Bateman says he reads all reviews, because he is “a people pleaser.”

Jason Bateman reflects on harsh *Ozark *review: ‘I laughed my ass off’

Bateman says he reads all reviews, because he is "a people pleaser."

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

EW's editorial guidelines

December 9, 2025 11:57 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Jason Bateman in New York City on Sept. 16. Credit:

Jason Mendez/Getty

Jason Bateman still remembers a scathing review that accused him of having "the aggressive blandness of an airline gate agent," when the Netflix series debuted in 2017.

"I got a terrible review from *The New York Times* on the pilot of *Ozark*," Bateman told *Esquire* in an interview published Monday. "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. I laughed my ass off. I appreciate those that get creative with it."

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

Hale also wrote that the actor "isn't really able to make a compelling character out of the blankly craven Marty," while praising Bateman's costar Laura Linney as the show's "saving grace."

Jason Bateman and Laura Linney star on 'Ozark'.

Courtesy Of Netflix

Bateman, who's acted since he was a child on shows such as *Little House on the Prairie* and *Silver Spoons*, explained that he didn't just happen to see the evaluation of his work. He had been on the lookout for it.

"I am a people pleaser. I care about what people think about me. I read all the reviews," Bateman told the magazine. "I am doing these projects for public consumption, so it matters to me what the public thinks about them. It matters to me what critics think about them."**

Jason Bateman makes rare comment explaining why he and sister Justine don't see each other 'a ton'

Jason Bateman says he was hazed by older kid costars on 'Little House on the Prairie'

He added, "But what's most important is that the weather inside is 72 and breezy. It takes a lot of work to stay happy, to stay clear, and to be proud of yourself. You can try to drink through it, but you're sober in the morning and you got to live in those hours too."

Even so, Bateman can take heart in the fact that he was nominated four times for his acting in the drama, which also costarred Julia Garner, Lisa Emery, and Charlie Tahan. (He ended up winning in 2019 for directing an episode. Garner won the show's other three.)

The series followed the story of his character Marty Byrde, a financial adviser who moved his family from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks in order to launder money for a drug boss.**

Bateman is also known for TV's *Arrested Development*, in which he played Michael Bluth, as well as movies such as *Horrible Bosses*, *Game Night*, and *Zootopia*.**

*Ozark* is available to stream on Netflix.

- Celebrities & Creators

- Entertainment Industry Roles

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Actors”