Hollywood star Jason Bateman reveals his alternative career plan

Jason Bateman nearly walked away from Hollywood in his 20s.

The 57-year-old actor has enjoyed huge success in the film business, starring in movies such as Juno, Hancock, and Up in the Air - but Jason was actually prepared to quit Hollywood during his younger years.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Jason explained: "I would’ve bought a little coffee shop in some small town in Western Europe, learned the language and made local villager friends.

"It sounds so stupid, but I would’ve walked around with a little apron on and sat at everyone’s table and just had a quaint, little life — and I bet I would have loved it."

Jason's fortunes were transformed in the early 2000s, when he was cast in Arrested Development, the hit TV sitcom. And following a string of film and TV successes, Jason now believes that he's at the peak of his powers.

He shared: "Were it not for some of that cliff-hanging earlier in my career, I don’t know if I’d be as good as I am at the caretaking of these opportunities.

"But I have seen and felt what it is like to really not have a lot of prospects, and it keeps you hungry."

Jason began his career as a child actor, appearing on TV shows like Little House on the Prairie, and he's always been trying to distance himself from his past.

The actor explained: "I still feel like I’m trying not to be a child-actor failure. I’m still trying to make it out."

Meanwhile, Jason previously revealed that an unplanned audition changed his life.

The actor admitted that he wasn't planning a career in the entertainment business, until the opportunity arose.

He told CBS News: "One day, a neighbour of ours was going to an audition, a friend of my dad’s. And he saw me outside washing my dad’s car with him. It was a hot day, and he would say, ‘Hey, do you want to come with me to this audition?'

"And I was like ‘Yeah, please!’ So I rode along with him to just see an audition when I was 10. And they were reading for the role of the son in the project he was reading for. He was reading for the father role. And he grabbed me to the side [with] just a little piece of the script to test whether you’re a good actor or not.

"He said learn these lines and tell them you’re here to read for the son and that you’re not on the call sheet there. Just say it must be some mistake."