Ranking Michael Cera’s 10 best performances
Everybody’s favourite awkward teenager, Michael Cera, has grown from being a gangly adolescent into one of modern cinema’s most beloved comedy actors. The sheer appearance of Cera in a contemporary movie has the ability to raise spirits. Just take his role in Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Barbie movie, playing Allan, Ken’s strange friend, with a hilarious approach to physical comedy.
Appearing in various TV programmes in his early career, which started at the tail-end of the 1990s, Cera made a start with menial roles in everything from My Best Friend Is an Alien to Braceface and even the iconic animated series Noddy. But, it was Cera’s role in Greg Mottola’s influential 2007 comedy Superbad that would elevate the actor in the contemporary industry, opening the door to countless exciting roles.
Ever since, Cera has had the chance to collaborate with some of the most esteemed filmmakers of modern cinema, including David Lynch, George Clooney, Jason Reitman, Harold Ramis, Edgar Wright and Kristoffer Borgli. With quite the eclectic filmography, we thought we’d take a look back at the actor’s ten greatest performances to sort the super-bad from the super-great.
Take a look at our list below, which includes movies from the likes of Greg Mottola, Aaron Sorkin, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.
The 10 best Michael Cera performances:
10. This Is the End (Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, 2013)
For people who have seen Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s tempestuous comedy, This is the End, you’ll know that, even though he only appears in it in a handful of scenes, he absolutely steals the show. Known for being a quiet, introverted individual in real life, Rogen and Goldberg thought it would be funny for Cera to play the opposite in their 2013, with the actor appearing as an odious Hollywood coke-snorter.
Our only complaint is that Cera only stayed for the first fifth of the movie’s runtime, providing several moments of hilarity before getting out of there and handing the baton over to Rogen, Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill and Danny McBride.
9. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (Peter Sollett, 2008)
The releases of both Juno and Superbad in 2007 were pivotal to the early success of Michael Cera, with the former showing his dramatic capabilities whilst the latter boasted his comedy chops. Such made him the perfect actor to head up Peter Sollett’s whimsical teen drama Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist from 2008, where his natural charm fueled the movie, making for a heartwarming watch.
Appearing alongside the likes of Kat Dennings, Jay Baruchel, Andy Samberg and Aaron Yoo, Cera proved his maturity in Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, a film that is a time capsule of the mid-2000s.
8. Paper Heart (Nicholas Jasenovec, 2009)
Speaking of whimsical coming-of-age comedies, Cera was also seen as the perfect actor to appear in Nicholas Jasenovec’s Paper Heart, which told the story of Charlyne Yi, who plays herself, embarking on a quest across America to solve the mystery of love. Cera is the apple of her eye, also playing a version of himself in a role that allowed him to express his talent for playing angsty adolescents.
Jasenovec’s film wasn’t the best of its kind, but Cera’s performance was exemplary, considerably elevating the material, as well as the supporting performances of Jake Johnson and Seth Rogen.
7. Youth in Revolt (Miguel Arteta, 2009)
If you thought you’d gotten away from all of Cera’s late 2000s coming-of-age dramas, think again, with Youth in Revolt being his second-best of the era. The film tells the story of Nick Twisp (Cera), a young man with a tumultuous home life who hopes for his secret lover, Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday), to take his virginity.
Things are a little different for Cera here, however, as he plays not one but two different characters, appearing as Twisp and also François Dillinger, a suave, rebellious alter-ego of his own self. Although Dillinger is a goofy character, Cera shows solid dramatic chops in playing two characters who appear on screen at the same time, thriving with an ensemble cast that includes Zach Galifianakis, Jean Smart, Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta and Rooney Mara.
6. Molly’s Game (Aaron Sorkin, 2017)
Aaron Sorkin is well known for being one of the greatest screenwriters of contemporary cinema, penning the script for David Fincher’s iconic 2010 movie The Social Network. Still, for whatever reason, his 2017 film Molly’s Game was overlooked, with the movie telling the true story of Molly Bloom, a professional skier who also ran the world’s most exclusive poker game, becoming a target of high priority for the US government in the process.
In the film, Cera plays Player X, a mysterious figure who takes part in Molly’s poker match, bringing something new to the table when it comes to performance, thriving in an ensemble cast that included Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Chris O’Dowd, Jeremy Strong and Kevin Costner.
5. The Adults (Dustin Guy Defa, 2023)
The latest movie on this list also happens to be one of Cera’s very best, with Dustin Guy Defa’s The Adults going under the radar for many critics and film fans. Starring alongside the likes of Sophia Lillis, Hannah Gross, Wavyy Jonez, Tina Benko and Kyra Tantao, the rom-com tells the story of Eric (Cera), who has to juggle his challenging relationships with his two sisters and his addiction to poker.
Heartfelt and genuinely funny, The Adults is one of Cera’s most underrated movies, with the actor delivering a performance that is the most sincere and complex of his entire career.
4. Juno (Jason Reitman, 2007)
The release of Juno in 2007 changed the way that independent movies were made by Hollywood and consumed by viewers, with the pertinent drama telling the story of a young mother trying to decide whether to keep her unplanned pregnancy. Together with Elliot Page, Cera gives an exemplary performance as a young man trying to discover who he is in life and how to navigate difficult situations.
Charming and hilarious, Cera provides the heart of the movie alongside Page, giving a surprisingly mature performance for a 19-year-old, elevating the supporting roles of Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner and J.K. Simmons.
3. Arrested Development (2003-2019)
The first (and last) TV series on our list of the ten greatest Michael Cera performances of all time is the Fox show Arrested Development, a celebrated sitcom that ran for five seasons. Cera played George-Michael Bluth, the son of protagonist Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), a nerdy, awkward boy who grows into a young man, providing several moments of genuine hilarity along the way.
Proving his proficiency for comedy from an early age, Cera thrived across five seasons of the show, shining alongside other series highlights, including Will Arnett, Portia de Rossi, Tony Hale, Jeffrey Tambor, David Cross and Jessica Walter.
2. Superbad (Greg Mottola, 2007)
Alongside Juno, Greg Mottola’s Superbad helped to kickstart Michael Cera’s career, with the role still being known to many as the actor’s finest hour. Starring alongside the likes of Jonah Hill and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Cera makes up a trio of horny adolescents looking to get laid during one of the final parties of their high-school years, with their efforts leading them on a night of crazy hijinks.
Still considered one of the best and most iconic comedies of the 21st century, Superbad is made so memorable thanks to the performances of Cera, Hill and Mintz-Plasse, with Cera arguably being the best of the bunch.
1. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Edgar Wright, 2010)
Combining his excellent proficiency for comedy and his impressive dramatic chops, Cera’s role in Edgar Wright’s vibrant comic book movie Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is the very best of his career. Playing the titular teenager Scott Pilgrim, Cera thrives in Wright’s film, based on the graphic novels by Bryan Lee O’Malley, which follows the epic task of beating seven evil exes to win the heart of an eclectic girl named Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).
The perfect actor to bring Wright’s snappy script to life, Cera organically slots into the film and helps it to become the best possible version of itself. His performance does well to better the actors around him, too, boasting great chemistry with Kieran Culkin, who plays his flatmate, Anna Kendrick, his sister, and Aubrey Plaza, his bitter ex-girlfriend.
