Jason Bateman on reacting to bad reviews: ‘You got to live in those hours'

Jason Bateman isn’t shy about admitting he reads every review that comes his way. 

In a new interview with Esquire, the actor opened up about why audience reaction matters to him, and how he’s learned to handle criticism, even when it stings.

“I am a people pleaser. I care about what people think about me,” Bateman shared, explaining that he checks what critics and viewers say about his projects. 

Since he creates television and films for the public, he believes their opinions matter. But more than anything, he wants to protect his own peace of mind. 

“What’s most important is that the weather inside is 72 and breezy,” he said. 

Staying happy and grounded takes work, and he joked that you can try to escape the harder feelings, but, “you’re sober in the morning and you got to live in those hours too.”

There is one piece of criticism he’ll never forget, a rough review of Ozark from The New York Times. 

Bateman recalled laughing at the creativity of the negative take, “Mike Hale basically said I was so boring to watch, it reminded him of the person that he buys a ticket from in the airport.” 

He said he “laughed my a** off” because he can appreciate a cleverly written critique.

The review called his performance “the aggressive blandness of an airline gate agent,” while praising Laura Linney as the real standout of the show. 

But Bateman’s career trajectory told a different story. 

As Ozark became a major hit on Netflix, he earned four Emmy nominations for outstanding lead actor, along with several Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nods.

For Bateman, feedback, good or bad, comes with the job. What really matters to him is staying proud of the work and keeping his internal world steady, even when someone else tries to shake it.