Michael Cera says he nearly quit acting after ‘Superbad’ fame

Michael Cera has said he considered giving up acting due to the “overwhelming” fame following his breakout roles in Superbad and Juno.

The actor, who played Evan in the 2007 teen comedy opposite Jonah Hill, explained how he struggled with fame following the film’s release in an interview with the Guardian.

“That was sort of overwhelming,” Cera said about his sudden rise to fame aged 19 in 2007. “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 lots of bad energies, too, ones that I was not equipped to handle.”

When asked to explain “bad energies”, Cera highlighted “drunk people” as an example. “You know, if people are drunk, and they recognise you, and they’re very enthusiastic, but it can be kind of toxic too,” Cera added. “When you’re a kid, people also feel like they can kind of grab you – they’re not that respectful of you or your physical space. I didn’t know how to respectfully establish my own boundaries.”

Cera said he turned down a chance to host Saturday Night Live around this time, adding: “There was a point where I wanted to stop taking jobs that would make me more famous. I was kind of having a bit of a crisis… I was really not enjoying the level of heat.”

“I really didn’t know if I was going to keep being an actor,” Cera added, before citing his role in Edgar Wright’s 2010 film Scott Pilgrim vs The World, which he was already signed up for, as the reason that he pulled through.

“I think I wanted to be a working actor who can enjoy my day-to-day life, and the world that I’ve created for myself,” Cera said. “I think that was the overall thing I was trying to figure out.”

The actor stars in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie opposite Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Earlier this year, he also appeared in Black Mirror’s sixth season in episode Joan Is Awful.

Barbie is released in cinemas on July 21, 2023.

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