Michael Cera, in the Intercontinental Hotel in Toronto, promoting his newest film, Youth In Revolt.Ashley Hutcheson
When he first began acting at age nine, Michael Cera figures he auditioned for at least 100 commercials - only to land two. One was a 30-second spot for Tim Horton's. The other involved a poke for the Pillsbury Doughboy.
But that was a lifetime ago.
Now 21, the Brampton, Ont.-bred native is a cause célèbre of quirky comedies, with films such as Superbad, Juno, and Miguel Arteta's upcoming Youth in Revolt (based on the best-selling novels by C.D. Payne) under his belt.
A devotee of Payne's writing, Cera signed on to play the dual-role of Nick Twisp and his alter-ego Francois Dillinger in early 2008. He'd read the books as a kid, and became fixated with novels that didn't condescend to a teen audience. As soon as he learned Arteta ( The Good Girl, Chuck & Buck) was on board, Cera once again began preparing for the role of a quintessential outsider.
In the flesh, Cera is every bit the awkward, nerdy intellect he projects on the big screen. Pale-skinned, with long, delicate hands, he speaks haltingly, rarely responding to questions with more than a single sentence. Sometimes, merely a word. It makes for a hard interview, but in spite of his gawkiness (or perhaps because of it), one can't help but root for this guy who clearly is bemused - and a bit embarrassed - by his own stardom.
In Youth in Revolt, Cera is once again the "un-stud," the dude who doesn't fit in, and is desperate to get the girl (played by newcomer Portia Doubleday), but he insists he doesn't feel typecast as the geek next door. "I've made all my decisions, and I've chosen every role I've played," says Cera, who first garnered major critical acclaim for his portrayal of George-Michael Bluth in the Emmy-winning Fox series Arrested Development, currently in the works as a feature film.
"So I don't feel pigeonholed. The truth is I've chosen most of the subjects I've done based on the directors who are attached. If I trust and admire them, then I'm typically interested in the part.
"Miguel is amazing at the getting the best out of people because he listens to everyone and is respectful," Cera, continues, on a rare verbal roll. "You really put your heart into it when you feel what you're doing is appreciated. And that what you're doing is actually making a difference. Miguel set the tone on this set and created a very nurturing, creative environment where everyone felt comfortable. I loved working with him because he trusts his instincts. And will take risks."
Case in point: Arteta's decision to cast Doubleday as Cera's love interest. A student in her freshman year of college with limited acting experience, Arteta picked the 21-year-old California native to be the beautiful, free spirit Sheeni Saunders, who dares Nick to break the rules and abandon his dull, predictable life.
For her part, Doubleday says in an interview: "I was really intimidated by this project, and I e-mailed Miguel relentlessly before we started, asking him how he wanted me to approach Sheeni, who has so many layers in her personality. I just remember him saying, 'Portia, just trust your instincts.' And after a couple of days, I realized he couldn't have said anything more wonderful than that.
"Between Miguel and Michael, I just learned so much. Both of them are like walking film encyclopedias," adds Doubleday, who after the interview was hopping a plane back to the sunshine state, to write her college psychology test. "I'm the same age as Michael, but he's like a 40-year-old guy in a 21-year-old body .... I'm a very animated person and [on set,]Miguel was constantly screaming, 'Eyebrows! Eyebrows! Tone down the eyebrows!" she laughs. "With Michael, there is a simplicity to his work. He taught me less is more. And I think that is part of the reason he has been so successful because, for him, it's internal. You kind of see what's going on behind the eyes. In order to make Nick and Sheeni compatible I had to learn how to pull back."
Arteta transformed rural Michigan into northern California to tell the story of Nick, a sex-obsessed teen who falls hopelessly in love with Sheeni while on a family vacation in a trailer park. Inspired by Sheeni's rebellious streak, Nick develops an alter-ego, Francois, an ascot-wearing, French man in short, white pants who will stop at nothing to get the girl. Besides Cera and Doubleday, the cast also includes Jean Smart, Steve Buscemi, Mary Kay Place, M. Emmet Walsh, Zach Galifianakis, Fred Willard, Ray Liotta, Justin Long, Ari Graynor, and Jonathan B. Wright.
Cera says he relished the opportunity to portray a troublemaker. "I didn't want to play him with an obviously French accent. We studied French new wave movies to figure out his hair," says Cera of the character who smokes and delights in vandalizing public property. "But I loved the idea of fleshing out his naughtiness."
When he's back in Toronto (he recently spent several months in the city filming Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, an upcoming film based on the Oni Press graphic novel), Cera says he visits family who now live in Caledon and old school friends. "We don't talk about [my acting career]that much," he says. "My friends will ask me a lot of questions about other actors. Not that much about me. I think they find my life kind of bizarre. I know if I had a friend doing this stuff, I would think it was weird."