Jason Bateman

Summary

Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend - Episode Featuring Jason Bateman
Release Date: February 24, 2025

In this engaging and heartfelt episode of Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, host Conan O’Brien sits down with acclaimed actor and director Jason Bateman. Joined by regulars Sona Movsesian and Matt Gourley, the conversation delves deep into Jason's personal journey, his illustrious career, and the intricate dynamics of maintaining friendships in the entertainment industry.

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1. The Infamous Jacket and Friendship Beginnings (00:03 – 06:32)

The episode kicks off with a humorous exchange about a leather jacket that Jason wore incessantly, which was tragically lost in a house fire. Conan reminisces, “I was disheartened to learn Sona last week that the jacket that for years I've made fun of... Just constantly.” This anecdote sets a playful yet sincere tone for the discussion, highlighting Conan's genuine desire to forge a true friendship with Jason.

Jason’s admission, "I wear it a lot," followed by Conan's promise, "I will buy you that jacket," underscores the podcast's core mission: to build authentic relationships beyond superficial interactions.

2. Navigating the Entertainment Landscape with Smartless (08:10 – 16:00)

Transitioning from personal anecdotes, Conan introduces Jason by referencing his role in Arrested Development and his co-hosting gig on the Smartless podcast with Will Arnett and Sean Hayes. Jason reflects on the challenges of establishing a successful podcast, admitting, "I don't really understand why people listen to it... I get that Will and Sean are appealing fellas." Conan agrees, sharing his own skepticism but ultimately praising the trio's dynamic.

The conversation highlights the trio's chemistry and Jason’s pivotal role in balancing the humor and depth of Smartless, making it a standout in the crowded podcast space.

3. From Child Actor to Acclaimed Director (16:00 – 27:27)

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to Jason Bateman’s evolution from a child actor grappling with the transient nature of fame to a successful director and star of Ozark. Jason candidly shares his struggles during his 20s, a period marked by fleeting roles and financial instability. "I was in debt by the time I was in my 30s," he admits, painting a vivid picture of his perseverance.

Conan empathizes, drawing parallels with his own experiences in the competitive world of late-night television. The dialogue underscores the precariousness of acting careers and the resilience required to navigate them.

4. The Influence of Mentors and Personal Growth (27:27 – 37:56)

Jason credits Ron Howard and the creative environment of Arrested Development for revitalizing his career and inspiring his directorial ambitions. He recalls watching Ron Howard’s graciousness on interviews, which became his North Star during tumultuous times. "Ron Howard is just about the most gracious, magnanimous guy you'd ever find," Jason notes, highlighting the impact of positive role models.

Their discussion touches on the importance of kindness and authenticity in the entertainment industry, with Jason emphasizing, "I wanted to be able to be as kind as I want to be and not worry about it coming across as being too eager."

5. Family Dynamics and Legacy (37:56 – 55:22)

Shifting focus to personal life, Jason shares heartfelt stories about his children and their perceptions of his career. He describes bonding moments over films and directing, noting, "My daughter... wants to pursue directing and thinks what I do is cool." This segment offers a glimpse into how Jason balances his professional and personal responsibilities, fostering meaningful relationships with his family.

Conan relates by discussing his own children's reactions to his late-night persona, creating a relatable narrative about parenthood and legacy in the public eye.

6. The Art of Conversation and Mutual Respect (55:22 – 61:56)

As the episode nears its end, Conan and Jason engage in light-hearted banter about their roles in entertainment and the nature of their friendship. Jason appreciates the relaxed and genuine atmosphere of the podcast, stating, "Starting to do your show was like, oh, it can be like this." Conan echoes this sentiment, expressing gratitude for the easy camaraderie, "I've never had a real conversation with Will Arnett... but with you, it's just easy."

The closing moments are filled with mutual respect and genuine affection, encapsulating the essence of the podcast’s mission to foster real friendships.

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Notable Quotes:

• Jason Bateman (00:03): "I feel pretty good about being Conan O'Brien's friend. Wait a minute."

• Conan O’Brien (03:00): "I'll buy you that jacket. It would mean a lot to me to replace that thing that's been lost." (03:00)

• Jason Bateman (16:14): "My parents were my managers, and they were making more money doing that than what they were." (22:18)

• Jason Bateman (27:31): "I think everybody's got it because all it was was just goals and foresight and vision." (36:07)

• Conan O’Brien (56:38): "I think what you and I do is vitally important. And I'll also posit more important than anything being done in science, in medicine." (56:38)

• Jason Bateman (61:41): "I've been feeling now even better about being Conan O'Brien." (61:41)

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Conclusion

This episode of Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend offers a profound exploration of Jason Bateman’s journey through the highs and lows of Hollywood. From the humorous beginnings with a cherished jacket to the deep reflections on career challenges and personal growth, the conversation is both entertaining and inspiring. Listeners gain valuable insights into the resilience required to sustain a career in acting and directing, the importance of authentic relationships, and the balancing act between public persona and private life.

Jason Bateman's candidness and Conan's empathetic interviewing style make for a compelling episode that not only entertains but also fosters a sense of genuine connection—a testament to the podcast's mission of building real friendships.

Transcript

[Jason Bateman]

Hi, my name is Jason Bateman, and I feel pretty good about being Conan O'Brien's friend. Wait a minute.

[Conan O'Brien]

You said you worked on this answer.

[Jason Bateman]

I know, but then I said I got nothing.

[Conan O'Brien]

Pretty good. How? With a dramatic pause beforehand.

[Sona Movsesian]

Fall is here Hear the yell Back to school Ring the bell Brand new shoes Walking blues Climb the fence Books.

[Conan O'Brien]

And pens I can tell that we are gonna be friends I can tell that we are gonna be friends hey there. It's Conan O'Brien needs a friend. I am Conan O'Brien and I'm joined here.

[Matt Gourley]

It is an intro.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah. What is your problem?

[Matt Gourley]

I didn't know what we were doing.

[Conan O'Brien]

Okay, well, that's par for the course. Okay, no, we're not changing anything. We're keeping it.

[Matt Gourley]

Yeah, Gorly will cut this out.

[Conan O'Brien]

No, yeah, Gorlly keep. It's too good.

[Sona Movsesian]

Well, torn between two parents.

[Conan O'Brien]

All right, I'll start again. My guest today. Oh, sorry. Now you got to keep it in. Hello. Goodbye. Hey there. Welcome to Conan O'Brien needs a friend. I don't know why I'm talking like the old movie phone guy. I'm Conan O'Brien, joined by Sonam of session, Matt Gorley. And I was. I was disheartened to learn Sona last week that the jacket that for years I've made fun of. Cause you wore it all the time. Just constantly. Constantly. I mean, you wore it at your wedding. It was ridiculous. You wore it all the time, every day. Do you agree that you wore it a lot?

[Matt Gourley]

I wore it so much the lining was ripping.

