Michael Cera – Why He Almost Quit Acting

Michael Cera had a hard time adjusting to the recognition that came from starring in films like Juno and Superbad in the early aughts. The Barbie actor told The Guardian in a recent interview that he experienced “a bit of a crisis” and almost quit acting as a result.

“I didn’t know how to handle walking down the street. Fame makes you very uncomfortable in your own skin, and makes you paranoid and weird,” he told the outlet. Cera added that there are “lots of great things” about this kind of success, but that he also struggled with some “bad energies” that he didn’t feel “equipped to handle.”

“If people are drunk, and they recognize 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,” he shared.

Cera felt so much pressure at the time that he said he was “having a bit of a crisis” and that he “really didn’t know if [he] was going to keep being an actor.”