Michael Cera Almost Lost The Role In Barbie Thanks To His Manager
That would’ve been a huge loss for us all.
Although the sudden Barbie boom has caused some controversy and discussion in the media, there is one thing everyone can agree on about the movie: the casting was perfect.
It's hard to imagine any other actor portraying any other character in the movie, and all the rumors circulating the web about Barbies and Kens-that-could-have-been only make audiences more grateful for the end result they got.
With Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken getting most of the attention, it's easy to overlook the importance of other characters. But we all know that without Will Ferrell as Mattel CEO, America Ferrera as Gloria, or Michael Cera as Allan, the movie would lose a lot of its charm.
What's even scarier to think about is that this was very close to happening. Thanks to Michael Cera's very careful agent, Barbieland could have lost its Allan forever.
The actor recalled the situation in an Iconic Characters interview with GQ. He made sure to note that the agent wasn't acting out of malice: if anything, they were trying to protect an actor from overworking himself with a 4-month trip to London, where the movie was shot:
“I was like “How can I not do it? I need to do it”. So I somehow got Greta’s email address, I think through a common friend of ours, and I emailed her. I was like “Can I be Allan? Can I do that part?” and she was like “Let’s get on the Zoom right now,”” Cera shared.
Luckily, Greta Gerwig was not only willing to wait for Michael for about an hour in Zoom, but also to cast him as Allan for the movie. Now it's clear that it was the right decision, and that Michael Cera did a great job portraying a character who has no real place in Barbie's dream world.
For those who missed Barbie's run in theaters, the movie will be available to stream at home on September 5. For now, it's available for pre-order on Amazon for $19.99.
Source: GQ on YouTube