throw the ball. He'd take me to, you. know, artous, you know, to like watch. foreign films and show me what what. directing is and what acting is and. what's good and what's bad. What if he. only took you to artous and showed you. bonanzas?

Here's one where this uh these cattle. rustlers come to town. Michael, they were going to show a true foe true. foe film here, but we shut that down. This is going to be the bonanza where. Okay. All right. Um, but that's. beautiful that he did that. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, in retrospect, it was because it. it kind of planted the seed. Yeah. Uh, and um Yeah. And then it just kind of. went on from there and I was always sort. of tracking it and and wanting to do it.

and so paying attention to every set I. was on after Little House. Um, and then, uh, I actually went and spoke to the. producers of the Hogan family when I was. 18 to see if there could be a slot for. my dad to direct an episode. Um, and. while I was talking to the producers. about that, they said, "Uh, yeah, for. sure." And do you want to direct one? And I said, "Yes, please." And, um, and. ended up doing that. And, um, and then.

that was just sort of like, well, I. guess now I can now I can do this. It's. a different thing directing stuff in. front of a studio audience. It's more. like directing a play, you know, to to. be fair. Um, but still it was like got. me my DGA card and and I thought, you. know, and then I I was really pursuing. that career when Arrested Development. came around. I was I was following um. Jim uh James Burroughs around. Jimmy. Burrows around and watching he's a for. the listeners who don't know, he was. like the most famous the Babe Ruth of. all the great Cheers. Yeah. Sitcom.

director sitcom director's friends, you. And I was like, well, I want to turn my. my my my my history of doing sitcoms. into a positive instead of the negative. that it I felt it was at the time and. let all that experience maybe get me. hired as a director. And so I wanted to. be like the new Jimmy Burroughs. And. then uh Arrested Development came along. I my quick this just popped in my head, but literally a couple of months ago, I. had to go back to Boston uh quickly uh. see my family and I always stay in the.

same hotel and I get on my elevator to. go down to the lobby. and it stops on another floor and Jimmy. Burroughs gets on. Really? And this is a. hotel that's right on the park. Uh. literally maybe 60 ft from the Cheers. Bar. Yeah. And I'm headed down and Jimmy. and I are talking and uh I said hey. Jimmy want to go over to the Cheers bar. hang out and he. went like I don't know why that popped.

into my head. I've been in there that's. a cool spot. Are you sure? People go. there. It's like people that go to the. central one of the Central Perk coffee. shops and think they're going to see. Jennifer Aniston. Uh they feel cheated. that they're not. It's a bar. Uh but. um yeah, I. uh I think the salvation is if you get. into the work like for me. um when I hear you talk about all this.

is that you were very interested in. making the stuff and the work and to me. that was always the salvation. I wanted. my goal. If you asked me when I was 20, what's your goal? I would say I would. like to have a body of work. Which. sounds incredibly pretentious, but. that's what I wanted. People could like. it, they could hate it. But I just. wanted when I was done to have stuff. that I had made that as a writer, as a.

writer, as a whatever, just as a. performer, as a Did you have on camera. aspirations at that time? I you know, it's so funny. I knew that I could get a. job as a writer, but I always was a. performer as a writer. So, I was always. the guy that would get up and do stuff. at Saturday Night Live. I would do. things in front of the other writers, start doing something, and they would be. laughing and Lauren would notice that. and Lauren would notice it, but also the. writers would say, "That's a sketch that. guy you're doing right now, and I'm just.

doing it because something's wrong with. me." um or you're trying to make it more. spe you're trying to get your point. across to the other writers that this. this is what it needs to be or that this. this this sketch works if you play it. paranoid and so you you got to like do. but not even that there were often times. when I wasn't pitching a sketch I was. just doing Yeah, you've seen it Sona. where I'll just come in and I'll just be. doing something that strikes me as funny. or odd and that's all you do. That's.

kind of all I do. I don't know the real. you. And then we got to SNL and I was. doing that for someone like Odin Kirk or. Smiggle and they said, "No, that's a. sketch. That's a that's a that's a. sketch." And I was like, "Oh, that's. just a thing that I do." Right. And then. that was just write that down and make a. living. Many of the things that I've. over the years that I wrote for SNL or. any of the things that I over the years.

did on late night were just things that. I did. Sometimes I would do them in the shower, right? And my wife to this day will hear. me in the shower saying, "You've got. some nerves.". And um. well, they've all just grown accustomed. to it, but that's where that came from. What have you ever and I apologize if it. exists and I haven't seen it, but have. you ever spent time doing multiple. characters along with your writing as.

you would have done had you been uh on. camera at SNL? What do you mean? Uh well. like like do uh inhabiting multiple. characters playing some French pastry. chef and then playing a a a mechanic and. then as you do as a cast member. I think. we've done bits where I've been. different people. Uh but not not on the. talk show. No. Right. Where you like. dress up in costume and there's a wig. and there there's prosthetic just like. an SNL cast member. Yeah. Yeah. It was.

it's interesting because I always when I. was at SNL I never looked at Dana Carvey. or any of those guys and. thought I could be doing that because I. always knew the difference. I always. knew there have been things uh where we. would shoot something um we did. something with Lev Shriber once which. was a parody of that show uh Studio 60. remember there was a show that was a. very serious Aaron Sorcin show kind of a.

he took a Westwing approach to like a. Saturday Night Live and and people were. giving him a hard time for it and uh I. we decided to do a parody of it and so. Lev Shriber we got him to play me so it. was and I got to play so Lev Shriber has. the Conan hair and I my favorite thing. is I we got me a thin mustache and you. could probably see it line and wax back. my hair and I played the producer and. I'm talking to Conan and I'm saying god.

damn it. Conan you know women want to be with you. men want to be you've got it all the. looks the ch and we have Shriber's. brooding and I'm talking about Conan in. this you know. [Laughter]. what was this on uh it was on the late. night show you know I mean we did. thousands and thousands of hours of late. night shows and we would we would fill. So I guess the point is that for me it's. always. been I'm going to quote my dad and I've.

quoted him many times on the show with. this exact same line, but he always said. you're making your live living off of. something that should probably be. treated because it's very manic and I. can't not do it. And I do it I just got. back from a vacation with my wife and. kids. I did it there. They just tune it. out. They're not interested. They, you know, um, as a, as kids, I. would call my kids together when my wife. was not around and I would say, "Kids,

kids, your mother's gone and I need to. talk to you." And they would and they. would gather around me and they would. look up at me and go, "Is this real or. is this a bit?" And I'd go, "It's just. that I think." And they'd go, "It's a. bit." And walk away. So, it's it's that. 24/7. I love that. I love being just a total. whack job with my kids sometimes, but I. it's such an unreliable audience. I. mean, they're they're they're determined.

not to laugh, of course. Right. So, it's. it's pain for you and for me to do that, but also I love it. And because if you. can crack them, you've got something. But also, it's as it should be. Yeah. If. your children are laughing and saying, "God, dad, you're the greatest. You're. the greatest. You got a problem. You. have a real problem. They want. something. Yeah. Exactly.