Jason Bateman - Jason Bateman: It's Tough For Child Stars

Jason Bateman: It's Tough For Child Stars

Jason Bateman doesn't think it's a "good idea" for children to be actors.

The 'Change-Up' star landed his first major acting role in the sitcom 'Silver Spoons' - which ran from 1982 to 1986 - when he was 12 and then went onto to star in numerous TV shows and films, including 'Teen Wolf Too', throughout his teen years.

Although Jason is grateful for the opportunities he was given he admits having a career at such a young age did have some negative effects on him.

When asked his thoughts on child stars, he said: "It's not a good idea. For one an acting career is quite unstable and also because things in this business are very unfair. Most of all I think it's highly questionable to put a child in front of a camera and ask that child to pretend to be someone else. Children need to find out who they really are first. When you're growing up child acting isn't very clever. I personally didn't survive it completely undamaged."

In the 90s, Jason was a regularly drug user but he quit around 10 years ago and insists it was the best decision he ever made in his life.

The 42-year-old actor - who is married to Amanda Anka, with whom he has a four-year-old daughter Francesca and is currently expecting another child - told Swiss newspaper Sonntags Zeitung: "I don't know if it's ten years (since I quit). I stopped counting. I lived an excessive life, at some point it was to time for a different lifestyle."