Little House on the Prairie's Jason Bateman Compares the Late Michael Landon to George Clooney: ‘Everybody Loved Him’

Mar. 15, 2025

Jason Bateman with Michael Landon and Missy Francis on ‘Little House on the Prairie’ in 1981.Photo:NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE – “The Lost Ones: Part 2” Episode 22 – Airdate 5/11/81 – Pictured: (l-r) Jason Bateman as James Cooper Ingalls, Michael Landon as Charles Philip Ingalls, Missy Francis as Cassandra Cooper Ingalls

NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Jason Batemanis remembering his earliest inspiration: Michael Landon.

On the Feb. 24 episode of SiriusXM’sConan O’Brien Needs a Friendpodcast, Bateman, 56, remembered how his time onLittle House of the Prairie— and seeing star, director and executive producer Michael Landon work on set — sparked his desire to be a director.

Michael Landon (left) and Jason Bateman in ‘Little House on the Prairie.'.NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE – “He Was Only Twelve: Part 2” Episode 22 – Aired 5/10/82 – Pictured: (l-r) Michael Landon as Charles Philip Ingalls, Jason Bateman as James Cooper Ingalls

“I was starting to really notice what this magic trick is of making fake life,” Bateman said about his childhood on set. “We all look through the paper towel tube when you’re a kid … And outside that tunnel, it’s stuff you can’t see, the microphone and the lights and all that stuff. And so just inside that tube needs to be pristine.”

He started watching how the people on set made that “fake” life. “Michael Landon was the director, executive producer, star, writer. Everybody loved him,” Bateman said.

“George Clooneywould be the perfect comparison today,” theZootopiastar continued. “His ease with people, with the process, with the business, with Just Joe on the street. Women are crazy about him. Guys wanna be his buddy.”

From left: Jason Bateman, Michael Landon and Missy Francis in ‘Little House on the Prairie.'.NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE – “The Lost Ones: Part 2” Episode 22 – Airdate 5/11/81 – Pictured: (l-r) Jason Bateman as James Cooper Ingalls, Michael Landon as Charles Philip Ingalls, Missy Francis as Cassandra Cooper Ingalls

“Watching him juggle all those balls and be this leader and presence on a set and be kind with people, but also be kind of a stern boss if he needs to, that was pretty inspirational,” theOzarkstar said. BeforeLittle House, Landon appeared in the hit seriesBonanzaand became a massive star. O’Brien, 61, told Bateman, “I can’t believe you even knew him.”

Bateman also credited his dad, producer Kent Bateman, for exposing him to art house films and teaching him “what directing is and what acting is and what’s good and what’s bad.”

“It planted the seed,” Bateman said. “I was always sort of tracking [directing] and wanting to do it and I was paying attention to it on every set I was on afterLittle House.”

Jason Bateman in 2023.Tim Mosenfelder/Getty

Jason Bateman attends the premiere of “Air” during the 2023 SXSW conference and festival at the Paramount Theatre on March 18, 2023 in Austin

Tim Mosenfelder/Getty

“I wanted to turn my history of doing sitcoms into a positive instead of the negative that I felt it was at the time, and let all that experience maybe get me hired as a director,” he said. But in the middle of that career shift, he was cast inArrested Development. He did direct on that series and went on to direct episodes ofOzarkand his upcoming seriesBlack Rabbit.

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Melissa Gilbert, who starred inLittle House on the Prairieas Laura,opened up to PEOPLE in 2024 about the impact Landon had on her life, too.

“Michael was the quarterback, right? So he set the tone of what we were doing,” she said of the star, who died in 1991 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. “Mine was unique in that I was the only cast member who regularly socialized with him and his family.” She said that their families spent spring break together, and she also went to the same school as his children.

“The show itself is just so special and so wonderfully well written,” she added, “but also because that’s my childhood and that’s my surrogate family. I have these wonderfully elaborate ‘home movies’ with many people who are not with us anymore, and I get to revisit them now when I watch a rerun ofLittle House.”

source: people.com