Jason Bateman began his career with a major role on the television drama, Little House on the Prairie, in which he acted the role of James Ingalls from 1981 to 1982. He later became a teen idol in the mid-80s in shows such as Silver Spoons, It's Your Move, and The Hogan Family, but after the latter show ended its run, his career went into decline for almost a decade. During this period, he had major roles on four series—Simon, Chicago Sons, George & Leo, and Some of My Best Friends—none of which lasted for longer than one season. But he did manage to squeeze in some major film work as the horny sibling of Thomas Jane's about to be married character in The Sweetest Thing and in 2003, his career made a comeback when he landed the lead role of Michael Bluth on the FOX television comedy Arrested Development.

More recently, he has appeared in Dodgeball as an ESPN 8 commentator and Starsky & Hutch as Vince Vaughn's character's business partner. He also recently did commentary on the 2004 Democratic National Convention for The Majority Report with Arrested Development co-star David Cross.

Bateman was awarded the Golden Globe in 2005 for "Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy" for his work on Arrested Development. He guest-hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live on February 12, 2005.

His older sister is Family Ties star Justine Bateman. Since 2001, Jason has been married to actress Amanda Anka, daughter of singer and actor Paul Anka.

More recently, Bateman was tricked by Ashton Kutcher's crew members on the MTV show Punk'd. Although part of a "faked" car accident, Bateman lied convincingly to an interviewing police officer.