'Barbie' Star Michael Cera Had a 'Crisis' After 'Superbad' Success
Michael Cera told the Guardian that he felt "paranoid and weird" when he became famous at 19.
Cera became a breakout star after starring in "Superbad" and "Juno," which both came out in 2007.
Cera said that he was not "equipped to handle" the pressures of fame and almost quit acting.
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"Barbie" star Michael Cera said he had a "crisis" after he became famous for starring in "Superbad" and "Juno."
Both movies premiered in 2007, quickly making Cera a breakout star at the age of 19.
However, in a new interview with The Guardian Monday, Cera said that he was not prepared for his newfound fame, and found the experience "overwhelming."
"I didn't know how to handle walking down the street," he said. "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 a lot of bad energies, too, ones that I was not equipped to handle."
Cera said that he turned down an opportunity to host "Saturday Night Live" at the time, and even considered quitting acting.
"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," Cera said. "I really didn't know if I was going to keep being an actor."
Cera stuck with acting because he was signed on to play the lead role in "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," which came out in 2010. He said that he is now "so grateful" that he "committed" to that role and continued his career.
Michael Cera attends "Barbie" press junket on June 25, 2023. Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
The 35-year-old actor also said that at 19, he found it hard to establish boundaries between himself and his fans.
"Drunk people would be a classic example," he said. "You know, if people are drunk, and they recognize you, and they're very enthusiastic, but it can be kind of toxic too. When you're a kid, people also feel 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 went on to recall one moment when he went to a bar with friends the same weekend "Superbad" came out.
"It was like a burning feeling the whole time, just like everybody was so aware of me," the "Arrested Development" star said. "It was a mistake."
In "Barbie," which is in theaters on Friday, Cera plays a character in Barbie Land called Allan, inspired by a real discontinued doll from Barbie's history.
Source: Insider
