Justin Theroux has revealed what “sage advice” he received from Jason Bateman when he began dating Jennifer Aniston.
Theroux and Aniston first went public with their relationship in 2011. The pair married in August 2015 before eventually splitting in early 2018.
In a recent appearance on Today, the actor – who starred in HBO’s hit series The Leftovers – opened up about what it was like to be in the spotlight during his relationship with the Friends star.
Host Willie Geist asked: “Was that a shock to your system though? Ten years ago when you started dating Jennifer and got married, all that attention you got?”
Theroux revealed that it was the couple’s friend Bateman who helped him during that time.
“Jason Bateman actually once gave me one of the most sage pieces of advice ever when all that was kind of going on,” he said.
Bateman told him: “Look, in that side of the entertainment industry, a character is about to be born and that character is you, but it’s not you.
“That character is, you know, angry, that character has got a problem, that character is, you know, sweet. It’s just this little soap opera that gets written in the margins.”
Theroux recalled that Bateman added: “And so my advice is, don’t follow that guy’s storyline.”
The 49-year-old said that he “stuck to [the advice]”, adding: “That’s the only way you can sort of keep sane and all that.”
Earlier this month, Theroux opened up about his divorce from Aniston in a candid interview.
He said that the pair have “remained friends” and that, although they “don’t talk every day”, they regularly “call [or] FaceTime each other”.
