Jason Bateman Shares What He Learned From Ron Howard | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

I had my own experience working on the. late night show. We were constantly. doing sketches. There would be a sketch. that needed, you know, a kid to play. me, you know, uh, from 20 years ago. Constantly or or a kid who in the who is. in the audience who doesn't understand. something, constantly doing these. sketches where we need kids. I remember. very clearly sometimes there were kids. that came up to me maybe eight years. old and this happened more than once,

but they would come up to me and go, "Excuse me, Mr. O'Brien. I am Billy.". "Oh, hi Billy. You know, thanks for. helping us out today. You're doing a. great job at rehearsal. I just want to. say you are a formidable. talent." And I could look in the. background and see the mother peering. out of the dressing room like it's. formidable. We went over this, you know, say it so that you're booked again, you. And I was, it bummed me out. Seriously. Uh, every now and then, one.

of those child actors, one was a little. kid who nailed it and turned it grew up. into Scarlett Johansson. Oh, yeah. And. you're like, okay, that's great. We've I. think we had one or two of those, but. for the most part, it is a perilous. thing to be a child actor. And you know, it's so fickle. And even. as adults, full-on aging adults for my. myself, uh it's still hard not to pay.

attention to who's up, who's down, who's. where. It takes and and and that's with, you know, I didn't have anybody. recognize me on the street until I was. 30 years old. That's when I got the late. night show. And I had a lot of grounding. before then. So I have no idea. I think. if I had been recognized or had any kind. of cache when I was 11 years old, I'd be. a mass murderer. So I Yeah. And a very. good one. Methodical. It's it is a very.

uh uh permissive culture that if you. have some sort of success as a kid, you. kind of get used to, you know, it's like. it's junk food and you know, kids don't. have any self-control for junk food. They eat eat it all up, right? Um, and. you're also learning how to be how to. convincingly be somebody. else at the exact time you're trying to. figure out who you are. So, it's just a. big mind too. And it's it is a big.

it's a minefield um to go through. And. um I'm really fortunate that somehow my. sort of you know stock engine came out. able to kind of navigate that, you know, somewhat decently. I mean, I am nuts. I'm crazy, but I'm functional. I said. you're squirly. I didn't say you were. crazy. Squirrely. Hard to get a beat on. you. I know there's a lot of stuff. there. I don't want to go near. Just You can get near the cage. Just. don't start around. I would drive cross.

country with. Arnette Sean in a second. You That's not. happening unless Yeah. Like you say, there's like a barrier, a caged barrier. I'm driving a police car. be in the back. with a privacy glass. No, you're in the. back. I'm driving you. Okay. I'm dressed. as a sheriff and I'm driving you cross. country and you're But there's a cage. and you're shackled. Every now and then. I pass you some green tea, but that's. about it. That's all that's happening. It is interesting to me that a important.

lynch pin of your turnaround, which you. say is arrested development. uh the guy. behind that, one of the guys behind it. and the narrator of the show, Ron. Howard, famously one of the examples, one of the few examples of a child star. who just. nailed it in his adult life and seemed. to make every right call. Did he ever. give you any insight into h into that? only by example, you know, like during.

during the the the vast wasteland of my. 20s, um I was a in an attempt to to try. to uh self-educate, uh I'd watch a lot. of news. I was a big fan of Charlie. Rose. I'd watch I'd watch that show. religiously and and and uh Ron Howard. was on it once and I remember watching. his. interview and you know Ron Howard is at. at all times it seems just about the. most gracious magnanimous guy you you.

you'd ever find. And so I'm watching him. just be incredibly warm and kind. And. he's not doing that because he needs to. kiss Charlie Rose's ass or that he's. nervous about being on the show or or. golly gosh or what. He's just genuinely. that. and is not worried about coming across. as as an asskisser or eager or he's just. being as kind as he is. Yeah. and is not. worried about masking that because if.