[Conan O'Brien]

And so it was a little bit of a thing where I would make fun of the jacket and was kind of like a fun. Hehe. Ha ha. And then I found out on last week's episode, just joking around, that your jacket was lost when your house caught fire.

[Matt Gourley]

Right.

[Conan O'Brien]

Which I didn't know. And I expressed real surprise. Cause I couldn't imagine that jacket not being with you. Yeah, but you said it was in the house and so it's gone.

[Matt Gourley]

It's gone. It was in the house. I did wear it a lot. It was my. I felt like. But the Fonz wears his jacket all the time. Like there's cool people who wear the same jacket.

[Conan O'Brien]

That's a television character. They're legally required to wear the same.

[Sona Movsesian]

Indiana Jones.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah. They have to wear the same thing.

[Matt Gourley]

Yeah, but like, isn't it cool?

[Conan O'Brien]

It was not. I think so. No, it wasn't good every day. And I offered to buy you other jackets, remember?

[Matt Gourley]

Yeah, I know, but I Didn't. I don't need other jackets. I had a jacket I like.

[Conan O'Brien]

Well, now you need a jacket.

[Matt Gourley]

Well, so I looked and they still sell my jacket.

[Conan O'Brien]

They do.

[Matt Gourley]

They do. They still. It was like, I think I bought it like maybe 10 years ago, but it's like kind of a staple for the brand.

[Conan O'Brien]

It's more than 10 years ago because. No, because you started working with me like 15, 16 years ago. I bought it and you had the jacket then. Yeah.

[Matt Gourley]

And it was a splurge for me. So I thought myself, okay, if I wear it enough, it'll justify how much I spent on it. And so that's why, like, that's part of the reason why I. You wore it so much.

[Conan O'Brien]

Okay.

[Matt Gourley]

So anyway, they still have it.

[Conan O'Brien]

They still have the jacket.

[Matt Gourley]

They do.

[Conan O'Brien]

Would you want to replace it? I will pay for this jacket if doesn't go above a certain amount.

[Matt Gourley]

If I do buy another one, are you going to make fun of me?

[Conan O'Brien]

Yes.

[Jason Bateman]

Yes.

[Sona Movsesian]

So you're paying for the right because you've now lost the right to make fun of her.

[Conan O'Brien]

I can't. We had a fun thing going where I could come up with all these different riffs about the jacket. And the jacket tragically lost. The riff was lost. The joke was lost.

[Sona Movsesian]

I understand this.

[Conan O'Brien]

That's what I think of. I think.

[Sona Movsesian]

Can I represent you here?

[Matt Gourley]

Yeah, please.

[Sona Movsesian]

Will you give her the cash value?

[Conan O'Brien]

No, I want the. No, absolutely not. No. She's got a cold hearted. Well, I'm sorry. I'm a businessman.

[Matt Gourley]

Is that as far as you had? That's all you had?

[Conan O'Brien]

He's a lawyer. I'm not a lawyer. He's a lawyer who just. Oh, I understand. And then immediately he closed. He closed his briefcase, he folded up the table he was sitting at and he jumped out the window.

[Sona Movsesian]

My work here is done.

[Conan O'Brien]

Well, my work here is done. Out the window.

[Jason Bateman]

Matinee at the Bijou. Got a catch.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Matt Gourley]

I really thought you were going to go in on him.

[Conan O'Brien]

No, no. I don't know what I'm doing. I will not do the cash value. I want you to have the same jacket because I want you to have that jacket back.

[Matt Gourley]

Let me see it.

[Sona Movsesian]

Bring up that picture.

[Matt Gourley]

Okay.

[Sona Movsesian]

Because I don't remember this jacket.

[Conan O'Brien]

You don't remember it? It's the only thing she wore.

[Matt Gourley]

It looks so much better.

[Conan O'Brien]

It's like me saying, I don't remember your puzzled expression.

[Matt Gourley]

Look how cool that was. A cool jacket.

[Conan O'Brien]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sona Movsesian]

It's like a proper. It's like a biker's jacket.

[Conan O'Brien]

This is the part that I thought was very general. Zeus, Planet of the Apes, you know. Oh, yeah, that doctor's axe.

[Sona Movsesian]

Oh, right. That's like.

[Matt Gourley]

I don't know if I need that anymore.

[Conan O'Brien]

No, you gotta have it.

[Sona Movsesian]

There's like a quilted leather cross hatch.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, yeah. That was the part that really bothered me. Yeah. But I want you to get that exact same jacket. They still sell it.

[Matt Gourley]

They do.

[Conan O'Brien]

What's the price?

[Jason Bateman]

Is.

[Sona Movsesian]

It's the Terminator jacket, basically.

[Conan O'Brien]

Is it?

[Sona Movsesian]

It's kind of.

[Matt Gourley]

I didn't.

[Conan O'Brien]

I don't know you. Terminator? Yeah.

[Matt Gourley]

No, the Terminator wears, like, a normal motorcycle jacket, doesn't he?

[Sona Movsesian]

That's kind of what that is.

[Matt Gourley]

There's other jackets that don't have that detail on it.

[Conan O'Brien]

All right, let's get into more profitable territory because you guys are going into the weeds here, and it's my job as helmsman.

[Sona Movsesian]

Is that your final offer?

[Conan O'Brien]

What? How much is this?

[Matt Gourley]

I'm scared to say it because it's. I do want to say it. I did. Speak.

[Conan O'Brien]

Let me say. Let me say.

[Matt Gourley]

550.

[Conan O'Brien]

I spent that on lunch.

[Matt Gourley]

Okay.

[Conan O'Brien]

I order $550 worth of fresh Alaskan crab every day. And I eat it off the small of my head. Writer's back.

[Jason Bateman]

Why?

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah. Mike Sweeney has to get on all fours. I ladle out this crab that's been shipped in. In a private plane, and I ladle it onto his small back and then I eat it with a tiny little silver spoon. So anyway, yes. I will buy you. I will buy you that jacket. I will buy you that. No, that would actually. I'm not kidding. It would mean a lot to me to replace that thing that's been lost would also mean a lot to me to keep making fun of you. I know.

[Matt Gourley]

That's what I. I know.

[Conan O'Brien]

I'm buying you that jacket. It's a done deal. Okay. So you order it up.

[Sona Movsesian]

I brokered the deal.

[Matt Gourley]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah. You were a key in this whole matter. So 55. Seriously, Sona, order the jacket? I don't know how to do that. No, no. This doesn't work if you don't do it. You've got to order the jacket. Because the jacket was lost. To be serious for just a second. Yeah, the jacket was lost in the fire. Yeah. Let's replace it.

[Sona Movsesian]

Okay. And now I'll represent you. He'll buy it, but you have to bring it in and we do a segment about it.

[Matt Gourley]

I will. I'll bring it in. I will definitely bring it in because I'm going to wear it probably all the time.

