Michael Cera first appeared in the "The Blame Game" episode of the Canadian mystery/drama series āTwice in a Lifetimeā in 1999. That same year, he joined the cast of the Canadian children's science fiction comedy television series āI Was a Sixth Grade Alien.ā He played the role of āLarrabe Hicksā and remained a part of the series until it went off-air in 2001. Cera made his big-screen debut in the 2000Ā science fiction thriller drama film āFrequency,ā directed by Gregory Hoblit. The film received positive response from critics and was a commercial success. In 2003, he got his breakthrough role as George Michael Bluth in the American television sitcom āArrested Developmentā created by Mitchell Hurwitz. He remained a part of the show until 2006. Cera also produced season 4 (2014) and season 5 (2018-2019) of āArrested Development.āĀ
Cera made a return to the big screen with the 2007 American coming-of-age teen buddy comedy film āSuperbadā directed by Greg Mottola. The film opened to wide critical acclaim and was a massive box office success, grossing over $170.8 million on a budget of $20 million. He next acted in āExtreme Movieā (2008), āNick and Norah's Infinite Playlistā (2008), āYear Oneā (2009), and āYouth in Revoltā (2009). In 2010, he starred as āScott Pilgrimā in the romantic action comedy film āScott Pilgrim vs. the Worldā directed by Edgar Wright. While the film saw positive reviews upon release, it failed to achieve success at the box office. Nevertheless, the film garnered a cult following in the subsequent years.Ā
He also acted in āThe End of Loveā (2012), āCrystal Fairy & the Magical Cactusā (2013), āMagic Magicā (2013), āHitsā (2014), āA Very Murray Christmasā (2015), āSausage Partyā (2016), āThe Lego Batman Movieā (2017), āHow to Be a Latin Loverā (2017), and āBetween Two Ferns: The Movieā (2019). Cera last appeared in the 2021 adult animated drama film āCryptozoo,ā in which he voiced the character āMatthew.ā He will be next seen in the upcomingĀ computer-animated comedy film āBlazing Samuraiā directed by Rob Minkoff and Mark Koetsier.