Jason Bateman: Drugs Almost Cost Me My Marriage

Us Magazine - July 8, 2009 7:38 AM PDT
Story photo: Jason Bateman: Drugs Almost Cost Me My MarriageJason Bateman and Amanda Anka arrive on the red carpet of the Los Angeles premiere of "The Hangover" on June 2, 2009 in Hollywood, California. Todd Williamson/WireImage.comUs Magazine
In a new interview with Details, actor Jason Bateman reveals that his rampant drug and alcohol use almost cost him his marriage.

Bateman, now 40, rose to fame as a child actor on Silver Spoons and The Hogan Family. Wild partying soon followed.

"It was like Risky Business for 10 years," he says of the nineties. "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."

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"I was never at a place where rehab would have been appropriate," he says of his drug use. "Booze was what would make me want to stay out all night and do some blow or smoke a joint or whatever, so shutting that off was key. It's like ketchup and French friesI don't want one without the other."

He went on to wed actress Amanda Anka, whom he'd known since he was 18. But his partying didn't stop.

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After coming home late one night, his wife finally gave him an ultimatum: Quit partying.

But he didn't entirely stop. Things got so bad that she even took a planned holiday in Mexico without him. It was then, alone on a rainy Christmas morning, that he decided to go to an AA meeting.

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Looking back, Bateman tells Details, "Do you want to continue being great at being in your twenties, or do you want to step up and graduate into adulthood?"

He and his wife welcomed their first daughter, Francesca, in October 2006.

Jennifer Aniston - Bateman's costar in the upcoming comedy The Baster (out next spring) - met him 15 years ago on a group ski trip to Aspen. She said she is proud at how far he's come.

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"He should be here, he's meant to be here, and for whatever reason, it's taken until now," she says. "There's no bull**** with him. Even though he was pretty wild in those days, something about those dimples and that sweet face made you go, 'Oh, it's okay that you just drove up the street backwards in a Range Rover with the door wide open.' I don't know what was happening there. You feel instantly safe in his company."

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comments 1-10 of 47  |< newest · < newer · older > · oldest >|  hide comments · post a comment
  • amanda
    It seems you are happy together. But this guy's profile is still active at" ***R i c h p a s s i o n . c o m***". You are no longer a single already. Are you looking for only pals over there?
    report abuseposted July 15, 2009 4:56 AM PDT
  • ok, this clown gets a ton of cash, goes out, get hammered, parties, marrys a BABE, still gets hammered. he got help ,ok good for him, now he is wanting to wyne about it for really he wants to %@!*# and moan about , NO NO NO NO please dont give people more to be Negitive about you, i have no respect for Actors who get major money and blow it on P u s s y, or drink or drugs.none
    report abuseposted July 13, 2009 11:08 AM PDT
  • J.k
    all he need,s is a hard time in his life the first line in front of him that would be the challeng for him all he has to rember is i am not going back to that bull %@!*# again all you lady,s out there dont give your husband a hard time because he out of a job money dont buy happyness it,s both of you working together in life
    report abuseposted July 11, 2009 11:45 PM PDT
  • Javon
    Jason is a good and really funny actor. I like seeing him on film/TV. Good luck to him and his family (wife). Happy to hear he's happy.
    report abuseposted July 10, 2009 2:51 PM PDT
  • Jennifer
    WHATEVER!!!
    report abuseposted July 10, 2009 9:13 AM PDT
  • Rosie M
    Whatever!
    report abuseposted July 9, 2009 10:01 AM PDT
  • Nascar Fan
    steven b all because you cant stop doesn't mean addicts cant go to a meeting or die its up to you right on jason we do recover
    report abuseposted July 9, 2009 9:36 AM PDT
  • Brandi
    its good to hear that family is more important than drugs and booze.
    report abuseposted July 9, 2009 8:52 AM PDT
  • steven b
    I sure am seeing a lot of crap today. Hey Justin,I've been shooting dope since Vietnam and 30 years later I've never been arrested for anything. You can use anything if your careful.I get sick everytime somebodys career goes a little slow,and then some sappy story like this comes out. I think your a damned liar.Just the way you discribe it any junkie knows it for the load it is.
    report abuseposted July 9, 2009 8:12 AM PDT
  • YOUHAVEPROBLEMS
    .aniston.sfsa ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, i wish every day you will go away...........................IT'S NOT EVEN A SHE..IT'S A HE........... I BEG EVERYBODY ON HERE NOT TO GO TO THESE LOSER WEBSITES...... THANK YOU!
    report abuseposted July 9, 2009 6:28 AM PDT
comments 1-10 of 47  |< newest · < newer · older > · oldest >| 

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