Jason Bateman Talks Hancock, Arrested Development

British site Times Online had an interview with Jason Bateman, co-star of Hancock alongside Will Smith and Charlize Theron. He’s playing the PR guy who tries to clean up Hancock’s reputation, and he gave some interesting insights into the film, his long career, surviving child-actorhood to emerge now as a utility go-to guy.

“My character sees life through rose-coloured glasses so he doesn’t understand how people can’t see the positive side of Hancock. I like being the everyman. I like being the tour guide, the one who tethers whatever absurdity might be in a film and helps make that tangible to the audience.”

“Make no mistake, we are all lucky to hang out in Will’s world,” he chuckles. “This is him 100 per cent. He knows so much about this particular genre of summer films and he wanted to get a little bit more ambitious with it and bring in people who are not necessarily predisposed to one of these popcorn films.”

“I just try not to do too much on screen,” Bateman explains. “Me just being me is kind of fine. I am not one of those people who wrings his hands and tries to figure out how to play my character right and do a bunch of research and all that crap.”

“If I am going to do a comedy, I might be near the top of the call sheet and then if it succeeds or fails, it’s going to be down to me. In drama, I am protected by big stars above me. Hancock is Will’s film and will do incredibly well. I am lucky to be associated with the cool kids.”

On Arrested Development and the film planned for next year:

“I owe my adult success to the show. America didn’t really watch it but people in LA did and those are the ones who hire us. It gave me an entrance to movies - which was lucky because I had somewhat exhausted my welcome in TV.”

“When it was on TV, if you missed one word the whole third act could be blown for you. And TV is a different experience. You come home and you’ve got to finish a call so you miss the first ten minutes or you get snacky and you go to the fridge and you miss another two minutes, so it’s a different experience to film.”

On being a child actor:

“I was always very aware that I did not want to end up like some of my peers who were not tethered to reality. Fortunately that subset of celebrity journalism was not there when I was staying out late as a teenager and through my twenties. I was really trying to catch up because I had worked so much when I was a little kid and didn’t get to go to college. My twenties were my fraternity life. And I got away with it. I am smarter now. I drive a station wagon.”

Bateman has no intention of encouraging his daughter Francesca into acting. “She will never get anywhere near a Screen Actors Guild card. It’s a real shitty way to make a living because you can have all the ambition and work ethic and discipline in the world and not be guaranteed employment.”