[Conan O'Brien]

So buy the jacket and.

[Matt Gourley]

Okay.

[Conan O'Brien]

And don't have me reimburse you. I have to buy the jacket.

[Matt Gourley]

I have your credit card.

[Conan O'Brien]

I know you do? What? Yeah, she has my credit card.

[Sona Movsesian]

Why aren't we living high on the hog?

[Conan O'Brien]

What is. She's actually done okay for herself. There have been many times where Sona, how much. How many drinks do you think you've had on old Uncle Cozy without Uncle Cozy even knowing it over the years without you even knowing it before you even became a responsible member of society?

[Matt Gourley]

Quite a bit.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Matt Gourley]

I love it.

[Sona Movsesian]

I love it.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Matt Gourley]

But I think it's also the least you could do for me.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Matt Gourley]

So you're welcome.

[Conan O'Brien]

It was always showed up on my emex statements. As least I could do. Least you could do for Sona. And they would be like, oh, my God, you dropped $1,800 at a bar. Yeah. So we're done. It's a done deal now. Great. You're getting that jacket, okay? I will pay for it, you will wear it, and that is my way of making all of your loss go away. Does that cover it? The one leather jacket?

[Matt Gourley]

Sure.

[Conan O'Brien]

You lost in your house?

[Matt Gourley]

Yeah, the one leather. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sona Movsesian]

It's too bad he didn't make fun of your house.

[Conan O'Brien]

That house is no house. All right, let's get into it. My guest today starred in Arrested Development, now co hosts the popular podcast Smartless alongside my arch enemies, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes. I am very thrilled that this gentleman is joining us today. This is his first time. This is very cool. I bullied him into coming here. Jason Bateman, welcome.

[Jason Bateman]

You know, the question is, are you Conan O'Brien's friend if you aren't invited to his Christmas party? You know, there's so many hundreds of people.

[Conan O'Brien]

We've straightened this out. Thousands are invited to the Christmas party. I invite thousands. About 50. Come. Listen, we're going to. Just because this has been a thing. And then I went on Smart List recently, you know, about you coming to the Christmas party, and it was a thing for a while. You. You. You claim you weren't invited.

[Jason Bateman]

I was shocked that there was a Christmas party, that. That a Christmas party had been going on for years.

[Conan O'Brien]

But you were. I think you were shocked that Christmas was celebrated because you're such a Grinch.

[Jason Bateman]

That Christmas had something to do with your Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. It's like.

[Conan O'Brien]

Well, listen, the point is you. You know, let's talk about smart list. It's a juggernaut. You guys are.

[Jason Bateman]

It's a pretty hard pivot. It's a real. I mean, that was a four wheel slide.

[Conan O'Brien]

Can I tell you something?

[Jason Bateman]

Right?

[Conan O'Brien]

I just broke my hip pivoting. But no, the point I'm trying to make is of you three guys, you got Will Arnett, you got Sean. Is it Haze?

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. I think it's H, A Z, E. Okay.

[Conan O'Brien]

And then you're Jason Bateman. Bateman. Okay. There's the three of you. And you're the one that I have trouble getting a beat on. I gotta say, you're the one. You're squirrely. You're Squirrely Bateman. I've always had a problem getting a beat on you. A huge fan of yours. I adore you. But I can't get a beat on the guy.

[Jason Bateman]

I can't because you can sense that I'm not sure why I'm there, and I don't really. I'm not really sure if I. I don't get it. I don't understand why people listen to it. I. I get that Will and Sean are appealing fellas. That's why they're two of my best friends. And we're not doing anything more than just the drivel that happens when we're in a car together or at a dinner or how. I just don't think that that's monetizable. Right. That you should ask for people's attention to listen to that. That you can monetize.

[Conan O'Brien]

I agree with it about your podcast. I agree because I've checked it out and I'm. I'm like, I can't believe that this is something people. I mean, this, what we're doing here.

[Jason Bateman]

You've got a full. You've got an array of talent here.

[Conan O'Brien]

Looking. You've put my glasses on.

[Sona Movsesian]

Even we disagree with that.

[Jason Bateman]

You've done some prep. Right. I can see questions there.

[Conan O'Brien]

No, no. This is your medical history.

[Jason Bateman]

This is your handsome studio. You've got cameras around. This is very professional. Yeah, we're on a zoom.

[Conan O'Brien]

Also, can I just point out, I've been interviewing people around the clock since 1993. I'm a seasoned professional. Exactly what Muhammad Ali was to boxing. I am to interviewing.

[Jason Bateman]

Cut all this out. Yeah, well, you need lifts.

[Conan O'Brien]

But yeah, you guys with this. You know, Arnett.

[Jason Bateman]

But. But in. Yes, but Will. At least Will has just sharp dagger humor. He's got a darkness that's fun to follow, a voice that's not bad to listen to.

[Conan O'Brien]

No, I buy whatever truck he's selling, right? Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

I mean, as long as it's professional grade. He's got an opinion and he'll let you know it.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yep.

[Jason Bateman]

Sean P. Hayes is sure. Is just pure sunshine and is curious and is warm. And I'm trying to find the lane that I'm supposed to be in, which is the area in between those two, which I guess is just sort of listening and asking questions that I think the normal guy wants to know.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

You know, and so I feel I'm easily replaceable.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yes. Yes. I was gonna say the same thing. I was gonna say. I'm glad you said it.

[Jason Bateman]

I'll be.

[Conan O'Brien]

No, no, no. You know, I think you could come. You could go. Right. You know, whatever.

[Jason Bateman]

That's kind of what I do in whatever the hell I do on camera too. I'm trying to just kind of be us.

[Conan O'Brien]

Okay. I'm gonna draw a parallel to what I maintain, and I've said this to Mr. Arnett many times, is one of the finest comedy television shows of all time. And I take this stuff as, you know, very seriously. My television comedy loves and my interests. I think Arrested Development is one of the finest, finest pieces of work done in television comedy. And I think that you are hilarious and essential in that show because I'm.

[Jason Bateman]

Surrounded with funny folks.

[Conan O'Brien]

No, you're missing. But that's not it. You're not just the guy who's. Yes and Ing all of the funny people. You're doing it in a hilarious way. You're taking it all in. You're trying to understand. You do a beautiful job in that.

[Jason Bateman]

Show as being our proxy. Right. Like, if somebody says something wacky, you've got someone you can turn to and, and, and, and give a. A ground to bounce off of. Right. I mean, like, there's nothing funny about Martians on Mars. I'm like, I'm Earth and there are the Martians. And now there's something that's. That's popping, right? Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

But that is a very hard thing to do. It's. In the history of comedy, straight men were always listed first. So it was Martin and Lewis, it was Abbott and Costello, and it was because a good straight man was actually harder to find than a good wacky person.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

And that is the history of comedy, is that the act was controlled by the straight men, Burns and Allen. It was always controlled by the straight man who was. It was a skill that was seen as more appreciated. So without getting too heavy, too serious, which I've probably done, I thought you did an absolutely stellar, remarkable job on that show.

