Who is Michael Austin Cera? [1] The entertainment and acting world knows him as a Canadian actor best known for his roles in Arrested Development, Superbad, and Juno. Cera received two Canadian Comedy Award Best Actor nominations in 2008 for his work in Juno and Superbad, winning for the latter. Since 2008, Cera has starred in Year One, Youth in Revolt, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.Early life
Cera was born June 7, 1988 in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. He is the son of Linda, a native of Quebec, and Luigi Cera, a XeroxSicily.[2][3][4] Cera has an older sister, Jordan, and a younger sister, Molly.[4] He attended Conestoga Public School, Robert H. Lagerquist Senior Public School, and Heart Lake Secondary School until grade nine, but then completed high school through correspondence.[2][5] His first role was an unpaid appearance in a Tim Hortons summer camp commercial.[2][5][6] That eventually led to a Pillsbury commercial in which he poked the Pillsbury Doughboy, his first role with lines.[7] technician who is originally from
Career
Rise
Cera's career began when he was cast as Larrabe Hicks in the Canadian television series I Was a Sixth Grade Alien in 1999. In 2002, Cera played the young Chuck Barris in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and he also provided the voice for Brother Bear in The Berenstain Bears animated series; he also voiced Josh Spitz in the cartoon Braceface. He played George Michael Bluth in the award-winning television series Arrested Development for three seasons before it was cancelled.[8] In 2005, he starred as Harold in the award winning short film Darling Darling, for which he was awarded Best Actor at the San Gio Festival in Verona, Italy. In 2006, he created and starred in a parody of Impossible is Nothing, a video résumé created by Aleksey Vayner.[9] He also guest-starred in an episode of teen noir drama Veronica Mars – in the episode "The Rapes of Graff", which also featured Arrested Development co-star Alia Shawkat – and also in the Adult Swim series Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!Cera, along with best friend Clark Duke, wrote and starred in a series of short videos released on their website.[8] In 2007, they signed a deal with CBS Television to write, produce, direct, and act in a short-form comedy series entitled Clark and Michael.[10] The show featured guest stars such as David Cross, Andy Richter and Patton Oswalt, and was distributed via CBS's new internet channel, CBS Innertube.[11] Duke and Cera are both members of the band The Long Goodbye.
Cera also appeared in a staged comedy video that shows him being fired from the lead role of the film Knocked Up after belittling and arguing with the director, in a scene that mocks the David O. Russell blow up on the set of I Heart Huckabees.[8]
Continuation into movies
Cera starred alongside Jonah Hill in the film Superbad, which was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. The film opened in North America on August 17, 2007. In November 2007, he hosted Saturday Night Live on strike, a live staged version of SNL not shown on television due to the 2007 Writers Guild of America Strike.[12] Also in 2007, Cera co-starred in Juno as Paulie Bleeker, a teenager who accidentally impregnates his long-time school-friend Juno (Ellen Page). Arrested Development star Jason Bateman co-starred in the movie, but they did not share any scenes together. For Superbad and Juno, Cera won Breakthrough Artist in the Austin Film Critics Association Awards 2007.In 2007, Cera appeared in the comedy short "Drunk History", playing Alexander Hamilton in a comedic retelling of Hamilton's duel with Aaron Burr.[13]
Cera stars in the independent film Paper Heart, released August 7, 2009.[14] It was written by and co-stars Charlyne Yi, and premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival where it won a screenwriting award. Cera and Yi composed the movie's soundtrack. He also starred alongside Jack Black in the 2009 comedy Year One.In 2009, Cera's first published short story, "Pinecone", appeared in McSweeney's Quarterly. In January 2010, Cera starred in a film adaptation of the novel Youth in Revolt, in the role of the lead character, Nick Twisp.[8][15]
On the August 3, 2010 David Letterman Show, Cera described getting lost in Red Rocks Park, and his relief when found by other hikers.[16]
Cera played the titular character in the film adaptation of the graphic novel Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, released in August 2010.[17]
Michael Cera recentely split with his long-term singer/actress girlfriend Charlyne Yi, the pair has been together for three years, but sources claim Cera's head has been turned by the attention of other ladies since his career kicked off, thanks to roles in Juno, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Year One - he says he "wants to date around". Upcoming projects
According to press reports, Cera will appear in the Arrested Development film.[18]
Sherwood Schwartz is on the record as saying he would like to see Cera play Gilligan in a film remake of Gilligan's Island.[19] However, casting for such a project has not begun yet.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Switching Goals | Taylor | |
| 2000 | Frequency | Gordy Jr., Age 10 | |
| Steal This Movie! | america Hoffman, Age 7-8 | ||
| Ultimate G's: Zac's Flying Dream | Young Zac | ||
| 2001 | Stolen Miracle | Brandon McKinley | |
| My Louisiana Sky | Jesse Wade Thompson | ||
       | Young Ted Welsh | TV | |
| Walter and Henry | Crying Kid | TV | |
| 2002 | Confessions of a Dangerous Mind | Chuck Barris, Age 8 and 11 | |
| 2007 | Superbad | Evan | |
| Juno | Paulie Bleeker | ||
| 2008 | Extreme Movie | Fred | |
| Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist | Nick O'Leary | ||
| 2009 | Paper Heart | Himself | |
| Year One | Oh | ||
| 2010 | Youth in Revolt | Nick Twisp / François Dillinger | |
| Scott Pilgrim vs. the World | Scott Pilgrim |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | I Was a Sixth Grade Alien | Larrabe Hicks | Series regular |
| 1998–2001 | Rolie Polie Olie | Little Gizmo | Four Episodes, voice only |
| 2000 | La Femme Nikita | Jerome | Season four, one episode |
| 2001–2003 | The Berenstain Bears | Brother Bear | Series regular, voice only |
| 2001–2005 | Braceface | Josh Spitz | Series regular, voice only |
| 2003–2006 | Arrested Development | George Michael Bluth | Series regular |
| 2005–2007 | Wayside | Todd (Pilot) | Pilot, voice only |
| 2006 | Veronica Mars | Dean Rudolph | The Rapes of Graff, Guest Spot |
| 2007 | Clark and Michael | Mikey Cera | Series regular |
| 2007 | Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! | Jaime Stevens | Season One, Episode Three |
| 2008 | Children's Hospital | Sal Viscuso | Series regular, voice only |
Awards and honors
- 2005 Best Actor Award for the short comedy Darling, Darling at the San Gio Festival.
- 2007 Breakthrough Artist Award from the Austin Film Critics Association.
- 2008 Canadian Comedy Award for Best Actor - Film, for Superbad. He was also nominated for Best Actor for his role in Juno.
- 2009 Nominated for BAFTA Rising Star Award
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