Michael Cera Biography

Michael Austin Cera was born on June 7, 1988, in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, to Linda and Luigi Cera, who worked for ‘Xerox.’ He has two sisters, Jordan and Molly.

At the age of three, Cera suffered from chicken pox. During that time, he repeatedly watched the TV series ‘Ghostbusters’ and became interested in acting. Later on, he joined ‘Second City Toronto’ and started taking improvisation classes.

He received his education from ‘Robert H. Lagerquist Senior Public School,’ ‘Conestoga Public School,’ and ‘Heart Lake Secondary School.’ However, he completed his graduation through online schooling.

Michael Cera started his career with an unpaid appearance in a ‘Tim Hortons’ commercial. He was eventually offered a ‘Pillsbury’ commercial. In 1999, he was cast in the TV series ‘I Was a Sixth Grade Alien.’ The same year, he appeared in TV movies like ‘Switching Goals’ and ‘What Katy Did.’

Cera made his big screen debut in 2000 when he was cast to play a role in the film ‘Frequency.’ After that, he appeared in films like ‘Steal This Movie’ and ‘Ultimate G's: Zac's Flying Dream.

In 2001, he voiced the character of ‘Josh Spitz’ in ‘Braceface.’ The same year, he did a few other TV projects, such as ‘Doc,’ ‘The Ripping Friends,’ ‘Stolen Miracle,’ ‘My Louisiana Sky,’ ‘The Familiar Stranger,’ and ‘Walter and Henry.’

Then Cera played the role of ‘Young Chuck Barris’ in the movie ‘Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.’ After this, he voiced the character of ‘Brother Bear’ in the animated series ‘The Berenstain Bears.’ He also voiced ‘Robbie Rabbit’ in ‘Pecola.’

The Canadian actor’s breakthrough performance came in 2003 when he was offered the role of ‘George Michael Bluth’ in the TV series ‘Arrested Development.’

In 2007, he wrote, produced, and directed the show ‘Clark and Michael.’ The same year, he appeared in movies like ‘Superbad’ and ‘Juno.’

From 2008 to 2016, Michael Cera voiced the character of ‘Sal Viscuso’ in the series ‘Childrens Hospital.’ In 2008, he was offered roles in films like ‘Extreme Movie’ and ‘Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.’

He played the role of ‘Scott Pilgrim’ in the 2010 flick ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.’ He co-composed the soundtrack for the movie as well. Around this time, he also played mandolin and provided backing vocals to a song titled ‘Hang On’ for Weezer’s album ‘Hurley.’

Two years later, he appeared in the short film ‘The Immigrant’ as well as in the TV show ‘Comedy Bang! Bang!’ In 2012, he also made his stage debut in Kenneth Lonergan's play ‘This Is Our Youth’ at ‘Sydney Opera House.’ The play moved to Broadway in September 2014.

In 2013, the Canadian star did many small and big screen projects like ‘Magic Magic,’ ‘Brazzaville Teen-Ager,’ ‘Failure,’ ‘This Is the End,’ ‘Gregory Go Boom,’ ‘Bitch,’ and ‘Drunk History.’

In 2014, he released his debut album ‘True That.’ The album featured 19 original tracks, cover version of Foley's ‘Clay Pigeons,’ and the cover of Falconer's ‘Play It Again.’ The following year, Michael Cera was featured in Alden Penner’s track ‘Meditate.’

Michael Cera then appeared as ‘Tim’ in the short film ‘That Dog’ in 2015. He also guest-starred in the series ‘Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp.’ In 2017, he appeared in an episode from the series ‘Twin Peaks.’ The same year, he did movies like ‘Person to Person,’ ‘Lemon,’ and ‘How to Be a Latin Lover.’

He returned to theatre in 2018 with yet another Kenneth Lonergan's production titled ‘Lobby Hero’ on Broadway. The same year, he appeared in movies, such as ‘Tyrel,’ ‘Spivak,’ and ‘Gloria Bell.’

In the meantime, he also had guest roles in TV series, such as ‘The Shivering Truth’ (2018) and ‘Weird City’ (2019).

Michael Cera is best known for his role as ‘Paulie Bleeker,’ the father of Juno MacGuff's child and Juno’s boyfriend, in the comedy drama film ‘Juno.’ His portrayal of a teenager who impregnates his friend was much loved by the audience. He also won a few awards for his performance in the movie.

In 2004, Michael Cera won the ‘TV Land Future Classic Award’ for his performance in ‘Arrested Development.’

In 2007, his performance in ‘Juno’ earned him honors from the ‘Chicago Film Critics Association’ as well as the ‘Austin Film Critics Association.’ While the former honored him under the ‘Most Promising Performer’ category, the latter honored him under the ‘Breakthrough Artist Award’ category. The same year, he won another ‘Breakthrough Artist Award’ from ‘Austin Film Critics Association’ for his performance in ‘Superbad.’

In 2010, the Canadian actor won the ‘Satellite Award’ for ‘Best Actor in a Motion Picture: Comedy or Musical’ for his contribution to ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.’

Michael Cera was in a relationship with Aubrey Plaza. Currently, he resides in Los Feliz, a popular Los Angeles neighborhood, and in close proximity to other Hollywood stars like Scarlett Johansson, Brad Pitt, Giovanni Ribisi, and Chris Pine.

Cera’s mother is from Montreal, Quebec, and his father hails from Sicily.

Cera often visits his family in Brampton and spends considerable time at his Los Angeles home.

He auditioned for the role of ‘Cole Sear’ in the movie ‘The Sixth Sense.’ The role eventually went to actor Haley Joel Osment.

In 2008, he was ranked at number one by ‘Entertainment Weekly’ in its ‘30 Under 30’ list.