Last year, actor Jason Bateman lived through a day many parents would consider their worst nightmare. That day, his daughter asked not only about whether the Easter Bunny was real, but about the veracity of the tooth fairy and Santa Claus, too.
During an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Monday, the “Ozark” star said that while filming in Georgia last year, he made a plan to bring out his daughters, Francesca and Maple, who are now 11 and 6, for a week each to visit, starting with Francesca.
When Bateman and his elder daughter were on the way to the airport for their “father-daughter time” right after Easter, Francesca shared some concerns with her dad. She noted that bunnies don’t lay eggs ― which Bateman couldn’t deny ― and then asked her dad to pinkie promise that the Easter Bunny was real.
“I can’t lie to the kid!” Bateman told Kimmel. “I can’t break the pinkie promise.”
Before they even arrived at the airport, Bateman’s daughter also asked whether the tooth fairy and Santa Claus were real. Bateman came clean about both, and then texted his wife, Amanda Anka, to share the news.
“She fires back a text in all caps telling me what a disgrace I am as an actor,” Bateman told Kimmel. “She’s saying, ‘That’s an 11-year-old single-member audience... you’re a professional liar and you can’t get through this?’”
Bateman was nominated for two Emmys this year for “Ozark” (one for acting and one for directing), but apparently his role as Dad might be a tougher gig.
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