Four years after
his queer sitcom fizzled, Jason Bateman earned a Golden
Globe award and an Emmy nomination for playing the
quintessential straight man on Fox’s
Arrested Development; even so, gays are
still some of his best friends. So with Mr.
Magorium’s Wonder Emporium now in theaters
and Oscar-hopeful Juno out in December, we treated the
’80s teen idol -- and onetime wolf -- to some
friendly ribbing about his sex symbol status and
“uncool” career choices.
When The Advocate last spoke to you in 2001 you
were promoting your role as gay journalist Warren
in the series Some of My Best Friends,
which was then canceled after five episodes. What went wrong?
It wasn’t the show’s fault, and it
certainly wasn’t my fault, Brandon. I kept
thinking that perhaps it was on the wrong network and the
wrong night. Those are legitimate excuses -- I don’t
think they’re just things that help you get to
sleep at night. There are certain networks that are
better for liberal fare, and CBS, at least at the time, was
not leading in that race as far as their audience and
demographic. If it had been on NBC, on a more liberal
night -- like a Thursday -- it probably
would’ve had a better shot. Will & Grace
was certainly having a good time there.
Maybe you should’ve played Warren like your
flaming Captain Reggie in the “Gays in
Space” sketch when you hosted Saturday Night
Live in 2005.
The CBS demographic would’ve probably run
screaming. That was a lot of fun, though. With that
type of burlesque sketch comedy, one wants to take any
character to the utmost extreme, cliché, and offensive
place you possibly can. And that’s why
it’s relegated to 11:30 p.m.
Trust me, I know
some Reggies.
I know a few too -- and
they’re some of my best friends. Growing up in
the entertainment industry, and also having a mother who was
a flight attendant for 30 years, I’ve been
surrounded by the best and the worst of the gay
community. But I’ve always said that I’ve
never met a dumb gay guy. You’ve got to be
smart and insightful to know what’s going on with
you and then live by it. It takes a lot of balls to walk
proudly as a gay man, especially outside of the more
liberal cities like Los Angeles and New York. So
I’ve got a great deal of respect for the gay
community. I think that it shows in my friend circle,
and I’m really proud to be accepted by them.
Really, Jason? No gay idiots? Because that’s all I
ever seem to date.
[Laughs] Well, I’m sure there’s
quite a few. We gotta keep the bars filled with
something, and you gotta sell the cheap booze to
somebody.
You respect our “balls,” but do you have
any closeted peers?
Yes, but it’s become less and less. In this day
and age, at least in this town, you’re not
truly hip and popular until you’re out and in AA.
So that’s encouraging a lot of those who were on the
fence. One of my best friends and ex-roommates, a
producer, finally came out a couple of years ago, and
he’s never been happier. He’s stopped a lot of
his abusive, self-destructive behavior because
he’s been able to get this big weight off his
shoulders.
The Hogan Family was a contemporary of Doogie Howser,
M.D. Were you just waiting for Neil Patrick Harris
to come out?
I actually didn’t know him at all, and
didn’t have my suspicions until he started
doing musical theater. That’s usually a flag.
Have guys ever hit on you?
I don’t know if I’d be able to tell, only
because I’m so flirtatious with gay men anyway.
They usually have great senses of humor, so I just get
my flirt on, and they’re probably not enjoying my
humor as much as I’m enjoying theirs -- maybe
all those laughs are just come-ons and I’m
getting hit on the whole time. But I do enjoy my time around
homosexual men, to the point where people have thought
I’m gay for years. I had to get myself a wife
just to prove otherwise.
It seems to be working.
Yeah. I still don’t know her name, though.
If you were gay, who’d be your type?
Oh, God, who am I gay for… Well, Will Arnett, the
guy who played G.O.B. on Arrested Development.
I’ve been trying to get in his pants since the
pilot, and he’s just not giving it up. His wife, Amy
Poehler, is safely on the East Coast, but if she ever
wanders out here, I got something for her ass.
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