Michael Cera, you know, is the real thing
Michael Cera always seems to be pining for something: booze and a popular classmate in “Superbad,” the sly soul mate he impregnated in “Juno,” a lovely but forbidden cousin in TV’s “Arrested Development.”
One thing the modest, soft-spoken Cera does not pine for is celebrity, but he’s got it anyway. Cera has just turned 20 with an enviable list of hits and critical favorites behind him.
He’s back in full heartache mode in “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” starring as a high school senior whose obsession over a shallow ex-girlfriend vanishes during an all-night romp with a new dream girl (Kat Dennings).
With back-to-back $100 million hits in “Superbad” and “Juno,” Cera has jumped to the forefront of young Hollywood actors. He has two movies due next year and another starting soon near his hometown of Brampton, Ontario.
Steady, enjoyable work, not stardom and commercial success, is what he aims for, however.
“I never really had expectations either way. It doesn’t matter to me. I just like the work,” Cera said at the Toronto International Film Festival, where “Nick and Norah” premiered.
Opening Friday, “Nick and Norah” is a boy-meets-girl story that plays out one wild night.
“The one-night idea, I think it’s something that people like. Whenever people go to a party or something, they’re kind of hoping it will be a memorable night,” Cera said. “It’s a cool idea. Those nights are great when things just keep happening and leading to other things. It just feels like you’re living.”
Cera got into acting as a child after he and a friend enrolled in a class that taught improvisational games. One teacher told Cera’s mother that the family should hire an agent.
After doing some commercials, Cera began landing TV roles in Canada and then Hollywood, eventually winning a part on the Fox comedy “Arrested Development.”
On the show, Cera played a gawky teen who’s impossible not to like.
Cera has perfected the persona in film roles, turning self-effacing decency into a surprisingly appealing trait in a business that often looks for glib wisecracking in its stars.
“He’s just got a goodness inside him that you can see,” co-star Dennings said. “I’m sure there are tons of people with goodness inside them, but you can’t see it. With him, you can taste it. You just know that he’s a good person.”
“Nick and Norah” director Peter Sollett took an immediate liking to Cera, saying the actor’s demure on-screen presence is much like his real-life persona.
“What you see is what you get,” Sollett said. “It’s a testament to his acting that you don’t really feel the switch go off. The fact that you can’t perceive the moment where he’s begun performing proves what a subtle performer he is.”
The birthday bunch
Cartoonist Bil Keane (“Family Circus”) is 86. Singer-guitarist Steve Miller is 65. Actress Karen Allen is 57. Horror author Clive Barker is 56. Actress Josie Bissett (“Melrose Place”) is 38. Actress Kate Winslet (“Titanic”) is 33. Guitarist James Valentine of Maroon 5 is 30. Bassist Paul Thomas of Good Charlotte is 28.