What The Cast Of Arrested Development Is Doing Today
"Now the story of a wealthy family who lost everything and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together:" Thus begins Arrested Development. The legendary series is a gift that keeps on giving — viewers discover new jokes, puns, and references with every subsequent viewing. This attention to detail might not have translated to massive, mainstream success, but the show found its fans as time went on and word of mouth spread like wildfire.
Arrested Development's staying power lies in its incredibly talented cast. It should come as no surprise, then, to learn that the show's actors continue to enjoy success in a wide variety of ways. Whether they're starring in quirky indie comedies, exploring the world of voice acting, or garnering major awards, the Bluth family and all their friends have spread far and wide. We're here to catch you up on everything they've been up to, and where they're headed next. Get your best chicken dance ready.
Jason Bateman as Michael Bluth
Though Arrested Development is an ensemble comedy to the core, Jason Bateman is the closest thing the series has to a lead. He's the audience surrogate, though calling him "normal," even in contrast to his insane family, would be stretching the truth.
Bateman has always been a marketable actor, and has enjoyed even higher levels of stardom since Arrested Development wrapped up its pre-Netflix run. He's managed to continue his career as a likable everyman with star turns on Ozark and The Outsider, both of which he also served as a producer and director on. Bateman has also anchored several comedic movies: In the last few years, he starred in the surprisingly dark Game Night, and also voiced Nick Wilde in Zootopia. Bateman has become more and more distinguished by his talents behind the camera in recent years: He serves as an executive producer on the comedy-drama series Kidding, and is set to fulfill the same role on the upcoming drama series, A Teacher. As he won a Primetime Emmy for his direction of a 2018 Ozark episode, expect more production and directorial work from Bateman in the years ahead, in addition to his ever-impressive acting.
Portia de Rossi as Lindsay Bluth Funke
Portia de Rossi's comedic chops are on full display in the role of Lindsay on Arrested Development. The vain and arrogant "twin" sister of Michael (who was actually adopted), Lindsay blunders into situations with a cocky smile and naive approach. Unsurprisingly, she tends to fail at what she tries.
Portia de Rossi actually retired from acting in 2018. She appeared on Ellen and told host Ellen DeGeneres (who is also de Rossi's wife) that she hates doing press for her roles and has trouble seeing where the acting profession will be in the future. She decided to step away from the profession because of this, and started an art curation and publication company instead.
Outside of Arrested Development, de Rossi's most recent roles include a small, recurring role on Santa Clarita Diet and a beefier role on Scandal. Arrested Development fans can rest easy, though: If the show miraculously returns — it wouldn't be the first time — de Rossi has said she would return to the role of Lindsay.
Will Arnett as George "Gob" Bluth
Turn on "The Final Countdown" for the full effect here. Will Arnett has seen his level of fame skyrocket since Arrested Development's original run, and is now a face you routinely see in film and television alike. This makes complete sense: Arnett is an awful, embarrassing delight as Gob, the selfish and overlooked older brother of Michael Bluth. When he enters the frame, you know things are about to get weird.
Much of Arnett's most popular recent work comes from animation. His biggest moneymaker is probably his role as Bruce Wayne in the Lego Batman franchise. He also provides the voice of the titular BoJack in BoJack Horseman and will lend his voice to the upcoming Rumble. Take a moment to let the breadth of that work sink in. Arnett is the voice behind the most hilarious version of Batman since Adam West, and an anthropomorphic horse who stars in what many critics have deemed one of the best animated series ever made.
Arnett doesn't just do voice work, however. He has had major roles on several television series including A Series of Unfortunate Events, Flaked and Riviera. He has also hosted several programs, including Lego Masters, Memory Hole and The Gong Show.
Michael Cera as George-Michael Bluth
Michael Cera has made a career of playing socially awkward characters. There aren't many roles that showcase this specialty quite like George-Michael Bluth on Arrested Development. Whether he's awkwardly trying to discover whether his cousin is actually his cousin or making up the function of an app on the fly, he's going to find a way to make it weird.
As an actor, Cera's roles generally fall into two main categories: Mainstream movies where he plays the type of character most people associate with him, or oddball indie flicks where he deliberately plays against that stereotype. Some of his more recent live-action roles include Molly's Game, Childrens Hospital, Medical Police and an absolutely awesome single-episode stint on Twin Peaks. He has also done plenty of voice work: Cera played Brother Bear in The Berenstain Bears, Robin in the Lego Batman franchise, and will play Hank in the upcoming Blazing Samurai. Beyond acting, Cera is also a talented musician. His debut album, True That, was released in 2014, and he's been known to tour with other performers, trusty bass in hand.
Alia Shawkat as Maeby Funke
Of all the characters on Arrested Development, Alia Shawkat's Maeby is the only one who finds a modicum of success. Her ability to bluff helps massively, giving her a leg up on others less able to lie. This turns out to be a bit of a double-edged sword, however: Maeby's success just makes her eventual failures seem that much bigger.
Shawkat chooses a wide variety of interesting projects to be a part of — you never know where you're going to see or hear her next. Shawkat has voiced characters in several animated series, including Charlie and Betsy on Adventure Time, Roland on Big Mouth, and Blanche on Summer Camp Island. She also provided the English voice for Gabrielle in the French film I Lost My Body.
Shawkat isn't confined to animation, however — she's been part of some of the most celebrated live-action TV of the decade. Some of these roles are brief, as in her singular (but hilarious) appearance on Broad City, but some are leading roles, as is the case with the darkly comedic Search Party, in which she stars as Dory. She has also been cast in the upcoming FX series The Old Man, starring Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow.
