"There's a deep vulnerability to Vince," says Jason Bateman, left, who plays the wayward brother to Jude Law's Jake.
Jake (Jude Law, left) gets entangled in shady dealings when his brother, Vince (Jason Bateman), comes back to town.
Jude Law, right, won a best supporting actor BAFTA Award for 1999's "The Talented Mr. Ripley," co-starring Gwyneth Paltrow.
Laura Linney, left, and Jason Bateman played a married couple laundering money in Netflix's drug drama "Ozark."

NEW YORK — Throughout his life, Jude Law has mastered the role of younger brother.

His sister, artist Natasha Law, is two-and-a-half years older than him. But growing up, she was "incredibly inclusive," Law says wryly, sitting at a plush Tribeca hotel on a drizzly afternoon. "She and her friends really took me under their wing and included me in all sorts of parties and things that any smart person wouldn't have allowed me at. (Laughs.) We didn't really get into too much trouble – or at least we didn't get caught."

Now, the Oscar nominee is bringing some of that mischief to Netflix's "Black Rabbit" (now streaming), a twisty crime thriller series set in the seamy underbelly of New York. Law plays Jake Friedken, a hotshot restaurant owner whose life is thrown into chaos when his black sheep older brother, Vince (Jason Bateman), turns back up after years on the run.

Jake has "perfected this artifice of being together, but he's really in search of breaking it all down," Bateman says. It's only through Vince's partnership "does he find that more genuine version of himself. To me, that was such a winning theme to weave through this real sticky plot."

The eight-episode "Black Rabbit" was co-created by Zach Baylin and Kate Susman, with Bateman and his "Ozark" co-star Laura Linney directing two episodes each. Bateman, 56, and Law, 52, tell us about their dark new show, surviving Hollywood and more.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Question: How did Zach and Kate first pitch you on the character of Jake?

Jude Law: They were very collaborative from the get-go. Initially, I was really worried. I thought, "God, how much of an a****** is this guy ... who's got ambitions to change himself and yet keeps getting pulled backwards?" They involved me a lot and I thought, "There's a lot of detail in here that could be really fun to play." And we were desperate to get Jason because we were all fans of who he is as a director. Then when he agreed to be in it as well, suddenly you've got a partner.

You both have older siblings. (Bateman's sister, Justine, is also an actor and filmmaker.) What do Kate and Zach capture about that particular relationship?

Law: They mentioned that dynamic with the person who knows you so well. As a younger brother to an older sister, what I cling onto are those crazy memories when you're little and you're playing together or getting in trouble; what you could do to wind them up or pass the blame. If you think back and just imagine that, it's really easy then to say, "Well, Jake and Vince can go from being adults to suddenly being children," where they slap each other or throw something.

If I'm really honest – I don't mean to get emotional about this – I never had a brother, but I really love being a brother. I've got two older boys who are incredibly close and they've suddenly become closer now that their age gap shrunk in their 20s. But I sometimes look at them both and I'm like, "Wow, what's that like?" And now, it's like Jason's my brother. We were certainly brothers for a year doing this.

Jason Bateman: Even though my character is written as older, when I was around Jude, I was like, "Oh, I'd actually like to be his younger brother." (Laughs.) There's a presence to Jude that he uses so beautifully in the character. Vince would really thrive under the protection of somebody like Jake, who is much more capable at life than he is.

How would you say the two of you are similar?

Bateman: Jude and I are both super appreciative for the place we have managed to hold onto in this business, as far as maintaining employment. We've both been at it for so long, so when you get an opportunity to do something that you really like and you're in a position of leadership, you can curate the kind of set you want and the kind of people you want to work with. We definitely shared that responsibility from beginning to middle to end. We both love to laugh and we don't take ourselves too seriously, but we take the work very seriously.

Jude, you've said that you could relate to Jake, in that he turned 50 and still feels vital. And yet, he's trying to learn from his mistakes and figure out what this next chapter is all about. Can you remember a time in your own life when your priorities shifted?

Law: Becoming a parent is a key one because suddenly, you have the choice then to say, "OK, I'll either go and do the play for $100 a week or I pay my mortgage." (Laughs.) Having to think like that sometimes changes your ability to make choices. I think if you've had the fortune of being the bright young thing for five minutes, and then you're not, it’s a really interesting moment. You haven't chosen to necessarily retire, but you're thinking, "Hold on, I want to carry on here, so how do I make myself relevant again?"

Looking at the careers of actors that you respect, you think, "God, what a curious path they've had." You learn from that and really ask yourself, "Well, who do I want to work with?" And they're hard questions: "What can I do? What am I good at that maybe no one else has seen yet?" You really go for those, but equally, you're trying to stay relevant and bankable to a degree. You have to maintain that all at once.

Jason, New York magazine called you the "most likable male actor in Hollywood" back in 2010. How did "Ozark" change people's perception of you?

Bateman: Without a doubt, "Ozark" was helpful in kicking a door open that wasn't already ajar. I mean, I wouldn't expect Bruce Springsteen to be an incredible opera singer, but if he does a little bit of opera and then he puts out an opera album, I'm not going to be surprised. You've got to help the audience a bit; you've got to give them a little taste. In "Ozark," I asked for the rope. I basically begged for the trust and the support to let me run with that thing. And (Netflix chief) Ted Sarandos gave me that, and I could not be more grateful.

You can continue to reinvest in yourself and in your career by pushing yourself a little bit more, and seeing exactly how much you can handle creatively. Or you can say, "I don't want to keep pushing. I just want to double down and cash in the check." Not to blow smoke, but Jude has been one of those examples. He could have been a movie star his whole career. But while he certainly did do jobs where he was an incredible movie star, he's got an incredible number of jobs where he's doing character actor work: going against his look, against his charisma, against his personality.

I'll bet he didn't make as much money on those, but he's doing it because he wants to see what he can handle. If you've got the opportunity to challenge yourself on a public stage, and you've got the courage to do that, isn't that what we're here to do? To see what you've got before you're gone?

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jude Law, Jason Bateman get candid about Hollywood: 'How do I make myself relevant again?'

Reporting by Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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