‘Ozark’: How Much Jason Bateman Gets Paid for His Role On the Show
With a career spanning over three decades, Jason Bateman has become one of the most recognizable faces in the acting world. He rose to fame on the strength of his work in productions such as Silver Spoons and Arrested Development but shot to a new level of stardom through his role on Netflix’s hit series Ozark.
Because of the show’s popularity, fans might be wondering how much he brings in from his work on the show. In case they are, here’s what to know.
What is ‘Ozark’ about?
Ozark follows Martin “Marty” Byrde (Bateman), a married father of two who works as a financial adviser. He and his family live an ordinary life in Chicago until things are upended when a money-laundering scheme for a Mexican drug cartel goes awry.
In a bid to save his and his family’s lives, Marty offers to set up a larger operation in the Missouri Ozarks. After they relocate, he begins to launder money for the cartel alongside his wife, Wendy (Laura Linney), and their kids: Charlotte (Sofia Hublitz) and Jonah (Skylar Gaertner).
They tell themselves they’ll get out of the business at the very first chance but over the course of three seasons, it has become obvious that their life may never go back to the way it was.
Ozark debuted in 2017 to critical acclaim. It’s third and most recent season can be streamed now on Netflix.
Jason Bateman’s ‘Ozark’ salary
Variety reported in 2017 that Bateman pulled in $300,000 per episode. Each season has 10 episodes so if you’re doing the math, this means that he brings in $3 million a year from Ozark alone. In total, Bateman has made at least $9 million since the show’s debut.
It is unclear whether his pay has changed in the years that have followed. But Bateman has seen a lot more money come in for his work on other productions. In addition to Ozark, he has worked on the horror crime series The Outsider (2020), the comedy flick Game Night (2018), and several other projects.
Jason Bateman didn’t want to act in ‘Ozark’
Bateman told The Associated Press in 2017 that he preferred to direct than act.
“Acting changed for me a while ago when I started to become disenchanted with pretending to be other people,” he explained. “I’m not interested in tricking you into thinking I’m somebody else. My challenge with acting has now changed into a different goal: to give me another hand on the wheel, along with directing, to steer the audience through the story.”
He again stressed: “I’m trying to not do ANY acting. I’m trying to not be distracting at all. I don’t want to rock the boat. I don’t want to do anything where the audience goes, ‘Oh! Look at that performance!’ I’m just trying to service the story. I’m trying to be as natural and invisible as possible.”
Although it’s not the ideal situation for him, Bateman has had the chance to direct many episodes of Ozark. He even went on to describe the show as his favorite in all the years he’s been on TV.