you grew up in the sort of cynical. environment I grew up in it's, you know, it's like, well, make sure you look like. you don't want it, you know, or make. sure that girl can't tell that you like. her, you know, like, you know, be mean. or when you go on an audition, make it. seem like you don't really want it or. that it's an inconvenience, whatever, you know, toxic crap I was listening to. as a kid. He was completely at odds with. that with his. So anyway, so I remember. sitting there watching that interview. and going if I ever get relevance again, any sort of industry capital again, um.

the greatest thing about it will be that. I will be able to be as kind as I want. to be and not worry about it coming. across as um being too eager and wanting. the job or you know and um and then I. got Arrested Development like working. for this guy and and you know he did all. the voiceover. So, he was never really. on set. So, I never really met him until. after the show had been going for a. while. And and and eventually I and I.

think it was pretty late, maybe four or. five years into I finally had dinner. with him and I told him the story and I. told him about what did he narrate the. dinner. and then told you to off? He pulled. the mask back. He said, "Yeah, fold. another one." Jason seemed perplexed. He. wanted the eggplant risoto, but he. didn't know if it was going to be too. heavy. Um, yeah, he I think he I think. he understood what I was saying that not.

only his example kind of provided this. northstar for me, but the actual show. itself gave me the capital that I was, you know, reaching for, hoping for um. that I could stop kind of acting twice. going into interview uh, you know, uh, auditions, you know, kind of like trying. to be like kind of like, h yeah, what's. up everybody? you know, and it's. such a douchebag. I was just like, and. of course it would make me incredibly. nervous because I've got to pull off.

that performance and now it's time to do. the audition and you know, now I got to. pull off this. I was just like. exhausted. Well, they say it's it's it's. exhausting to be a pathological liar. because you have to keep all of your. stories straight, right? And um it is. exhausting to have to put on a persona, right, to then audition for something. where you're then another persona, but. then if you don't get it, you have to. switch into the persona, which is I.

didn't really need it anyway. I'm cool. I'm good. Uh it's just garbage, you. know. So thankfully, um I I kind of got. through that to a certain extent. Um but. it was it was painful. I mean, the my. 20s were just like it was it was fun, but a a real um a real sort of head trip. for me cuz I'm transitioning from like. all of that fame and success and easy. road to not making as much money, not.

having the not having the actual. sustenance to to because my confidence. came from my work. Yeah. Now that I. don't have the work, now what do I have. the confidence on? You know, it's just. like Can you identify because nine. people out of 10 who went through what. you went through would not it would not. have worked out. Can you identify. something in you that helped you say, "Okay, I'm partying too much. This has. to stop." There is an inner resource. that you have, right, that 90% of people.

in your situation would not have. But I. I and I you perhaps but I I I I think. everybody's got it because all it was. was just uh goals and foresight and. vision and and you know everybody has a. way they like to think of themselves. And there are certain things that you. can't do and certain things that you. want to achieve and incorporate that.

that make that vision legit. Yeah, you. know, I knew I wanted I wanted to be a. husband, a dad, and I wanted to direct a. movie with as as an adult. That was what. I always said to myself as a kid. And. so, I knew I had to do certain things to. make those three things happen. Um, I. had to build up sort of acting capital. to be able to say, "Hey, now I want to. direct." The famous t-shirt, right? Um, I couldn't be like, you know, a. drug addict and a drunk, uh, and expect.

to have any sort of relationship that. was that had any legs. Um, and then, you. know, being a father follows that. Yeah. So, um, so I I knew I had to kind of. wind down the the the 20s fund at some. point. Uh, and I didn't know do you do. you get rid of all that stuff and then. the work will come or should I wait for. the work to come to be sort of like, you. know, the little pacifier that allows me. to like stop doing all the other stuff. It it ended up kind of all happening at.

the same time, which was nice. But yeah, I I guess it would just be that. So, I. don't think I'm not that special. I. think everybody wants certain things for. themselves in the future. And I think. it's just about having perhaps the. discipline to say, "Okay, you kind of. got to do X, Y, and Z to get to A, B, and C." And and at what point do you. want to start to implement that plan?