Blessed with an uncanny dry wit and a willingness to explore the most uncomfortable comic situations imaginable, Canadian actor Michael Cera impressed American audiences as George Michael Bluth, who at first blush, seemed the most normal of the terminally dysfunctional Bluth clan on the cult TV comedy, “Arrested Development” (Fox, 2003-06) – that is, if one overlooked his burning crush on his cousin. Following the program’s untimely cancellation, Cera busied himself by writing, directing and starring in “Clark and Michael,” an internet comedy series for CBS with fellow actor Clark Duke. But it was in 2007, that he co-headlined his first major American film – the broad teen comedy “Superbad” for uber-comedy director-producer, Judd Apatow.Born Michael Austin Cera in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, on June 7, 1988, Cera developed an interest in performing at an early age. He made his television debut in a commercial for the Canadian fast food chain, Tim Hortons. More ad spots followed, but Cera soon found the endless auditioning for commercials, as well as the lengthy commute from his hometown, more wearying than rewarding. He then graduated to roles in children’s television shows in Canada, most notably as the voice of Little Gizmo on the Emmy-winning animated series “Rolie Polie Olie” (Disney Channel, 1998- ) and as a series regular on the live-action comedy “I Was a Sixth Grade Alien” (YTV/ABC Family, 1999). Cera soon graduated to features with a starring role in the Imax movie “Ultimate G’s” (2000); as the mannered son of American political radical Abbie Hoffman in the biopic “Steal This Movie” (2000); and in the science fiction thriller “Frequency” (2000). Cera also lent his voice to several American animated projects, including Alicia Silverstone’s likable cartoon “Braceface” (Fox Family/ABC Family, 2001-03) and “The Berenstain Bears (PBS, 2003).
In 2001, Cera received the script for producer Mitchell Hurwitz’s offbeat situation comedy “Arrested Development” pilot. Sensing something special immediately, he flew to Hollywood to audition for the role of George Michael – the son of the long-suffering de-facto head of the Bluth household, Michael (Jason Bateman). Along with Alia Shawkat, who played his cousin Maeby, Cera was the first actor cast for the series. Despite a formidable list of comic talent in the cast – including Bateman, David Cross, Jeffrey Tambor, and Jessica Walter – Cera more than held his own on the show, most notably in uncomfortable family-bonding moments with his father and even more unsettling encounters with Maeby, who remained blissfully unaware of George Michael’s feelings until late in the series. The show received almost unanimous critical acclaim and numerous awards, including six Emmys and two Screen Actors’ Guild Awards – which Cera shared with his castmates – but never found an audience among TV viewers. In fact, when the show was cancelled, a large uproar was heard from all fans of smart comedy across the nation, but despite rumors the show would move to another network, it left the air to almost universal dismay in 2006.
On the plus side, the experience of working on “Arrested Development” had raised Cera’s profile and sharpened his taste for comedy – a skill he mined in many of his subsequent projects. He played a sexually precocious, pre-teen George Barris in “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” (2002), George Clooney’s biopic of the “Gong Show” (NBC, 1976-1980) creator, and starred as a young man unnerved by his prom date’s bizarre family in the comic short “Darling Darling” (2005). He also guested on the Adult Swim animated series “Tom Goes to the Mayor” (2004-06) and “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” (2007- ).
Even at his young age, Cera also branched into writing and directing short comedy for the Internet in 2006, starting with “Impossible is the Opposite of Possible” (2006), a parody of the popular “Impossible is Nothing” video resume that he directed for the online edition of McSweeney’s magazine. He later partnered with actor Clark Duke for more comic videos on the pair’s web site, clarkandmichael.com. The chemistry between the brash Duke and Cera’s jittery, unsteady humor caught the attention of CBS, which tapped them to develop a show for its internet channel, Innertube. The series, “Clark and Michael” (2007- ) followed fictionalized versions of the two performers as they attempted (and mostly failed) to launch their own television series. Duke and Cera wrote and directed the program, with Cera tapping several of his “Arrested” co-stars to make appearances on the show, including producer Hurwitz and David Cross, as well as comics like Patton Oswalt and Andy Richter.
That same year, Cera was top-billed in “Superbad” (2007), a comedy about two codependent friends who attempt to reverse a lifetime of social awkwardness over the course of a single night. The film featured many of the comic talents that orbited around writer-producer-director Judd Apatow, who served as executive producer on the film. Seth Rogen, star and co-producer of Apatow’s “Knocked Up” (2007), co-wrote the film, and Jonah Hill – also from “Knocked Up” – co-starred as Cera’s partner in crime in the film. However, Cera’s association with the Apatow clan began prior to “Superbad,” as shown in a widely circulated video clip which parodied the infamous David O. Russell/Lily Tomlin feud on the set of “I Heart Huckabees” (2005). In the improvised clip, Cera plays a hot-tempered version of himself, who clashes with Apatow over his line deliveries prior to being “fired” from Rogen’s role on “Knocked Up.” The much downloaded clip was so believable, many thought it was a fight caught on tape, only adding to Cera’s profile.
