Jason Bateman isn't afraid to spend his money after netting himself an estimated $50 million fortune – but the same can't be said for some of his friends.
The 57-year-old Ozark actor opened up about his "complicated relationship" with money after becoming the biggest source of income in his household as a child actor.
But while he learned that he could "generate money" and "replace it" if necessary, he claimed that his friends who inherited their money are some of the cheapest people he knows.
"I have got some friends that are incredibly wealthy because their parents were incredibly wealthy and they inherited a bunch of money," he said on Vulture's Good One podcast.
"And they're the tightest people I know because they never... they didn't make that money, and so they feel every dollar out they're not going to be able to get back," he explained.
"I feel enormously fortunate that things have worked out for me," Jason added. "I don't have to take jobs that aren't creatively exciting for me."
© Getty ImagesEarlier in the interview, which was recorded last month at the Tribeca Festival, Jason admitted that he felt a big responsibility as a child not to "get fired" because his family relied on his paycheck.
"Both my parents were my manager and so…what I made was very helpful to our bottom line each month, and so there was a great deal of pressure to kind of, you know, like don't get fired," he said.
Jason added that maintaining his school grades so he could continue working added another layer of stress.
© Getty Images"If you don't…keep a C average in school, you don't get your work permit, and you're fired," he explained.
However, he admitted that while the experience could be "rough" at times, it helped him to learn some "healthy" lessons.
"It was rough but, as anxiety inducing as that was, there was also this early muscle that I kind of developed where I knew I could generate money," he explained.
"So I was, sort of, not that nervous about spending money because I felt I could replace it."
© FilmMagicJason began his career as a child and gained recognition at age 11 playing James Cooper Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie. During his four-decade career, he has starred in hit TV shows and movies like Arrested Development, Horrible Bosses, Ozark and more.
Last February, Jason echoed his sentiments about the financial pressures of being a child actor on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast.
"I do remember being really filled with anxiety about being able to continue to make a living in a business that I was pretty aware ... was tenuous at best," he said at the time.
© FilmMagic"My parents were my managers, and they were making more money doing that than what they were: My mom was a flight attendant for Pan Am. My dad was a freelance writer, director, producer.
"And, you know, 15% of what I was making at that time just ended up being more than what they were making in their careers."
He added: "It became an important component … like, we were living in certain condo that we wouldn't be able to live in if they were just using their salaries."
