Jason Kent Bateman (born January 14, 1969) is an American television and film actor. After appearing in several 1980s and 1990s sitcoms, including It's Your Move, and The Hogan Family, Bateman came to prominence in the early 2000s for playing Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, for which he won a TV Land Award, a Golden Globe, and two Satellite Awards. He has since established himself in Hollywood by appearing in several films including The Kingdom, Juno, Hancock, Up in the Air, Paul, and Horrible Bosses.
 
Early life
Bateman was born in Rye, New York. His mother, Victoria Elizabeth, was a former flight attendant for Pan Am, and his father, Kent Bateman, is an actor, film and television writer/director, and founder of a repertory stage in Hollywood. His mother was from the United Kingdom, born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. His older sister, Justine Bateman, is well known for her work on the sitcom Family Ties.

Bateman also has three half-brothers. Bateman was only four years old when his family moved to Salt Lake City, and later to California.

Television
Early career
Bateman began his television career on Little House on the Prairie as James Cooper, an orphaned boy who, along with his sister, is adopted by the Ingalls family. From 1982-84 he was a supporting character on television show Silver Spoons as Ricky Schroder's 'bad boy' friend. He appeared in the Knight Rider third-season episode "Lost Knight" in 1984, and a number of other small television roles. In 1987, he appeared with Burt Reynolds on the men's team in the inaugural week of game show Win, Lose or Draw. Jason earned the status of teen idol in the mid-1980s for his television work, most notably The Hogan Family (originally titled Valerie, Valerie's Family,The Hogans and finally The Hogan Family after Valerie Harper left the series). He became the Directors Guild of America's youngest-ever director when he helmed three episodes of The Hogan Family at the age of eighteen. After the series ended its run, he gained international recognition in the motion picture Teen Wolf Too, which, despite his casting in the title role, was a box office failure. In 1994, he played opposite legendary actors Katharine Hepburn and Anthony Quinn in the television film This Can't Be Love. During this period, he had major roles on four series—Simon, Chicago Sons, George & Leo, and Some of My Best Friends—none of which lasted longer than one season. He also directed an episode of Two of a Kind in 1999. In 2002, he played the frisky sibling of Thomas Jane's character in the feature film The Sweetest Thing.

Arrested Development
In 2003, Bateman was cast as Michael Bluth in the comedy series Arrested Development. Although critically acclaimed, the series never achieved high ratings[3] and ended on February 10, 2006. Bateman won several awards for his work on the series, including a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy. He was also nominated in 2005 for the Emmy Awardfor Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series.

Post-Arrested Development
Bateman performed commentary on the 2004 Democratic National Convention for The Majority Report with Arrested Development co-star David Cross, and hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live on February 12, 2005.