Jason Bateman is this year’s Emmy overachiever, nominated for lead limited series actor and limited series directing on Netflix’s “Black Rabbit,” and as both supporting actor and executive producer on another limited series, HBO Max’s “DTF St. Louis.” So where does the multi-hyphenate’s brain reside more in these days, as an actor or director?
“They are in both worlds at the same time, but they kind of always have been,” Bateman tells Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast. “That’s why I was so drawn to having the official job of directing. Acting at an early age became so comfortable for me that I was able to really observe all the incredible work going around me. All the technical work of the camera and sound and lighting and what might be happening with editing later. So I’ve always thought about all of that — what a team it takes.”
Bateman, of course, has been acting since he was a child — “Little House on the Prairie,” “Silver Spoons,” “It’s Your Move” and even “The Hogan Family” as a teen. But he also started looking at directing as a young actor.
“I’m enormously grateful that I’m still working in this industry in this town,” he says. “I mean, I’ve gained a lot of experience in this business, and one of the things that’s really clear to me is that the best people are not guaranteed employment.”
