Jason Bateman came close to quitting Hollywood to fulfil his dream of opening a cafe in Europe.
The Horrible Bosses star, 57, took up acting at the age of 10 winning roles in shows such as Little House on the Prairie, Silver Spoons and The Hogan Family, but roles started drying up when he was in his 20s and he considered walking away from the entertainment industry to run his own business abroad.
He told The Hollywood Reporter: “I would’ve bought a little coffee shop in some small town in Western Europe, learned the language and made local villager friends.
“It sounds so stupid, but I would’ve walked around with a little apron on and sat at everyone’s table and just had a quaint, little life — and I bet I would have loved it.”
However, Jason was drawn back into the acting business when he landed a role in sitcom Arrested Development and the job kickstarted his stalled career.
The actor admits going through such a tough time has helped him appreciate being able to land regular work in later years.
He explained: “Were it not for some of that cliff-hanging earlier in my career, I don’t know if I’d be as good as I am at the caretaking of these opportunities.
“But I have seen and felt what it is like to really not have a lot of prospects, and it keeps you hungry.”
Now as well as acting, Jason also co-hosts the hugely successful SmartLess podcast with Will Arnett and Sean Hayes — and he admits the show’s popularity has given him the financial security to be more picky about his film and TV projects.
He added: “The financial security of it is something I don’t take lightly, and it’s given me a healthy level of indifference when it comes to assessing other creative opportunities for myself. It’s also a good reminder that some of the greatest things in your life come when you’re not chasing them.”
The host explained they “recently” recorded an episode with a well-known comedian but they ended up cutting him off after 10 minutes and deleting his contribution from the podcast.
During an appearance on The Romesh Ranganathan Show, Will explained: “[There was] one very famous comedian, who I will tell you after [we stop recording], who was a f****** rank a**hole. Recently. And we cut him off after 10 minutes and said: ‘Thanks so much,’ and then ditched him.
“And you’ll be blown away by who it is.”
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