Jason Bateman: From “Arrested Development” to Mature Family Man

After years of being known primarily as a sitcom star, Jason Bateman has made huge strides in his film career: He had five movies out in 2007 alone. Perhaps the most buzzed-about movie he appears in this year is “Juno,” about an unwed teenager named Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) who decides to give her baby up for adoption to a married yuppie couple, played by Bateman and Jennifer Garner. Bateman, 38, recently sat down with myLifetime.com to talk about being a dad in real life and the witty dramedy “Juno,” which is already being labeled as an Oscar-worthy film.

What appealed to you most about your “Juno” character, Mark Loring?

Truthfully, it wasn’t about the character. It was the whole package. The script is smart and had a personality and character of its own. And this was a group of actors that was assembled along with a director who really knows how to make a film instead of a movie. That’s something I’m new to and I was glad to be a part of it. It happened to be a character that wasn’t hard to play, and that was good, because who likes to work hard?

How would you describe Ellen Page as a costar and a person?

She’s just very easy to love. She’s a real person. She gives actresses a good name in that she doesn’t do a lot of acting. She says her lines and doesn’t confuse it with a lot of precious, obnoxious technique. Her acting is not visible, and that’s so vital for the character. She’s pretty similar in real life, in that there’s not a lot of pretense there. She’s very easygoing.

What was your relationship with Jennifer Garner like on the set?

I think the world of her, and it’s mutual because she was somewhat helpful in me getting this part, as the story goes. This was on the heels of us doing another movie together [“The Kingdom”], so I guess I didn’t piss her off too much in the last one … I guess the acting part is that my character and her character don’t get along.

Can you compare and contrast your “Juno” character to how you are as a father in real life?

He’s more narcissistic than the ideal father profile should be. He wants to continue sowing his oats or chasing his dream [of being a famous musician], which is probably very outdated and unrealistic. I don’t know how genuine that desire is. I think it’s more about not wanting to burden himself with another responsibility. I love my daughter and I know there are times when one has to dig a little bit deeper to not get impatient when they’re screaming. You have to have a bit of surplus of happiness and contentment to be able to give over to the extra areas. This guy doesn’t have that. I don’t think he has enough to keep his own happiness going.

You have a young daughter named Francesca. What do you think you would do if as a teenager she unexpectedly became pregnant?

I’m operating from an advantage of sort of ignorance, because she’s a year old. My plan is just to give her good enough decision-making devices that will suffice. It’s probably a bit idealistic. You cannot keep them in a box their whole lives, and you can’t be with them at every moment. There are many decisions they’re going to have to make on their own. And so while she’s around, I’m just going to try to make her as smart as I can so she can make the right decisions.

How would you describe your own upbringing?

My parents did a pretty good job with me and my sister [Justine Bateman], but we still made a bunch of bad decisions and didn’t end up getting hurt or arrested. When I eventually did try drugs, it was after a few years of “I know this is going to be tempting and be bad and I could develop a habit, so let’s wait until I know I can handle it if it’s really good.” And at least I had that decision made properly.

How do you think “Juno” will inspire people?

Juno, as liberal and independent as she is — and I’m not advocating adoption or abortion or anything — but she ultimately makes an independent decision … that she will have this baby and give it up for adoption. I would think that is what any parent would want their child to do, which is to make a decision based on an upbringing of intelligence. Whether it means abortion or adoption, she made her own decision, and I think that’s a good thing.

Is there any chance that “Arrested Development” will be made into a movie?

They keep toying with the idea of doing a movie version of it, but I think the adults have to deal with the ugly business stuff. All the creative people are on board, but it’s a question of timing: When is it too early and when is it too late? I hope [it happens] because I really miss those guys.