Bateman began his career as a child actor, appearing on television in the early 1980s on shows such as the NBC drama series Little House on the Prairie from 1981 to 1982 and The Hogan Family from 1986 to 1991.

Bateman took starring roles in the comedies The Switch (2010), The Change-Up (2011), Horrible Bosses (2011), Identity Thief (2013), This Is Where I Leave You (2014), Office Christmas Party (2016), Zootopia (2016), and Game Night (2018).

Bateman was born in Rye, New York,[2] and was four years old when his family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, and later to California.

In an interview with Wired Magazine, Bateman admitted that he never received his diploma due to not finishing his finals while filming Teen Wolf Too.

[11] Bateman first appeared in a cereal commercial for Golden Grahams in 1980 and began his television career on Little House on the Prairie as James Cooper, an orphaned boy who, along with his sister, is adopted by the Ingalls family.

From 1982 to 1984 he was a supporting character on the television show Silver Spoons as Ricky Schroder's "bad boy" best friend Derek Taylor.

In 1984, in response to his popularity on Silver Spoons, the show's producers gave Bateman his own starring role as Matthew Burton on the NBC sitcom It's Your Move, from September 1984 to February 1985.

[15] Bateman performed commentary on the 2004 Democratic National Convention for The Majority Report with Arrested Development co-star David Cross, and hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live on February 12, 2005.

[16] In 2006 he appeared as a guest star on the Scrubs episode "My Big Bird" as Mr. Sutton, a garbage man with a flock of vicious ostriches as pets.

In 2017, Bateman returned to television as both actor and director in the Netflix drama Ozark, in which he plays a financial advisor who must relocate his family to Missouri in order to launder money for a Mexican drug cartel.

Bateman's performance as Marty Byrde has drawn positive comparisons to Bryan Cranston's portrayal of Walter White in AMC's Breaking Bad.

[21][22] In 2021, Bateman played The Facts of Life's Tim Holifield in a reenactment of the third-season episode "Kids Can Be Cruel" for the third edition of Live in Front of a Studio Audience.

[23] In 2004, Bateman appeared in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story as ESPN 8 ("The Ocho") commentator Pepper Brooks, and in Starsky & Hutch as Kevin, Vince Vaughn's business partner.

In 2007 he played former lawyer Rupert "Rip" Reed alongside Ben Affleck in Smokin' Aces, and also starred in The Kingdom, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, and Juno.

In March 2012, Mansome, Bateman's first executive producer credit with Will Arnett, was announced as a Spotlight selection for the Tribeca Film Festival.

[26] The documentary, directed by Morgan Spurlock, is a comedic look at male identity as it is defined through men's grooming habits, featuring celebrity and expert commentary.

[35][36][37] Announced in September 2022, Bateman is tapped to direct Netflix's Dark Wire, a film based on Joseph Cox's novel of the same name.

[38] In January 2023, Bateman signed on to direct The Pinkerton for Warner Bros. Pictures and Bad Robot, and will also serve as executive producer.

During a May 2018 cast interview for The New York Times Bateman attempted to defuse the controversy: "Again, not to belittle it or excuse it or anything, but in the entertainment industry it is incredibly common to have people who are, in quotes, 'difficult'.

"During the interview, Jessica Walter held back tears while speaking of Tambor (who was present), insisting that the two had made amends after the incident.