Why Jason Bateman Could Win His First Acting Emmy With Ozark

It was a difficult road for Marty and Wendy Byrde the last four minutes of Netflix’s “Ozark,” but absolutely gratifying. The fourteenth episode of the fourth and final season was directed by executive producer and star Jason Bateman.occupying the director’s chair for the first time this year.

Batman’s talent

And it is that in the last scene of Ozark the tension is felt in the air. When Mel (Adam Rothenberg) breaks into the Byrdes’ house and holds the cookie jar with Wendy’s brother’s ashes, Bateman shows all his talent.

Instead of trying some acting stunts that can go over the top in scenes like this, Bateman’s wide eyes are the most expressive. “What’s your price?” he asks her.

Why could you win?

The 53-year-old’s ability to act through his body has been one of the most underrated tools in his repertoire. Bateman earned critical acclaim and Emmy notoriety over the years, including three acting nominations as financial adviser turned drug cartel money launderer.

However, the actor has never won an Emmy for acting. His only win is for directing the season 2 episode “Reparations” in 2019.

Triple nominated for drama series, director and leading actor, his path to another statuette lies in the director’s race (drama) where he faces the multiple figures of “Succession”, “Severance”, “Yellowjackets” and his partner from Netflix Squid Game.

Despite this, in the last decade, five of the previous 10 leading actor drama winners won in the final seasons of their shows: Kyle Chandler by “Friday Night Lights” (2011), Bryan Cranston by “Breaking Bad” (2014), Jon Ham by “Mad Men” (2015), matthew rhys by “The Americans” (2018) and Josh O’Connor by (his last season in) “The Crown” (2021).

This stat could point to a win surprise for the accomplished actor who faces Brian Cox, Lee Jung-jae, Bob Odenkirk, Adam Scott, and Jeremy Strong.

If it were awarded in acting, it would be historic, being Bateman the first person to win Emmy Awards for directing and acting in drama categories (albeit in different years).