Jason Bateman inadvertently got Nathan Fillion out of a speeding ticket due to a major mix-up.

The Rookie star Nathan - who plays a police officer in the show - has revealed his car was once pulled over by a real cop who seemingly recognised him and asked for an autograph but it turned out the officer had mistaken him for fellow actor Jason.

During an appearance at San Diego Comic Con in California on Monday (27.07.26), Nathan explained: "I got pulled over once and the officer looked at my ID and said: 'I recognize you're an actor'. I said: 'Yes … actually, I'm pretty good.'

"He said: 'If you give my wife an autograph, I'll let you off with a warning'. I said: 'Great.' He dials his phone. I said: 'What's your wife's name?' He said: 'Lily.' So I wrote: 'To Lily …'"

However, Nathan then heard the cop on his phone to his wife and it became clear it was a case of mistaken identity.

Nathan said: "Then I heard him say: 'Hey honey, I'm getting you an autograph, it's Jason Bateman'.

"And I signed it … 'All my love, Jason Bateman."

People.com reports Nathan's The Rookie castmates also opened up about their real-life brushes with the police and Deric Augustine revealed he also escaped a ticket because of his high-profile job.

Deric said: "I recently got pulled over because of my tinted windows, and the officer recognized me from The Rookie. He let me go."

However, fellow cast member Lisseth Chavez didn't have the same luck as she still got a traffic ticket.

She said: "I also got pulled over on [California's Pacific Coast Highway] PCH … and I still got the ticket."

Nathan's revelation comes after Jason opened up about his own brush with the law during a trip to Monaco and he wasn't able to get out of it due to an identity mix-up.

Speaking on his own SmartLess podcast, Jason said: "I was arrested in Monaco for being drunk and disorderly in a nice little leopard outfit.

"Fresh from the casinos, all banged up on cheap Champagne and a pocket full of [casino] chips ... I just got rocked."