FILM INTERVIEW
MR. NICE GUY Michael Cera, Hollywood’s Most Normal Boy Next Door BY B. LOVE
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ROM EDWARD FURLONG AND Corey Feldman to Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, history is littered with cautionary tales about the inherent dangers of becoming famous too young in life. For every Jodie Foster, who earned her first Oscar nomination at the age of 14 and went on to become one of the most successful leading ladies in Hollywood history, there have been hundreds of young actors and singers who either burned out in a fiery blaze of tabloid glory or simply faded into obscurity (see: McCauley Culkin, Haley Joel Osment) before they were even old enough to drink. Then there’s Michael Cera. Born in the suburban Ontario city of Brampton in 1988 to an Italian father and a French Canadian mother, Cera appeared in films such as Frequency and Confessions of A Dangerous Mind before finding fame at the age of 15 as the star of the cult TV comedy Arrested Development. In 2007 he had back-to-back breakthrough roles in Juno and Superbad (which together grossed over $250 million). Now, the 20-year-old recently ranked #1 on Entertainment Weekly’s “30 Under 30” list is headlining this month’s Youth In Revolt, one of several films that promise to make him an even bigger star in 2009. But what seems even more remarkable than Cera’s considerable successes (including his last film, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, which grossed nearly four times its $9 million budget) is the fact that he seems completely oblivious to it. He arrives bright and early for our interview looking closer to his Youth In Revolt character Nick Twisp’s age (14 in the C.D. Payne novel on which the film is based) than his own, clad in the outfit which he has helped to make something of a slacker teen trademark: hooded sweatshirt, tight jeans, well-worn sneakers and a bright red backpack that makes him look more like a high school student than a bona-fide star who earns millions of dollars per movie. He is unfailingly polite, asking for permission to fix himself a cup of coffee (a job usually handled by fawning publicists) before sitting down, then apologizing for delaying our interview by what may have been a minute or two at most. Though clearly thoughtful and intelligent, his answers come in halted fits and starts, punctuated by pregnant pauses and his favorite word, “nice,” which he uses no less than a dozen times over the course of our conversation. With Cera, what you see truly seems to be what you get, as the actor has a shy, awkward, mildly uncomfortable demeanor much like that of the characters in which he has specialized. “[Emotional discomfort] is my favorite thing,” he admits with a sheepish grin. “I always end up in situations where I don’t know too many people. I’m not very social, so I feel extremely uncomfortable. But there’s some secret pleasure I take in things going
horribly wrong.” It’s a pleasure he has embraced since the onset of puberty, when he and a friend– inspired by the irreverent comedy of Tom Green and HBO’s sketch comedy series Mr. Show– decided that making themselves laugh was far more important than trying to be cool or fit in. In 7th grade the actor (who was appearing in local commercials at the time) started wearing a pink bicycle helmet to school, adopting a fake persona to interview classmates. “We didn’t care if people thought we were
They’ll tell me they like my work or someone will shout something out, but it’s always very pleasant. I dunno, do people really change because of fame?” he asks earnestly. “I’ve never met someone who has, so I think that was bound to happen to that person no matter what they did in their life.” Perhaps Cera’s comfort with his newfound celebrity comes from the fact that all of his previous projects have been centered around collaborative ensembles, rather than star vehicles that put all of the focus on one or two central characters. The improvisation-
[EMOTIONAL DISCOMFORT] IS MY FAVORITE THING. I ALWAYS END UP IN SITUATIONS WHERE I DON’T KNOW TOO MANY PEOPLE. I’M NOT VERY SOCIAL, SO I FEEL EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE. BUT THERE’S SOME SECRET PLEASURE I TAKE IN THINGS GOING HORRIBLY WRONG.
losers,” he recalls fondly. “I was excited about people thinking I was an idiot.” This affinity for awkwardness served him extremely well in his Arrested Development role as George-Michael Bluth, an uncomfortable teen with an inappropriate crush on his cousin Maeby; as Paulie Bleeker, a shortshorts-clad geek who unwittingly fathers an illegitimate child in Juno; as Evan, a horny high school senior trying to score with gorgeous girls way out of his league in Superbad; and as Nick, a lovelorn musician pining for his unattainable ex-girlfriend in Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. But surprisingly enough, Cera claims to feel no awkwardness whatsoever with the astronomical ascent to fame these roles have brought him. “I’ve been enjoying it. I really like working and being on sets, so it’s nice to be able to continue doing that. If I get recognized in the street it’s normally just a brief exchange.
based approach of these projects allowed Cera to play a heightened version of himself, and the actor acknowledges that it’s his favorite style of acting. “It’s fun, just having a conversation [in character], because it always feels real when you’re just talking off the top of your head. You can always create options on the set and make decisions later in the editing room, rather than having to go back and reshoot. I took some classes at Second City in Toronto,” he recalls of his improv training. “I guess I learned something from that, but the biggest thing is to just listen. I think anyone can do it, because if you can have a conversation you can improvise, as long as you’re not trying to be funny. That’s when you can start to trip yourself up.” In the eyes of many critics, this naturalistic approach to humor offers a refreshing change of pace from the tawdry gross-out comedies on the ‘90s and early aughts. Some
have gone so far as to compare Superbad and Nick & Norah to the classic John Hughes teen films of the ‘80s, such as The Breakfast Club, Pretty In Pink and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. “I like anything that feels authentic and comes from someone’s heart,” Cera says when asked about the appeal of these films to his generation. “I watch a lot of movies, and I’ve never liked those gross-out comedies. Sometimes you read a script and there are things that don’t ring true, but you can work with the director and the writers on fixing it. I’ve always found that it’s best to work with people that are collaborative and open-minded. People who aren’t afraid of forfeiting control always come up with the best product.” With another ensemble cast that includes Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta, Justin Long and Jean Smart, Youth In Revolt seems likely to continue Cera’s string of successes, albeit the first one to feature him as the lead around which the entire story is based. The story follows Nick Twist, a troubled teen who falls for a gorgeous dream girl (played by newcomer Portia Doubleday) as his trailer trash parents teeter on the brink of divorce. “It’s directed by Miguel Arteta (Chuck & Buck, The Good Girl), and I love the book by C.D. Payne on which it’s based. It’s about a young guy who meets a girl on a family vacation and becomes obsessed with her. I’ve read the book like five times and really love the character,” Cera says, his voice rising in a rare burst of passion, “so I was excited to do it. I think the movie will be really good.” The film is just one of four films the actor has scheduled for release in the next year or so. The Year One, directed by Cera’s Ghostbusters idol Harold Ramis, finds him and Jack Black cast as lazy hunter-gatherers on an epic journey after being cast out from their primitive village. In director Edgar Wright’s (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, Cera stars as a man who must vanquish his new girlfriend’s evil ex-boyfriends in order to win her heart. But the project that really has fans buzzing is the recent announcement of official plans for an Arrested Development movie, which will reportedly feature the original cast reunited for the first time since the show’s cancellation in 2006. Though the deal had not been finalized at the time of our interview, Cera seemed cautiously optimistic about returning to the quirky character that made him famous. “We had a good run. Three seasons was more than I ever expected when we started, because right off the bat we were told it wasn’t doing too good. But it’s nice to have people who really love it, and it feels like a tight-knit group of people who come up and talk about the show. I would only want to be a part of the movie if it was gonna be really good,” he insists, “because I think it’s good to go out on a high note, end with a bang and leave them wanting more. I don’t think it would be worth doing unless it would live up to the expectations that might come with it.” PG 27 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2009
