Jason Bateman recalls being arrested during wild night out in 'little leopard outfit'
Jason Bateman has reflected on the moment he was arrested in Monaco on a wild night out.
Jason Bateman has recalled being arrested wearing a "nice little leopard outfit" after a wild night in Monaco.
The 57-year-old actor, whose wife started to help him get sober following their wedding in 2001, has reflected on a moment before that point when his drinking got him in trouble with the police.
Speaking on his own SmartLess podcast, he said: "I was arrested in Monaco for being drunk and disorderly in a nice little leopard outfit.
"Fresh from the casinos, all banged up on cheap Champagne and a pocket full of [casino] chips... I just got rocked."
The Arrested Development star didn't reveal when the raucous night out took place, but he has previously opened up about his wild days ending in the early 00s.
In February, he told The Hollywood Reporter: "Amanda [Anka] and I definitely had a few negotiations about the point at which the [partying] spigot was going to completely turn off.
"She’d be like, 'This drip, drip, drip is annoyingly unpredictable, Jason'.
"She didn’t demand that I completely absolve, but that was sort of the back-and-forth, and I was like, well, I feel like my [sobriety] ETA is six months away, but if I could land this plane now, it would alleviate a lot of the tension, so let’s just fucking do it."
Jason confirmed he'd stopped drinking and taking "the Scarface" stuff for decades, but described himself as "California sober", meaning he was still open to marijuana.
Meanwhile, the former child star admitted he was lucky to be making his mistakes in a very different era.
He said: "Fortunately, I was living at a time without social media and camera phones, so I got away with a lot, but it was definitely close a few times."
Jason, who has daughters Francesca, 19, and Maple, 14, with wife Amanda, wanted to change his lifestyle before becoming a father.
He explained: “I was conscious the whole time of wanting to get a lot of these boxes checked before I became a father, and a guy with a career that I not only wanted but had a feeling I might be able to get it if I just got the right job.”
Jason's career has spanned more than four decades, from his breakthrough role as James Cooper Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie to acclaimed performances in Arrested Development, Ozark and the Horrible Bosses films.
More recently, Jason has remained in the spotlight through the continued success of the SmartLess podcast alongside Will Arnett and Sean Hayes, as well as ongoing interest in Ozark, the Emmy-winning crime drama that cemented his status as one of television’s most respected leading men.
The actor first found success on television in the 1980s before becoming one of the defining comic performers of his generation through Arrested Development, in which he played Michael Bluth.
The cult sitcom earned widespread acclaim and remains one of the most influential comedy series of the modern era.
Jason later reinvented himself as a dramatic actor and filmmaker, receiving critical praise for directing and starring in Ozark.
The Netflix series ran for four seasons and earned multiple awards nominations, introducing him to a new generation of viewers.