[Jason Bateman]

Thank you so much.

[Conan O'Brien]

And you're underselling yourself when you say, thank you, sir.

[Jason Bateman]

I'm just looking to get you to continue talking in a flattering way about me. I'm trying to continue to tee you up. I'm just so. I'm not really sure what you explain. I'm conf.

[Conan O'Brien]

What you did.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

Like Picasso. No. You know what's really nice? It's been. I've told this to Arnett a million times, but that show was a very key bonding element for my son and I, because my son has a very keen eye for comedy and really liked certain shows. And when he discovered Arrested Development, that was it.

[Jason Bateman]

How old was he when it started to kind of work for him?

[Conan O'Brien]

He was in his late 50s. Yeah, he was 58.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

I had him a long time ago.

[Jason Bateman]

You look great, by the way.

[Conan O'Brien]

I've had so much done to me, and for me. No, I wouldn't. I want to say he was. I want to say he was 11, 12. And chapter and verse. There's not an episode I can name. And we watch them repeatedly. So sometimes when he's blue or we'd be somewhere, it would be okay. There are certain specific episodes that we would watch.

[Jason Bateman]

Was the Medicine just.

[Conan O'Brien]

Was the Medicine. Yeah. And it's nice because we all knew what's coming because we've seen them a thousand times.

[Jason Bateman]

And I bet. How old is he now?

[Conan O'Brien]

He is 19.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. I'll bet if he watched him again that you'd see. I still see stuff, you know, Like, I haven't seen him for a few years, but I saw a clip of something I was just like. It's just kind of noticing, like, Mitch Hurwitz, who's the reason the whole thing is so funny. He just has sort of this appetite for humor that exists on more than even the standard two levels. Like, he's not even happy if it doesn't work on, like, four or five levels, you know? And so the older you get or the more jaded you get or whatever, you start to see, like, level four and five or whatever the hell it would be to the point where. I mean, me personally, I started to. I started to just think it was too confusing for my little bird brain. Towards the end, there, like, there were just layers on layers and layers. He would have to come to the set and explain to us, me particularly, what the relevance of this line was or this scene was. And sometimes it was because certain scripts weren't available, which paid off. What I was trying to either Establish through, you know, through some of this exposition. Cause I was usually the exposition guy, or I was the guy that had to give a knowing look, signifying relevance about something that was a little opaque. So, like, I would need to know what that means to dial in whatever the hell that look would be. And so he would need to come down and sort of, like, decipher things for me. Oh, you need to raise an eyebrow there. Because the reason that she said eggplant instead of cashew is because of you. Like, you gotta. Like, that's gonna mean something to you anyway.

[Conan O'Brien]

Can't you just give the same knowing look every time? Now, I'm not an actor, and maybe there's a reason I'm not an actor, but I would just every single time go, ooh.

[Jason Bateman]

And just leave it up to the editor to slot it in there. Right. Fix it at the right time, fix it.

[Conan O'Brien]

Or use some CGI or do something. But you're getting one ooh from me, and then I'm out the door. I wouldn't take that from Mitch Hurwitz, not for a second.

[Jason Bateman]

I know we almost did the movie for a long time. Remember all that talk? Do you remember that talk?

[Conan O'Brien]

Yes, I do remember the movie.

[Jason Bateman]

It was. I was so excited about that. I thought, oh, my God, we're going to. And then Matt. I remember Matt Damon coming up to me at. I think it was like a Golden Globes or something. And I was so excited to meet him. And he was like, hey, he was a huge fan of Arrested Development. And he was saying, you know, I really think I could. I could play. Because I hear you guys are doing that. I think I could. Can I. Can I. Do you. Can I play? It was just like. I was like, oh, my God. Like, I went right back to Mitch. I said this. This thing, you know, like, come on.

[Conan O'Brien]

Wait a minute. Why can't you be. You just be.

[Sona Movsesian]

And is everybody getting recast?

[Conan O'Brien]

I love that there'd be an Arrested Development movie and all of you would be recast with real actors.

[Jason Bateman]

Well, that was the sort of. The story that Mitch was thinking. The story of the Arrested Development movie would be that in the show, Hollywood wanted to make a movie about us. And so we.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yes, the Bluth. Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

We certainly couldn't play ourselves because we're not actors.

[Conan O'Brien]

But you still get to be yourselves. But, yes.

[Jason Bateman]

Right.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

So, like, yeah, I would be. Michael Bluth would be on set watching Matt Damon play Michael Bluth and be so excited. Of course, David Cross would play Tobias in the film as well. Because he was an actor. Tobias was an actor.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

And I think. I think Arnett was pretty close to getting Farrell to. To play Job, and it would have been pretty cool.

[Conan O'Brien]

It could still happen.

[Jason Bateman]

No, I don't think anybody gives a shit.

[Conan O'Brien]

I think they do.

[Jason Bateman]

I think it's done.

[Conan O'Brien]

I think one call from me and it's happening.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, I think you're sorry.

[Conan O'Brien]

When I say call, I mean on an old 1940s phone because I'm so out of touch with what kind of pull I have in this town.

[Jason Bateman]

Your son would be the only guy in the theater.

[Matt Gourley]

That's not true.

[Conan O'Brien]

Tons of Fans. At least 9F. There's one image I have in my head, which is Will Arnett is trying to sneak in Geoffrey Tambor in a stretch limo. And of course, he has his stupid puppet Franklin with him. Who is.

[Jason Bateman]

Which you couldn't do today.

[Conan O'Brien]

Couldn't do today. Or maybe racially insensitive puppet. But at one point, there's this second where you think the guard's not gonna let him in, that the guard's been offended by this puppet. And then the guard says, go. And the guard says, wait a minute. You're all gonna have to step out of the car. And there is a zoom. And there's a zoom in on a terrified Arnett. There's a zoom on a terrified. In the backseat, Jeffrey Tambor. And then a zoom in on the ventriloquist dummy Franklin. And I think I've watched that with my son 75 times. And it's just. I've memorized it. It spends. I don't know, it just fills me with delight over and over and over again. So that's. That's. I mean, to a larger point, you've had with Smartless Arrest Development Ozark, you've been able to play in this very rich environment and have this crazy success. And every now and then, I get to talk to people on this podcast who sort of have. They got to have their cake and eat it too. And you're one of those people who I think has had this lovely arc where you start as a child actor, which is not a promising start.

[Jason Bateman]

No.

[Conan O'Brien]

For many people. And it really doesn't work. To the point where there have been times where I thought, should they just make it illegal to be a child.

[Jason Bateman]

Actor or force them to go into secondary education? You know, like, you know, I hadn't even. I didn't.

[Conan O'Brien]

How old were you when you got your first. You did a serial commercial when you're 10?

