Who doesn’t love Jason Bateman? The child actor who was once a child actor has become a popular Hollywood star. Michael Bluth is the most well-known cult movie character. Arrested Development and the devious Marty Byrde on Netflix’s Ozark. Bateman is also the host of the hilarious SmartlessPodcast alongside Sean Hayes & Will Arnett.
But what about Jason Bateman’s family? Is his family as happy and fulfilled as his Hollywood career? Jason Bateman’s wife, Amanda Anka, has had a lot to do with his success—both personally and professionally. Here’s an inside look at Jason Bateman’s marriage and what the Game NightStar shares his thoughts about the support he receives as a child.
Jason Bateman And Amanda Anka’s Romance Was The Ultimate Slow Burn
According to GQ, Jason Bateman and Amanda Anka met their first time at an L.A. Kings basketball game in their teens. While they liked each other immediately, they didn’t start dating for another 10 years because—as Anka puts it—”I just wasn’t into where he was at.” What she’s referring to is the party lifestyle that Bateman had adopted as a young, up-and-coming Hollywood star.
Since age 12, I’ve worked hard on shows like Little House on the Prairie Silver Spoons It’s Your Move,And The Hogan FamilyBateman, by the time he was young adulthood, was an accomplished Hollywood performer. He was also financially independent, and was ready for some fun.
“It was like Risky Business for 10 years,” Bateman speaks out about that period. “My parents were out of town, they left me a bunch of money, the car, and the house, and I didn’t know when they were coming home. I’d worked so hard that by the time I was 20, I wanted to play hard. And I did that really well.”
Bateman finally realized that he wanted to settle down to start a family. Anka was soon to become his best friend. “I looked around at relationships in my life that did last and those were friendships,” Bateman spoke in 2013. “And I wasn’t sexually attracted to buddies, so I found a female buddy that I was sexually attracted to and asked her if she wanted to give it a go and that’s why it’s lasted so long.”
The couple married in 2001 and now have two daughters together—Francesca Nora, born in 2006, and Maple Sylvia, born in 2012.
Bateman’s Partying Nearly Destroyed Their Marriage
Bateman’s wild antics had subsided to a certain extent, but he continued to party after marrying Anka. According to US Weekly, He was given an ultimatum by her to either get fit or leave. The pair came close to splitting up, and it wasn’t until Anka left Bateman behind to take Christmas vacation without him that he realized he needed to change his ways.
Bateman was able to wake up, and the wake-up call worked. “Do you want to continue being great at being in your twenties, or do you want to step up and graduate into adulthood?”
The Breakup actor also revealed that things started to fall into place for him once he decided to straighten out—including the reemergence of his career. “Along comes Arrested Development, along comes Amanda, my wife still to this day, and sobriety, too,”He said GQ. “So all of these things kind of coalesced around my early thirties, and it has fueled and continued to fuel the respect that I have for people, for work, for this business. I really feel lucky that ambition is matched with access right now.”
Bateman claims that Anka and he have a strong bond because of their friendship. “Our marriage has defied the odds and works really well,”The OzarkActor said in A 2013 interview with Redbook magazine. “We are really aware of our boundaries. We know how to bug each other and not bug each other. If you don’t get along, it’s garbage. With a girlfriend, you get into a fight, you drive away. With us, we learn to fight quickly or not at all. I wanted to marry a friend. Friends last longer.”
Family keeps Bateman Grounded
Bateman says no to late-night parties these days. “I can’t get him off the couch to go to a party,”Anka made a joke in an interview GQ. “This is a guy who wants to go get frozen yogurt and come home.”
Now Bateman prefers being a family man—and he credits Anka with making it all possible. “Being a father of two is everything I wanted,”The Arrested Development star told Redbook. “I’m a big fan of marriage and being a dad. And my wife, Amanda, makes those things easy. She spoils me; she makes the husband part simple.”
In a backstage interview during the 2019 SAG Awards, Bateman elaborated on how Anka helps keep his family functional, especially when he’s out of town so often for work. “She’s got a full-time career herself, and she’s able to be an incredible mom, and she’s also almost a full-time dad too because I’m out of town so much,” Bateman explained. “I’m floored by that. That keeps me grounded. That reminds me that I’ve got a real strong example to kind of live up to what she’s showing. That keeps me from taking any of this for granted or just doing it half-assed.”