Tony Hale as Buster Bluth
If you look at the size and scope of Tony Hale's most recent work, you could make a pretty convincing argument for calling him the heaviest-hitting Arrested Development alum around. Not bad for the man behind Buster Bluth, the childish younger brother (well ... half-brother) of Michael, who has his hand bitten off by a seal.
Hale's high profile rests on two projects: A highly-lauded TV series and a massively profitable animated film. In terms of the former, Hale played Gary Walsh, Selena's personal aide, on HBO's wickedly satirical Veep. As for the latter, Hale played Forky in Toy Story 4, which raked in an eye-popping $1 billion at the box office.
Outside of those roles, Hale is plenty busy. You can hear his voice work in Harley Quinn, Crossing Swords and The Angry Birds film franchise. He's also got a good half-dozen films in various stages of production at this point in time. Hale may yet become an even heavier hitter.
David Cross as Tobias Funke
Comedian David Cross generally sticks to supporting roles, as his unique look and oddball comedy stylings don't really fit into the "leading man" archetype. That's what made him the perfect Tobias Funke: He's totally weird in a completely unique way, yet perfectly capable of being one part of a complex ensemble cast.
Cross has worked steadily as a voice actor in a wide variety of projects. You can hear him in roles like Crane in the Kung Fu Panda franchise, Noah on Archer, and in small roles in other animated comedies like Big Mouth and Rick and Morty. Cross also provided voice work in Sorry to Bother You – he's Cassius' "white voice."
Cross also works regularly in live-action projects. Recently, he's appeared on Goliath as Pete Oakland, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt as Russ Snyder, and Genius as Jerry Wexler. He also starred as the titular character in The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, a web series he created that reunited him and Will Arnett.
Jeffrey Tambor as George and Oscar Bluth
Jeffrey Tambor played twin brothers George Sr. and Oscar Bluth on Arrested Development, allowing him to flex his acting chops as both the devious criminal and his constantly stoned (and also still pretty devious) brother. Tambor has found plenty of success away from Arrested Development, but has also caused some major controversy.
Tambor is probably best known for starring in the show Transparent as Maura Pfefferman, a middle-aged trans woman. Tambor received many accolades for the role, but was also criticized for taking it in the first place as a cis man with far more acting opportunities at his disposal than trans actresses have. Then, Tambor was accused of sexual harassment by multiple women. Tambor has admitted to being "difficult" and "mean" on set, but denies any sexual harassment claims.
Other recent roles for Tambor include voice work, including a recurring role as Len Trexler/Drexler on Archer and King Peppy in Trolls. Tambor has also appeared in films like The Death of Stalin and The Accountant.
Jessica Walter as Lucille Bluth
Jessica Walter had seen plenty of fame before being cast as Lucille Bluth on Arrested Development, including an absolutely fantastic turn in the overlooked horror flick, Play Misty for Me. She has always had incredible range and comedic timing — skills put marvelously on display in the role of Lucille.
The role is so good, in fact, that the creators of Archer basically cast Walter in the exact same role as Malory Archer. Walter has argued that her approach to the two characters is extremely different (mainly because voice work is a whole lot different than traditional acting), but even she acknowledges how similar the characters are. What can we say? She plays domineering, drink-swirling moms with unparalleled panache.
Outside of her work as Malory Archer, Walter doesn't appear in too many recurring roles. She lent her voice to Meteora Heinous on Star vs. The Forces of Evil, has appeared in a few episodes of Good Girls, and has a supporting role in Harley Quinn as legendary DC baddie Granny Goodness.
Ron Howard as the Narrator
One of Hollywood's most prolific directors, Ron Howard lent his voice to Arrested Development as the snarky narrator. Howard does occasionally pop up in onscreen roles, and actually first became known as an actor in productions like American Graffiti and Happy Days, but he's much more at home behind the camera. In that capacity, he is an unparalleled success — Howard directed the likes of A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man, Splash, and Apollo 13.
Outside of Arrested Development, Howard's most recent onscreen role was a brief run on This Is Us as himself. As a director, he's been busy: One of his biggest recent tasks was taking over the troubled production of Solo: A Star Wars Story. He also has several projects in various stages of post-production as of this writing: Hillbilly Elegy, The Fixer, Thirteen Lives and a television adaptation of his 1988 fantasy film Willow are all in progress.
Howard is also well known as a producer. Whether we're talking television or film, Howard's production company, Imagine Entertainment, has probably brought one of your favorites to life: Projects as disparate as 8 Mile, Friday Night Lights, and Katy Perry: Part of Me are all Imagine Entertainment productions.
Henry Winkler as Barry Zuckerkorn
Barry Zuckerkorn, the Bluth family's incompetent attorney, is played by the Fonz himself, Henry Winkler. Despite probably being best known for his "Aaaaaay!" catchphrase on Happy Days, Winkler has actually had a prolific career with dozens of credits to his name.
Winkler often appears in smaller roles and, for someone known as a comedic actor, surprises many viewers with his dramatic range. Some of his recent work includes Scoob!, All Hail King Julien, and Medical Police. His best performance of recent memory has to come from the incredible dark comedy Barry, starring Bill Hader as a hitman-turned-actor. Winkler plays Gene, Barry's surrogate father and acting coach. If you'd like to see what Winkler is truly capable of as a performer, that's a must-watch.
Winkler has some meaty roles in upcoming films as well. He's set to appear in Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch, comedy-drama Pink Skies Ahead, and in the upcoming Tiffany Haddish film, On the Count of Three.