Jason Bateman Credits Wife Amanda Anka for Turning His Life Around
Jason Bateman is someone who once compared alcohol and drugs to French fries and ketchup.
"I don't want one without the other," he has been quoted saying.
Thanks to his wife, Amanda Anka, also an actor and the mother of their two daughters, Francesca and Maple, he found his way back to sobriety and stardom.
Jason Bateman Stayed at the Party a Little Bit Too Long
Bateman, born in 1969, has been an active contributor to show business since 1981 when he was a 12-year-old.
Understandably, getting into stardom and professional entertainment that young meant the didn't exactly have normal teen years.
Or, as he put it to The Guardian, there were certain "inabilities" he was subjected to because of teenage stardom.
While he refuted the idea of calling the 90's his wilderness years, he admitted that it was the time where he got to do all of the things he was denied as a teenager.
It was a combination. Me stopping everything on purpose, to catch up with all these inabilities I had as a kid, because I was always working.
In his words, he take on the 90s was "This is really fun," but at the same time he admitted to "staying at the party a little bit too long."
He was so busy catching up with what he had supposedly lost in his teens that he lost his presence in the show business in the moment.
Thankfully his wife was at his side. She supposedly gave him an ultimatum to his partying which led him to join AA meetings and ultimately find sobriety.
Jason Bateman and Amanda Anka attending the Warner Bros. Pictures and Dolce&Gabbana TIFF cocktail party during th... pic.twitter.com/e0Ne9Rey1O — Dolce & Gabbana (@dolcegabbana) September 7, 2014
The actor has been careful with his words, though. He has spoken on the matter enough to let everyone know that he became sober with the push from his wife.
However, he is yet to say enough to give fans a peak into what the journey was actually like for him.
Jason Bateman Doesn’t Shy Away from Gushing over Wife & Kids
That being said, Bateman is anything but shy about gushing over his beautiful wife and how great of an impact she had on his life as a whole.
After he took home the SAG Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series for Ozark in 2019, he returned to the press room to share how his family kept him grounded. (via People)
"My wife [Amanda Anka] keeps me really grounded by doing nothing other than just being her," he told the press at the time.
He went on to claim how Anka was an incredible mom and almost a full-time dad, because he was out of town so much, all the while having a full-time career of her own.
Jason Bateman & Wife Amanda Anka during New York Premiere of 'Human Nature' (Source: Twitter)
"I’m floored by that. That keeps me grounded," he praised. "That reminds me that I’ve got a real strong example to kind of live up to what she’s showing."
He closed by announcing to all those listening that his wife and daughters, Francesca Nora and Maple Sylvie, were the "three most important people" in his life.
"I love you more than I even tell you I do, and I’ll be home for kisses so don’t go to bed," he announced from on stage as he was receiving the award.
"Amanda, pop a mint, I’m going to come give you yours in about 5 minutes."