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. I mean, I. It was a very tangible. I don't remember a lot, but I do remember being really filled with anxiety about being able to continue to make a living in a business that I was pretty aware that it was tenuous at best, you know, that it was fickle. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

Even as a kid, you're. I think you did Little House on the Prairie, some commercials. You're on Silver Spoons. I could see kids having two reactions to that one. Oh, I've landed in Candyland. I'm in Oz. This is just amazing. But you had the emotional intelligence to be anxious about it and think, I don't know if this is going anywhere.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, I mean, and I apologize to any listeners that have heard me twat on about this before, but it was. You know, my parents were my managers, and they were making more money doing that than what they were. My mom was a flight attendant for Pan Am. My dad was a freelance writer, director, producer. And, you know, 15% of what I was making at that time just ended up being more than what they were making in their. In their careers. And so it became an important component to our. Our. Our nut. Our overhead. Like, we were living in a certain condo that we wouldn't be able to live in if they were just, you know, using their salaries. And so a work permit. You need a work permit to work as a little kid before you're 18. And that work permit is renewed every six months based on you maintaining a C average in school. And so the pressure on midterms and finals every year was immense for me because it was, you know, 60% of your grade, and so studying for those and making those. And if I. So if I fail a midterm, I don't get my work permit, which means I'm kicked off the show, which means everyone on the show loses their job, we lose our house. And plus, I was also seeing just the churn of folks that were hosting Saturday Night Live one week, and then a year later, you just never hear from them or maybe even a few months. So I was aware I was consuming pop culture. So all of these sort of touch points of adult responsibility were really tangible for me, which is curious. Then why I didn't get my high school diploma. I didn't go to college. I just doubled down. And thankfully, I was still doing a show till I was about 21, 22, I think, called the Hogan Family. This was after Silver Spoons, after It's yous Move. And then when that ended, then there was like this. This. This arid plain of my 20s of employment, like I'd get a, like one job a year and I kind of keep my head above water. But there was no cash cushion whatsoever because I was trying to catch up for all the time I'd lost being a kid too. So I was playing really hard in my 20s and I'm flying all over the place and paying for my friends tickets and, you know, so I didn't have a lot of money at all. In fact, I was in debt by the time I was in my 30s, by the time Arrested Development came around. And I was really thinking at that point, so the acting thing isn't going to work for me anymore. Kind of like used goods television comedy was going in the direction of single camera comedy. I was known for multi camera comedy, you know, in front of a live audience. And so I was kind of, I was just kind of damaged, you know, and especially when I heard about Arrested Development, like, here's a single camera comedy and it's kind of a mockumentary and it's Ron Howard's behind it. And like, they don't want my garbage on that, but managed to guess right and get that job and it was embraced by the industry and was that huge reset button for me. But, but prior to that I really, really was my 20s. It was not a comfortable period. I was really petrified about being able to support myself and have the rest of my career not be anti climactic. I thought about liquidating what little I did have, literally cashing out and literally putting what cash I had in a duffel bag, driving to the Bradley terminal at lax, looking up on that board, picking a city and going and just kind of unplugging from this kind of not rat race, but competition. This, you know, every night's Entertainment Tonight. Who's doing great, you know, who's on your show, you know, like, and I wasn't and I had been. And so I thought, well, I don't want to continue playing at a game that I'm going to be, you know, losing every single year. So why don't I go to like Tuscany and learn fucking, you know, Italian, French, whatever, buy a coffee shop and just start over. At the age of 25, I don't have a wife, don't have kids, have a bunch of friends, but let's go drink into more of those in Europe, you know. So it was, it was, I was very, very getting it back to arrest Development. That was total paddles on the chest for me.

[Conan O'Brien]

Do you ever think you blew it, that maybe you should have done that? Gun.

[Jason Bateman]

Exactly.

[Conan O'Brien]

No, but I mean, I'm just. Seriously, this coffee shop thing sounds.

[Sona Movsesian]

It sounds like a good.

[Matt Gourley]

Really nice.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, you know, well, whatever.

[Jason Bateman]

Le Star Bex.

[Conan O'Brien]

Can't go back, I guess. Can't go back. It's funny that you talk about that period of time. There's. I had my own experience working on the late night show. We were constantly doing sketches and we would employ. There'd be a sketch that needed, you know, a kid to play me, you know, from 20 years ago. Constantly. 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 8 years old. 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.

[Jason Bateman]

Say it.

[Conan O'Brien]

You know, say it so that you're booked again, you fucker. Yeah, and I was. It bummed me out. Seriously, every now and then, one of those child actors. One was a little kid who nailed it and turned. Grew up into Scarlett Johansson.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

And you're like, okay, okay, that's great. 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 it's so fickle. And even as adults, full on aging adults, for myself, it's still hard not to pay attention to who's up, who's down, who's where, and that's with. 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 cachet when I was 11 years old, I'd be a mass murderer. Yeah. And a very good one. Methodical.

[Jason Bateman]

It is a very permissive culture that if you have some sort of success as a kid, you kind of get used to, you know, you know, it's like it's junk food. And, you know, kids don't have any self control for junk food. They eat it all up. Right. 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 fuck too. And it is a big. It's a minefield to go through. And 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.

[Conan O'Brien]

I said you're squirrely. 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.

[Jason Bateman]

You can get near the cage. Just don't start.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, I would drive cross country with Arnett. Sean, in a second. You. That's not happening. Unless. Yeah, like you say, there's like a barrier, a caged barrier. You can't drive. I'm driving a police car.

[Jason Bateman]

Be in the back with a privacy glass.

[Conan O'Brien]

No, you're in the back. I'm driving you.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, okay.

[Conan O'Brien]

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 linchpin of your turnaround, which you say is Arrested Development. The guy behind that, one of the guys behind it and the narrator of the show, Ron Howard, famously 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 that world?

[Jason Bateman]

Only by example. You know, like during the vast Wasteland of my 20s, I was in an attempt to try to self educate. I'd watch a lot of news. I was a big fan of Charlie Rose. I'd watch that show religiously. And Ron Howard was on it once and I remember watching his interview. And you know, Ron Howard is at all times, it seems, just about the most gracious, magnanimous guy 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 golly gosh, or what. He's just genuinely that and is not worried about coming across as an ass kisser or eager or he's just being as kind as he is and is not worried about masking that. Because if you grew up in this sort of cynical Environment I grew up in, it's like, well, make sure you look like you don't want it, or make sure that girl can't tell that you like her. Like, you know, be me. 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, 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 being too eager and wanting the job. Or, you know. And then I got Arrested Development, like, working for this guy, and, you know, he did all the voiceovers, so he was never really on set, so never really met him until after the show had been going for a while. 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.

[Conan O'Brien]

Did he narrate the dinner and then.

[Sona Movsesian]

Told you the fuck off?

[Jason Bateman]

He pulled the mask back. He said, yeah, fooled another one.

