Michael Cera became a superstar after 'Superbad'. He hated it so much he nearly quit acting.

In the space of a few months in 2007, Michael Cera burst into the public consciousness by way of two very different, very beloved films.

The first was Superbad, the teen buddy comedy that is one of the most defining of the Millennial generation. The second was Juno, the Oscar-winning independent teen-pregnancy story.

Both films were runaway successes, making instant stars of their casts.

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At the time, Cera was just 19.

Now 35, he has reflected on that time and how the sudden shove into the spotlight caused him to have a career crisis early on.

"I didn't know how to handle walking down the street," he said in an interview with The Guardian. 

"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."

He cited experiences with "drunk people" as an example.

"You know, if people are drunk, and they recognise you, and they're very enthusiastic... 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. It was like a burning feeling the whole time, just like everybody was so aware of me. It was a mistake.

"There was a point where I wanted to stop taking jobs that would make me more famous," he explained, including a Saturday Night Live hosting opportunity he turned down.

"I was kind of having a bit of a crisis. I was really not enjoying the level of heat. I really didn't know if I was going to keep being an actor."

Michael Cera as Allan in Barbie. Image: Warner Bros.

He was already signed up to lead the now cult film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which he did not want to back out of. But after that, Cera chose to take on more low-key independent roles, as well as write and direct his own short films.

He's recently dipped his toes back in the 'mainstream', first with a lead role in Amy Schumer's comedy-drama Life & Beth, and a small but integral role in 'Joan Is Awful', the first episode of Black Mirror season six.

But his role as Allan in 2023's juggernaut Barbie movie is by far the most commercial role he has taken on since he was that 19-year-old.

And, interestingly, he was "desperate to be a part of it".

"I would stand [on the Barbieland set] and marvel, and never got tired of looking around and finding new little details. It was one of the most stunning things I've ever seen."

Cera told The Guardian he is working on a project with Succession and Peep Show creator Jesse Armstrong, and he is also tied to a comedy film co-starring Nicolas Cage.

It's been more than a decade, but the mainstream Cera renaissance is now well underway.

Feature image: Getty.