LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE - BATEMAN BLAMES CAREER FLOP FOR ADDICTIONS

Former LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE child star JASON BATEMAN was driven to drink and drugs because of an "identity crisis" he suffered during a 10-year lull in his television career. The actor, who shot to fame aged 11 in the TV classic, enjoyed stardom throughout his teens but when his career subsequently stalled he suffered an emotional meltdown. He explains, "I loved the attention, the travel, not having to go to school. What's difficult is, you get used to it. "You're not smart enough to intellectualise that it's something that might not last. "There was a period of correction between the ages of 20 and 30 where I had an identity crisis. You wonder if the whole rest of your life is going to be anti-climatic." Bateman's career - which in the 1990s consisted mainly of movie bit-parts - was revived when he was offered a part in cult U.S. sitcom Arrested Development, in 2003.