Time has come for this guy to deliver

Jason Bateman seems 180 degrees removed from his character in “Juno” -- a man-child, a perennial Peter Pan who refuses to grow up. Bateman, 38, has happily become an adult, moving smoothly from his years as a teen star of sitcoms such as “Silver Spoons” to “Arrested Development” and a variety of feature film roles.

Currently on the screen in “The Kingdom,” he also appears opposite Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman in “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium,” which opens Nov. 16, and as Jennifer Garner’s husband in “Juno,” opening Dec. 5.

Directed by Jason Reitman (“Thank You for Smoking”) and written by former stripper turned screenwriter Diablo Cody, “Juno” stars Ellen Page as the 16-year-old title character -- a smart, tart-tongued high school student who finds herself pregnant after experimenting with sex with her best male friend, the shy Paulie (Michael Cera). After changing her mind about having an abortion, Juno looks through ads in the Penny Saver taken out by people looking to adopt. She thinks she’s found the perfect couple in wealthy suburbanites Vanessa (Garner) and Mark (Bateman). But first impressions can be deceiving.

“Mark is kind of going through what most guys that age go through -- that transition from being a senior in your adolescence to becoming a freshman in your adulthood,” says Bateman. “And at what point do you want to step through that threshold? Some people resist it; some people plan for it and some people just jump blindly through. It’s an interesting, real clear, tangible transition through life, at least for guys.”

Bateman is no stranger to the transition. “I kind of prepared for it,” he says. “As a result, I am sort of repeating the benefits of that preparation. Things are going nice . . . . This guy really doesn’t have the courage to do it or the smarts to do it. That’s kind of interesting to watch.”

-- Susan King