[Conan O'Brien]

Jason seemed perplexed. He wanted the eggplant risotto, but he didn't know if it was going to be too heavy.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, I think he understood what I was saying. That not only his example kind of provided this North Star for me, but the actual show itself gave me the capital that I was reaching for, hoping for that I could stop kind of acting twice. Going into interview, you know, auditions, you know, kind of like trying to be like. Kind of like, oh, yeah, what's up, everybody? You know, and it's fucking 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.

[Conan O'Brien]

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. And it is exhausting to have to put on a Persona, 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.

[Jason Bateman]

It's just garbage. So, thankfully, I kind of got through that to a certain extent, but it was painful. I mean, my 20s were just like. It was fun, but a real sort of head trip for me. Cause I'm transitioning from all of that fame and success and easy road to not making as much money, not having the actual sustenance. Cause my confidence came from my work. Now that I don't have the work, now what do I have the confidence on? You know, it's just like nine people.

[Conan O'Brien]

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. I need to. There is an inner resource that you have, right, that 90% of people in your situation would not have.

[Jason Bateman]

But I. And I perhaps. But I think everybody's got it because all it was was just goals and foresight and vision. 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 make that vision legit. You know, I knew I wanted. I wanted to be a dad. I wanted to be a father and. Sorry. I wanted to be a husband, a dad. And I wanted to direct a movie 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. 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? I couldn't be like, you know, a fucking drug addict and a drunk and expect to have any sort of relationship that had any legs. And then being a father follows that. So I knew I had to kind of wind down the 20s fun at some point. And I didn't know, 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 the little pacifier that allows me to stop doing all the other stuff? It ended up kind of all happening at the same time, which was nice. But, yeah, 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 gotta do X, Y and Z to get to A, B and C. And at what point do you want to start to implement that plan?

[Conan O'Brien]

I've never ever had any ambition to direct anything. I admire that skill immensely. And I think part of me is a little curious. If someone put a gun to my head and said, you have to direct something, what I would do, you'd be great. But I don't understand what it is. But I know that you directed quite a bit on Ozark. You must have been watching the whole time. I mean, this was. Go back to when you were a kid where you're watching other people make these decisions. Someone explained to me which a lot of directing is making choices. Do you want this or do you want that? So you're watching that and saying, I want to be doing that.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, it was. It was. It was Michael Landon on Little House on the Prairie. So right as I was starting to, like, you know, I'd done a couple of years of commercials and stuff like that, but. But I was starting to really kind of notice what. What this magic trick is of making fake life. Like, okay, so you point like, you know, because 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, that stuff you can't see, like, that's where all the gap 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 watch directors and crews kind of create this fake life. And Michael Landon was the director, executive producer, star writer. Everybody loved him.

[Conan O'Brien]

What did you. What was he like? Just because I grew up, he was George Clooney. 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 even though, yes, I know. He went on to Little House in the Prayer and everything, I just can't believe that's Joe Cartwright. I can't believe you even knew him.

[Jason Bateman]

Right, right.

[Conan O'Brien]

What was he like as a person?

[Jason Bateman]

He was. George Clooney would be, like, the perfect comparison today. His ease with people, with the process, with the business, with just Joe on the street. Women are crazy about him. Guys want to be his buddy. And so watching him juggle all those balls and kind of be this leader and presence on a set and be kind with people, but also be kind of stern boss if he needs to, that was pretty inspirational. And so 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, art houses. You know, to, like, watch foreign films and show me what really. What directing is and what acting is and what's good and what's bad.

[Conan O'Brien]

What if he only took you to art houses and showed you bonanzas? Here's one where this. These cattle rustlers come to town. Michael. They were gonna show a Truffaut film here, but we shut that down. This is gonna be the bonanza where. Okay. All right. But that's beautiful that he did that.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

I mean, in retrospect, it was because it kind of planted the seed. Yeah. And then it just kind of went on from there. And I was always sort of tracking it and wanting to do it and so paying attention to every set. I was on after Little House. And then I actually went and spoke to the producers of the Hogan when I was 18 to see if there could be a slot for my dad to direct an episode. And while I was talking to the producers about that, they said, yeah, for sure, and do you want to direct one? And I said, yes, please, and ended up doing that. And then that was just sort of like, well, I guess now I can do this. It's a different thing, directing stuff in front of a studio. It's more like directing a play, to be fair. But still, it got me my DGA card. And I thought, you know. And then I was really pursuing that career. When Arrested Development came around, I was following James Burroughs around. Jimmy Burroughs around and watching. He's a. For the listeners who don't know, he was the most famous.

[Conan O'Brien]

The Babe Ruth. Of all the great Cheers.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. Sitcom directors.

[Conan O'Brien]

Sitcom directors, friends.

[Jason Bateman]

I was like, well, I want to turn my history of doing sitcoms into a positive instead of the negative that 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 Arrested Development came along.

[Conan O'Brien]

My quick. This just popped in my head. But literally a couple of months ago, had to go back to Boston quickly, 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 Burrows gets on.

[Jason Bateman]

Really?

[Conan O'Brien]

And this is a hotel that's right on the park, literally maybe 60ft from the Cheers bar. And I'm headed down, and Jimmy and I are talking, and I said, hey, Jimmy, wanna go over to the Cheers Bar, hang out? And he went, yeah, no.

[Matt Gourley]

I don't.

[Conan O'Brien]

Know why that popped into my head.

[Jason Bateman]

I've been in there. But, yeah, that's a cool Spot, Sure.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah. People go there. It's like people that go to one of the Central Pert coffee shops and think they're gonna see Jennifer Aniston. They feel cheated that they're not. It's a bar. But, yeah, I think the salvation is if you get into the work. Like, for me, 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 whatever.

[Jason Bateman]

Did you have on camera aspirations at that time?

[Conan O'Brien]

It's so funny. I knew that I could get a job as a writer, but I always, 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 this, 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.

[Jason Bateman]

Or you're trying to make it more. You're trying to get your point across to the other writers that this is what it needs to be. Or this sketch works if you play it paranoid. And so you gotta, like, do that.

[Conan O'Brien]

And not even that. There were oftentimes 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.

[Matt Gourley]

I don't know the real you.

[Conan O'Brien]

And then we got to SNL and I was doing that for someone like Odenkirk or Smigel, and they said, no, that's a sketch. That's a sketch. And I was like, oh, that's just a thing that I do.

[Jason Bateman]

Right? And then just write that down and make a living.

[Conan O'Brien]

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. And my wife to this day will hear me in the shower saying, you've got some nerves. And, well, they've all just grown accustomed to it, but that's where that came from.

[Jason Bateman]

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 on camera at snl?

[Conan O'Brien]

What do you mean?

[Jason Bateman]

Well, like inhabiting multiple characters, playing some French pastry chef and then playing a mechanic, and then as you do as a cast member.

