Jason Bateman relishes the challenge of directing.
The 51-year-old star is best-known for appearing in front of the camera in movies such as ‘Horrible Bosses’ and ‘Hancock’ – but Jason has moved behind the camera to helm the drama series ‘Ozark’, and he’s loving the experience.
Jason told Collider: "The acting part is less interesting for me only because that’s the part that’s obviously most familiar and most comfortable.
"So, it is the camera work that is everything to me. I will do a lot of work on my own to create every image that we end up doing.
"I have everything worked out in my head as far as where the actors will walk, where they sit, where they’ll talk, or where the cameras are going to be – all the images. [I do this so I can] discover the best way for the visuals to amplify – or the opposite, offset – what the scene is about.
"That, at least for me, takes a long time to figure out, what the best way to do that is."
Meanwhile, Jason has disputed the idea that a director can bring out great performances from actors.
He said: "A director can’t make an actor act well. An actor has the things they do really well and things that are just simply not something that they think about.
"It’s not a question of whether they’re good or not. It’s just a question of what ideas are going through their head.
"As a director, I’m just trying to assess what is that particular skill set that each actor has? What are the ideas that goes through their head?"
Jason Bateman loves the challenge of directing
