Many know Jason Bateman for his comedic roles in The Switch and Horrible Bosses. He is also known for his voice, as he voiced Nick Wilde, the cunning red fox from the Zootopia franchise.
However, behind the successful star, there is also a man who struggled with addiction for a long time. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bateman was candid about his history of drug abuse and the important role his wife, Amanda Anka, played in keeping him sober.
He stated, “Amanda 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.’”
Jason Bateman credits his wife, Amanda Anka, with pulling him back and helping him get sober before reaching the same ‘chilling’ lows of alcohol use he’d seen others get to. https://t.co/KlAxuJmMqA
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) February 19, 2026
Bateman went on to explain that his wife was not forceful about his lifestyle decisions.
Rather, he made the choice to have a better relationship with her, “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 [expletive] do it.”
Partying was a major part of his life, specifically when he started to have a taste of success. He successfully hid his reckless lifestyle in the past because, unlike now, there were no social media platforms or a rampant camera culture.
“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,” Bateman admitted. Thankfully, Bateman realized early what lengths he should take his debauchery to and where to stop.
When you realize you’re much more loved and respected than the boy you had to play second banana to. Better actor, more success, more admired, more everything. That’s you, Jason Bateman pic.twitter.com/CDgLesZedc
— ThingsNeedToChange 🌊 (@BanRacism_Hate) March 6, 2022
He revealed, “I’ve got friends who had bottoms that were pretty chilling, but I was lucky enough to recognize, ‘This is probably as far as I should go if I still want to accomplish the things that I want to get to.’”
Bateman further added, “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.”
Though Bateman has kept himself away from alcohol and “‘The Scarface stuff,’” referring to c—ine, he still likes his mar—ana. According to him, that makes him “California sober.”
A big reason behind Bateman being addicted to narcotics comes from the fact that he started early in his career as a child actor. The pressure he felt to do well from a young age also fanned his desire for fun elsewhere, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