[Conan O'Brien]

I think we've done bits where I've been different people.

[Jason Bateman]

But not on the talk show. No. Right. Where you dress up in costume and there's a wig and there's prosthetics, just like an SNL cast member. Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah. 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'd been things where we would shoot something. We did something with Liev Schreiber once, which was a parody of that show, Studio 60. Remember, there was a show that was a very serious Aaron Sorkin show, kind of a. He took a West Wing approach to, like, a Saturday Night Live, and people were giving him a hard time for it. We decided to do a parody of it. And so Liev Schreiber, we got him to play me. So Liev Schreiber has the Conan hair. And my favorite thing is we got me a thin mustache, and you could probably see it online, and waxed 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. You've got it. Oh, the looks, the chib, brooding. And I'm talking about Conan in this. You know.

[Jason Bateman]

What was this on?

[Conan O'Brien]

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 fill. So I guess the point is that for me, it's always been. I'm gonna 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 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, 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 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 bitch, and walk away. So it's that 24 7.

[Jason Bateman]

I love that. I love being just a total whack job with my kids sometimes. But it's such an unreliable audience. I mean, they're determined not to laugh.

[Conan O'Brien]

Of course.

[Jason Bateman]

Right. So it's pain for you and for.

[Conan O'Brien]

Me, but also I love it and.

[Jason Bateman]

Because if you can crack them, you've got something.

[Conan O'Brien]

But also it's as it should be.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

If your children are laughing and saying.

[Jason Bateman]

God, dad, you're the greatest.

[Conan O'Brien]

You're the greatest.

[Jason Bateman]

You got a problem.

[Conan O'Brien]

You have a real problem.

[Jason Bateman]

They want something.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, exactly.

[Jason Bateman]

My eldest, Franny, she's 18. She's just recently, I don't know, like, in the last year, gotten into directing. Like, she's starting to really look at films and kind of understand what a director does. And so she wants to pursue that and I guess somebody. And she's never watched anything I've done. Not maybe one. I think it's weird for her to see me pretending to be somebody else or. She also has a real hard time with me getting hurt and I'm often getting the pie in the face. And so I guess somebody in her class or somebody started watching Ozark or something and went up to her and said, you know, hey, you know your dad. And this thing's really good. I just remember, like, a year or so ago, she came home and she was like. She basically. Well, I don't remember the words, but she basically said for the first time, kind of. So you do this. You do this thing that I'm interested in. Tell me about what.

[Conan O'Brien]

But that is so healthy.

[Jason Bateman]

Well, no, it's healthy, yes. But it was also so exciting for me that like. Like, she has an appreciate. Or she thinks what I do is cool or that she might realize, oh, dad can answer a question for me, you know, like, how do you do that shot? You know, is that a Steadicam? Is that Dolly track? So anyway, so now we've been having, like, an incredible time bonding over films and directing and things like that. But it's great that they don't give it up until it's something that's really kind of interesting and not. In other words, she's not fascinated with my fucking job that I just go off and go do. Just like any kid wouldn't be like, hey, dad, tell me about your day at work today. How was, you know, what was it like at the office? Like, who cares? You know, it's just, be my dad. And I appreciate that because it's kind of. I had a bit of a hybrid experience of that at best, as a kid. You know, there wasn't really that really healthy dynamic of deference to. To. To parents as you're sort of, you know, the adults you. You. You aspire to be, and you could only ever reach for, and you'll never be as old as them. Like, I was a. I was colleagues with my parents at a very.

[Conan O'Brien]

You were peers, you worked with, you worked with each other.

[Jason Bateman]

Exactly. And so that was sort of I. To learn to adapt and not, you know, live a childhood that didn't really have that. So I love that she has sort of kept me at this place. It's like, yeah, dad goes to work, who gives a shit? You know, like, he's just. He's just my dad.

[Conan O'Brien]

I. I remember doing the Late Night show, and Bruce Springsteen was performing on the show, and Paddy's there, his wife is there. And then at one point he's talking and then he leaves the room. And I said something like he had just told a joke or something, and she, like, rolled her eyes and I was. She said, yeah, when he does his jokes around the kids, they're like, God, dad. And I was like, that's Bruce Springsteen. Yeah, but no, in the very best way. They're annoyed, right? Oh, God.

[Jason Bateman]

You know, and you're just starting underwater, actually, you know.

[Conan O'Brien]

Well, he talks about the iconic Dancing in the Dark video where he pulls Courtney Cox on the stage at the end. In his biography, his autobiography, he talks about pulling her up on stage and he does the dance with her. His kids finally saw that years later, and they were horrified at that dance move, at his dance move. And they just relentlessly gave him shit for it. Like, went back on it and kept showing it to him and going, what the fuck are you. But, you know, in 1985, right, that was the. That was it.

[Jason Bateman]

Right.

[Conan O'Brien]

It was amazing. But. And he was Bruce Springsteen. But no, it doesn't matter anymore. Now it's just this embarrassing footage you found of your dad.

[Jason Bateman]

How old are your kids?

[Conan O'Brien]

My son is 19 and my daughter's 21.

[Jason Bateman]

And how. So then when you Started doing the late night show. That was, what was that?

[Conan O'Brien]

93. So I was 30 years old. I didn't meet my wife. I didn't meet my wife for another 10 years.

[Jason Bateman]

So how would they, I mean, when they started, when they were old enough to kind of intellectualize that. That's my dad up on that billboard. How did that go?

[Conan O'Brien]

I think they just, they took it really well. But I'll never forget, I did at shows at Comic Con, Spreckel's theater, huge theater. My wife Liza came down, she brought my son, who's kind of interested in sci fi. He was a little kid at the time, maybe five.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

He sat in the theater, he saw the band playing, he saw fans.

[Jason Bateman]

Right.

[Conan O'Brien]

I mean, places packed, three tiered theater.

[Jason Bateman]

I mean, and up until now you've just been just that annoying dork around the house.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

And so he's watching it and then I come out and I do the show and he sees people getting really excited and h. Laughing and having a good time. And then he's walking out with, with his mom, my wife, and we're walking out. He's. He's walking out and he said to her, when I grow up, I want to do something where there's no stage and no audience. And it was just like, I want to do the opposite of what that guy's doing.

[Jason Bateman]

Because he thought that was sort of. It was scary.

[Conan O'Brien]

I think for whatever reason, he just knew whatever that guy's doing, that's not what I'm going to do. And he's highly intelligent and very good and has a completely different skill set than I do.

[Jason Bateman]

Not interested in doing.

[Conan O'Brien]

No, no, not at all. But he'll actually have a legitimate life, right?

[Jason Bateman]

Exactly.

[Conan O'Brien]

Exactly.

[Jason Bateman]

One that's built on credentials.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yes. And actual knowledge, right?

