Michael Cera Says Agent Almost Gave Up BARBIE For Him Because He Didn’t Think The Actor Would Want To

Barbie it was an amazing time, and with all the amazing actors who starred in it, and the script, it’s no wonder it became a bit of a phenomenon, breaking box office records and staying in the spotlight for a solid month until now. Each cast member brought so many special moments to the film, with one fan favorite exemplifying a unique character, not Ken, not Barbie, but Allan.

Michael Cera played the character Allan, a doll that was released in 1964, who was marketed as Ken’s friend who could also fit into Ken’s clothes. She was hilariously clumsy, which is kind of Cera’s trademark, but she was also surprisingly agile in her fight scene! But all of that almost didn’t happen for the actor, as his agent thought he didn’t want to travel to London to shoot the film.

In a recent interview with GQ (conducted prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike), Cera explained:

“It was kind of a last minute casting. My manager got a call to check my availability. And he called me and said, ‘I got a call about this movie. It’s the Barbie movie. Greta Gerwig is directing it and it’s been shooting in London for four months or something. So I told them you probably didn’t want to do it because you probably didn’t want to go to London.’ I was like, ‘What?! What do you mean? Call them back.’ I mean, he didn’t like blowing everything or anything, but he’s like, ‘I’ve managed their expectations that you might not want to do that.’ And I was like, ‘How can I not? I must do it.'”

Thankfully, Cera was able to reach out to Gerwig and discuss the film through a Zoom meeting. She continued:

“So somehow I got Greta’s email address, I think through a mutual friend of ours, and I emailed her. I was like, ‘Can I do that part?’ And she said to me, ‘Let’s go on Zoom right now. Here is a Zoom link. I’ll stay there for the next hour.” So she was just dating on Zoom. She’s like, “Click that link whenever you’re ready.” And then we talked about it and it all happened really fast from there.

Cera definitely made the right choice. Barbie is a hit and will live on as a fan favorite.