Jason Bateman’s advice to Trojans is don’t be full of… well, you know it when you smell it.
“Be vulnerable, be honest, be you. It’s infectious. People just smell it. You can’t fake it. Don’t waste your time learning how to be full of sh*t. Because it is a waste of time.”
In conversation about demystifying the entertainment industry for newcomers and the importance of authenticity in acting and life, Bateman visited Bovard Auditorium Tuesday night as part of the School of Dramatic Arts’ Spotlight series.
Known for his award-winning work in projects ranging from acting and directing on the crime drama “Ozark” to voice acting work in “Zootopia,” Bateman has been a staple of the entertainment industry for several decades.
From playing roles in gripping thrillers and absurdist comedies to filling the roles of guest star, executive producer and everything in between, Bateman shared his expertise in acting with an electric crowd of USC students, moderated by SDA professor and experienced actress Alexandra Billings.
“Here comes Thanksgiving, right?” Bateman said. “You guys are going to go home and grandma is going to tell you a story. You love her, and so you know how to be convincingly engaged. But your sibling is sitting there, too, and your sibling knows when you’re full of sh*t. The camera is your sibling. And that’s not difficult if you just stay inside your boundaries of what is going to convince my sibling that I’m not acting.”
While he says his work isn’t anywhere near what’s being done by people like Daniel Day-Lewis or Christian Bale, he’s found joy in acting that has the confidence to fade back and serve the narrative. His roles in “Ozark,” “Arrested Development,” along with countless others, were examples of him taking advantage of his own skill set, something he encourages others to hone in on.
“You find actors that fit the character, or are making a choice at the audition that lives inside their skill set,” Bateman said on the process of auditioning for roles. “Make a good guess that lives inside something you can pull off. And if they don’t want that, then you’re not going to get the job, that’s fine. But at least you haven’t said, ‘I can do this over the course of seven years.’ You might not be able to.”
The event comes about a week after the end of the massive actors’ strike in the industry that brought to light the increasingly unsustainable wage conditions many actors face. While the new contract will hopefully bring better financial agreements for actors, Bateman acknowledged that the industry is just naturally difficult to navigate for those on screen. The key, according to him, is to not let the down-times in between projects get under your skin.
“In a great year, you’re fired six times,” Bateman said. “And so you need to have a sense of self and worth and talent and uniqueness. By the definition of uniqueness, it’s not right for everything. It’s perfect for a few things”
The actors’ strike was also a chance to highlight topics of diversity and inclusion in Hollywood and the entertainment industry at large, particularly the relative lack of women, people of color and people from the LGBTQ+ community in those spaces.
Professor Billings asked Bateman bluntly, as a “mixed-raced trans woman” talking to a successful “white, straight and cisgender” actor, what assurance could he offer to the diverse crowd that they would have a space when they graduate.
“There’s a little bit of a cynical effort that some studios and some production companies are doing whereby they’re trying to win this optics craze,” Bateman said. “And there’s like a little scorecard that Deadline puts out every year. It’s a little insincere, parts of it. But for the most part, it’s fantastic that there’s an effort to catch up and right the scales.”
For Bateman, while the drive for change is there, what is still lacking are resources and proper investment in those who come from marginalized communities. Oftentimes, studios will hire diverse employees without giving them the proper support, ending up in everyone having a poor experience, and discouraging that artist from wanting to continue their passion. Bateman wants to start being a remedy for that disconnect.
“I’m an advocate of creating a shadow program whereby folks like you just get to hang out on a set for a week,” he said. “It’s so fun on a set, it’s so easy and the mystique is destroyed immediately. It’s just a bunch of weirdos in cargo shorts and Tevas.”
The crowd in Bovard auditorium was made largely of students at the School of Dramatic Arts, but included a lot of students who had heard about the event from friends or through forwarded emails. Zigi Kaiser, a junior studying International Relations, heard of the event through her SDA roommate. While a lot of the discussion was about acting specifically, she says that some things were applicable in a lot of areas.
“I’m not looking to go into the entertainment industry,” Kaiser said. “But what he said about taking the skill set you already have and using that made me think about how I could carry myself in future interviews. Just like not trying to be exactly who the interviewer wants, but relying on the skills or experience I already have and presenting myself authentically.”
Bateman began as a child star in the 80s and has always had one foot in the industry ever since. He’s been thinking about the time that’s passed, the time he has left, and fears the “cruel and arbitrary manner that comes down from upstairs and strikes people.” But above all, he stakes value on being your authentic self, in front of the camera, behind the lens, or even nowhere near the set.
“It’s okay to just be kind. To be nice. To be real. It helps with the acting. Or if you’re not an actor. It helps to be able to recognize authentic stuff when you’re in the editing room crafting something that is really going to resonate with human beings.”