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

Knowledge of real things. Not like us. No, we're show folk. And I've always kind of liked that. For some reason, bizarre reason, in the mid 20th century, being in show business started to have cachet. And then it has only grown. And I'm someone who reads a lot of history and I studied history before the 20th century. For hundreds and hundreds of years, people that worked in show business were thought of as just use the back door and no, you're not. You can't come in, you do your thing and then get the fuck out of here and take your little, you know. And I've always thought, I do think that's the way we should be treated. Right.

[Jason Bateman]

Instead of throwing ourselves award shows, you know? Exactly.

[Conan O'Brien]

I love, I always thought no, we're show folk. We're damaged.

[Jason Bateman]

We're pure entertainment. We're the jesters, you know, that should come in and out through the back door right after the food comes.

[Conan O'Brien]

I should not be given the food that the other people are getting. I should get some cold food.

[Jason Bateman]

Well, I mean, you're right. I mean, we're not doing anything that complicated. You know, we're not doing things that are vital. We're not building infrastructure. You know, we're like. We're not solving problems.

[Conan O'Brien]

We're creating problems.

[Jason Bateman]

We're creating problems. We're pacifying people in between their thoughts.

[Conan O'Brien]

You know, I'm glad I got you to admit that your life is a sham.

[Matt Gourley]

Oh, my God.

[Jason Bateman]

But it's certainly not like.

[Conan O'Brien]

No, you've gone too far. You've gone too far. I think what you and I do is vitally important. And I'll also posit more important than anything being done in science, in medicine.

[Jason Bateman]

You're right about that.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah. Yeah. So you've completely changed your mind from 15 seconds ago. I want to wrap this up, but I do want to tell you that you started off this interview by selling yourself very short in a way that I found kind of appalling, which is, I think what you do on smart lists and also what you did so beautifully on Arrested Development and what you've really done in your career is you're channeling something that, to me is very essential. You're fucking so smart as a performer, as an actor.

[Jason Bateman]

Well, thank you.

[Conan O'Brien]

And seriously, I think Arrest Development is a great example of where you're holding. You are the center of all of that. You're seeing everything. And yes, that is a huge job. And that could have been done wrong a billion different ways.

[Jason Bateman]

And so I appreciate you saying that for sure.

[Conan O'Brien]

But I also think I would know if, you know, Arnett and Hayes babbling, the two of them. I couldn't listen to that for six seconds, you know?

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. Without the third color going in there, you've just got red and green.

[Conan O'Brien]

You've got red and then also a very annoying red and a very annoying green. And then you're this, like, essential taupe.

[Jason Bateman]

Yes.

[Conan O'Brien]

That's just surrounding it. No, I'm. I. We. We fuck around a lot and. But I. Anytime that you would come to my home, be at a Christmas party or anytime would be a big deal.

[Jason Bateman]

It'd be a huge deal.

[Conan O'Brien]

A huge deal.

[Jason Bateman]

It's a fun bit for me.

[Conan O'Brien]

It would be a big deal for me. And my son's hair would fall out in his teeth.

[Jason Bateman]

Because you, you. And before you kick me out, I would like to thank you for being so nice to us at Smartless and helping us out repeatedly. It really. You know, you learn a lot about people when it's so easy to say no in our business, you know, there's layers of people between the ask and the answer that you can easily slide in a no or I'm busy or something like you never have.

[Conan O'Brien]

I'll be honest with you. I love playing with you guys. It is that simple. I've never had a real conversation with Will Arnett. No, we only play to the point where we were scolded once by one of your wives. Yes. Yeah, yeah. Knock it off, you two. Before we even got started, it was knock it off.

[Jason Bateman]

My wife says the same thing with the fucking bits. Do you guys ever really. Guys just suck. Do you guys ever really. I'll come home all the time and she'll say, yeah. What did Will feel about the party last night or the dinner yesterday or something like that? I don't know. You like the food? No, no, no. Did he talk? No. Do you guys never. You guys never process anything? It's like, well, that. But like, dudes don't really process. Like, if there's a problem, we figure it out.

[Conan O'Brien]

Right?

[Jason Bateman]

But we're not sitting in there just like kneading the bread, you know, about yesterday, you know, and figuring out what the side door might think of it. It's just always through the front door on everything.

[Conan O'Brien]

No, that's why anytime there's been any kind of Smartless ask, from the very beginning, I thought that's being asked to go play. Go play ball with three people who you love to play ball with. And I'm using that analogy because I'm a terrible athlete. And so I'm being very vague about play ball, which ball? Shut up, Sona. Go past the old puck, around with your mitt.

[Jason Bateman]

But anyway, you've always been an easy player. Like, you were always my favorite talk show to do because you can do those pre interviews till the cows come home and most shows stick on them. Always when you sit down and start talking with you, you would just start a conversation, just want to have fun. All of a sudden the 10 minutes would go by, you know, because it's such a nerve wracking thing for me doing talk shows. It's like crazy.

[Conan O'Brien]

That's why this format, this format is so much fun.

[Jason Bateman]

Truly. Starting to do your show was like, oh, it can be like this. It was, it was great. It was great. Great, great.

[Conan O'Brien]

Well, I'm glad we like each other now. Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

Let's just throw a two man party.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yes.

[Jason Bateman]

Just the two of us. Make sure everyone knows about it.

[Conan O'Brien]

It's just you and I.

[Jason Bateman]

It's just you and I.

[Conan O'Brien]

Even Aniston can't get in.

[Jason Bateman]

No, she can serve us. She can bring us the food.

[Conan O'Brien]

Jennifer's outside. Yeah, yeah. Tell her we're good. We're good. God bless you, Jason Bateman. Go forth, continue to do amazing stuff. My best to the gang over at Smartlist.

[Jason Bateman]

I will tell you, I'm feeling now even better about being Conan O'Brien. Wow.

[Conan O'Brien]

We've notched from a 11% acceptance of.

[Jason Bateman]

Me to it pretty good at the beginning. Even better now.

[Conan O'Brien]

All right, take care.

[Sona Movsesian]

Conan O'Brien needs a friend With Conan O'Brien, Sonam of Session and Matt Gourley produced by me, Matt Gourley executive produced by Adam Sachs, Jeff Robert and Nick Leow. Theme song by the White Stripes. Incidental music by Jimmy Vivino. Take it away, Jimmy. Our supervising producer is Aaron Blair and our associate talent producer is Jennifer Samples. Engineering and mixing by Eduardo Perez and Brendan Burns. Additional production support by Mars Melnick. Talent booking by Paula Davis, Gina Batista and Brit Kahn. You can rate and review this show on Apple Podcasts and you might find your review read on a future episode. Got a question for Conan? Call the Team Coco hotline at 669-587-2847 and leave a message. It too could be featured on a future episode. You can also get three free months of SiriusXM when you sign [e-mail] Conan and if you haven't already, please subscribe to Conan O'Brien needs a friend. Wherever fine podcasts are downloaded.