The Canadian actor Michael Cera has hands down made a name for himself, standing out from Hollywood’s most elite mainstream actors as a result of his fun and distinct format of comedic acting. Starting out his career as a child actor, Michael Cera was the voice of Brother Bear on the children’s television show The Berenstain Bears, not to mention, he portrayed a young Chuck Barris in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. After finding success in numerous early projects, including his wonderful work as one of the best Arrested Development characters, Cera made the seamless transition into a key adult player in Hollywood blockbuster films.
As the middle child between two sisters (an older sister Jordan and a younger sister Molly), the Tony Award-nominated actor splits most of his time between acting in Hollywood and spending time at home with his family in Brampton, a city in Ontario, Canada. Although Cera has a wide collection of projects he’s contributed to, and is now starring opposite Amy Schumer in Hulu’s Life and Beth, we dive into the projects that aided in his rise to mainstream cinema.
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6 This Is The End
Sony Pictures Releasing
If you ever wanted to know what celebrities would do during a catastrophic world event, this great apocalyptic movie is completely for you. Playing himself in the film, Cera is among the group of celebrity friends who attend a Hollywood party, thrown by actor James Franco. Those in attendance range from Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Michael Cera, Emma Watson, and even Rihanna (who slaps the hell out of Cera).
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
While at the party, the world apocalypse becomes a reality, abruptly wreaking havoc on the richest and most celebrated stars. Cera is hilarious in a very brief role, playing a downright horrible celebrity version of himself. For most of the film we see Franco and the rest of the stars take shelter in his huge home, while the world falls apart outside.
5 Superbad
Credited as one of Cera’s most prominent leading roles, the actor plays Evan in Superbad, a high school senior labeled as a geeky guy, who goes on a number of adventures with his best friend Seth (Jonah Hill). Evan and Seth have a deep history as being best friends for forever, and they literally do everything together (from carpooling together to eating lunch) On a mission to lose their virginity before going to college, the two attempt to collect enough alcohol for a possible party but later run into trouble once two unskilled cops enter the fray.
4 Juno
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Paulie Bleeker (Cera) is a fellow teenager, and the father of Juno MacGuff’s child. Once a young Juno MacGuff becomes pregnant (after engaging in unprotected sex with Bleeker), she chooses a former rock star and his wife to adopt her unborn child. The film Juno explores the scenarios and tough decisions that must be made as a result of teenage pregnancy, yet does so with humor, joy and ironic detachment, plus has some of the best needle drops in recent movie memory.
3 Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Universal Pictures
In Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, the rock band guitarist Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) becomes infatuated with Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), while trying to break up with his current girlfriend Knives Chau (Ellen Wong). As Pilgrim desperately attempts to juggle his relationship with both girls, he also must come face to face with several of the ex-boyfriends of Ramona to ultimately win her heart. What’s clear is that the army of guys will do whatever it takes to eliminate Scott from Ramona’s list of possible suitors. The Edgar Wright film might be problematic in 2022 in some ways, but it’s still an energetic, delightfully constructed twist on teen rom-coms.
2 Molly’s Game
STX Entertainment
The true story Molly’s Game follows Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain), a young and beautiful Olympic skier who secretly ran one of the world’s most exclusive poker games, a decade before being arrested by numerous armed FBI agents in the middle of the night. The list of players ranged from Hollywood stars, professional athletes, business tycoons, and the Russian mob. Despite the fact that the film is primarily centered around Molly, it’s the unidentifiable Player X (Cera) who additionally steals the show.
The character of Player X is based around a composite of known celebrity gamblers. While there have been numerous male celebrity names speculated to be the real life indemnity of the unknown gambler, theirs no way we can know for certain who the person actually is, and Cera is perfect in the role.
1 Sausage Party
The 2016 comedy adventure film Sausage Party is an animated project that revolves around Frank (Seth Rogen) the sausage, Brenda (Kristen Wiig) the hot dog bun, Teresa Taco (Salma Hayek), and Sammy Bagel Jr. (Edward Norton), a group of talking food items that sit on the shelves of a local supermarket. Michael Cera plays Barry, a deformed sasuage who is Frank’s best friend, and who learns throughout the film to stand up for himself. Once Frank learns the truth that he will eventually become a meal by one of the store’s perspective customers, he warns his friends of their inevitable fate, and the group of perishable items create a plan to escape from the store for good. It’s an extremely raunchy adult animated movie, hilarious but also a suprisingly clever look at organized religion.
