Jason Bateman 'lost a decade of his life' to substance abuse

Ozark star Jason Bateman has reflected on his previous substance abuse battle and says he 'lost a decade of his life' as a result.

Bateman first shot to fame as a child star in Little House of the Prairie in 1981 before going on to bag a role in the sitcom Valerie (later renamed The Hogan Family).

But, as Bateman transitioned into his teenage years, the actor struggled with fame and turned to drugs and alcohol as a result.

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The star said he felt like he'd missed out on a 'care-free childhood' as a result of his busy working life and, come the 90s, he 'wanted to get the wiggles out'.

But his 'wiggles' turned out to be detrimental for Bateman who went on to 'lose his place in the line of business' as a result of his partying.

His struggles also put a strain on his marriage. Bateman wed fellow actor Amanda Anka in 2001, with the pair now sharing two daughters, Francesca and Maple.

Discussing his substance abuse, Bateman told The Guardian last year: "Having thought, ‘This is really fun', and staying at the party a little bit too long, I’d lost my place in line in the business; it was a case of trying to claw that back towards the end of the 90s, and not getting a lot of great responses."

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In regards to his marriage, the Game Night actor said his wife gave him an ultimatum at the height of his substance abuse battle which sparked him to go into an AA.

After getting clean, Bateman fortunately did manage to 'claw' his way back into showbusiness, with Arrested Development being his way back in.

The hit sitcom aired back in 2003 with an all-star cast including Will Arnett, Michael Cera and Portia de Rossi.

Bateman's struggle to get work is a far cry from when the actor is now, however.

In recent years, the actor has won a handful of awards for his Netflix series Ozark, including three Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAGs).

In February of this year, Bateman won a SAG for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series and thanked his wife and kids in his acceptance speech.

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He said at the time, as per People: "Thank you to the people who watched the show because if you didn't I wouldn't be here.

"And I get to say thank you to my wife Amanda, my two kids at home, Maple [and] Francesca, they made me feel like I was a good dad even though I was gone for 6 months every year. They're better actors than I am."

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