While comedy fans were already aware of Michael Cera thanks to his days of playing George Michael Bluth on the cult-favorite sitcom, Arrested Development, the teen actor’s fame rose in 2007 after starring alongside another burgeoning young star, Jonah Hill, in the hit comedy Superbad. That same year, Cera also starred in Juno, which only further cemented his star status. However, Cera was not a fan of the sudden attention.
“That was sort of overwhelming,” Cera said. “I didn’t know how to handle walking down the street. Fame makes you very uncomfortable in your own skin, and makes you paranoid and weird. There were lots of great things about it, and I met a lot of amazing people, but there’s a lot of bad energies, too, ones that I was not equipped to handle.”
There was also the drunk people, which didn’t help the situation. Via The Guardian:
“You know, if people are drunk, and they recognise you, and they’re very enthusiastic, but it can be kind of toxic too. When you’re a kid, people also feel they can kind of grab you – they’re not that respectful of you or your physical space.” At 19, he says, “I didn’t know how to respectfully establish my own boundaries.” The weekend Superbad came out, Cera went to a bar with friends “and it was a mistake. It was like a burning feeling the whole time, just like everybody was so aware of me.”
According to Cera, he went into a “crisis” and stopped “taking jobs that would make me more famous,” including turning down a chance to host Saturday Night Live. After seeking out a steady stream of “interesting,” low-profile projects (Save for the exception of Scott Pilgrim, which Cera was already contracted for and is “grateful” to have made.), the actor reached a point where he no’s longer afraid that his work will affect his “day-to-day life.” So, he did what anybody would do in his position, and immediately tried to get into the Barbie movie.
“I was desperate to be a part of it,” Cera said about the Greta Gerwig-directed film. “I would stand there and marvel, and never got tired of looking around and finding new little details. It was one of the most stunning things I’ve ever seen.”
Barbie opens in theaters on July 21.
(Via The Guardian)