Michael Cera almost didn't appear in Barbie movie after manager's grave mistake

July 15, 2024

Michael Cera almost didn’t appear in the Barbie movie after his manager’s grave mistake before speaking to the filmmaker Greta Gerwig herself.

The Canadian actor, who played Ken’s perpetually overlooked best friend Allan, recently spoke out about the casting process for Barbie and revealed that he almost lost the chance to star in the already iconic movie.

Michael Cera almost didn’t appear in Barbie movie

Michael Austin Cera is a Canadian actor known for his awkward, offbeat characters in coming-of-age comedy films and he certainly reaffirmed this particular profession when playing Allan in Barbie.

Allan was a Barbie character introduced in 1964 as Ken’s best friend and was brought to life in the live-action comedy-drama film by American actress, screenwriter, and director Greta Gerwig and released in July 2023.

Michael Cera spoke to GQ Magazine about his casting process for the Barbie movie, revealing that his manager initially suggested he “probably wouldn’t want” to appear in the film because he did not think the star would be keen on going to London to shoot the hit.

The celebrity quoted:

“My manager got a call checking on my availability for it, and he called me and he said, “I got a call about this movie. It’s the ‘Barbie’ movie, Greta Gerwig’s directing it, and it’s filming in London for four months or something, so I told them you probably wouldn’t want to do it because you probably don’t want to go to London.”

Surprised, Cera immediately told his manager to call them back, asking:

“How can I not do it? I need to do it!”

Manager’s grave mistake was resolved with Greta Gerwig

Born on 7 June 1988 in Brampton, Canada, the 35-year-old thankfully managed to resolve the situation as he took it upon himself to get in touch with Greta Gerwig on his own.

In the interview, Cera revealed he personally emailed director Greta Gerwig begging her to be in Barbie after his manager said he wouldn’t be interested:

“I somehow got Greta’s email address, I think through a common friend of ours, and I emailed her like, “Can I be in it? Can I do that part?”

Cera stated that Gerwig responded by encouraging the pair to have a Zoom call, telling the actor:

‘”Let’s get on a Zoom right now. Here’s a Zoom link, I’ll be on there for the next hour.”

Once the creatives spoke about his role in the movie, “it just all happened really fast from there” according to Michael Cera.

The director was able to arrange a cameo for him in the film, featuring Margot Robbie in the titular role, Ryan Gosling as Ken, and Michael Cera as Allan.

Fans can’t believe Barbie almost had no Allan

Unlike the copious numbers of Barbie and Ken characters in the live-action movie, Cera is the one and only Allan and fans can’t believe Cera almost didn’t get to play the iconic role.

GQ also shared the popular clip via their TikTok platform, whereby the video has currently reached over 850,000 views along with more than 90,000 likes and a comment section full of shock.

After his agent nearly cost him the role in the Barbie movie, fans took to the comments to share their thoughts on Barbie movie without Cera playing the iconic role of Allan.

A user named @marvelousromulus jokingly asked:

“Does he need a new manager??”

@YDK_Marshall suggested Cera’s manager was willing to let the Barbie opportunity go:

“Bro’s manager was nah we good over here lol.”

@Linda_Horrell stated that Michael Cera is “a perfect Alan…”

@KristaHans also shared their love for Allan’s character:

“Allan was one of my favorite parts.”

Another TikToker named @forcedtobehere420 highlighted that Greta Gerwig was able to work office hours to speak to Michael Cera via Zoom:

“So Greta does director office hours? Love that for her.”

Clearly a fan of the movie, @planetmotola used an iconic line from the film in their comment reading:

“Michael is Kenough.”

With Barbie going on to break multiple box office records since its recent release, Cera is probably glad he defied his manager’s advice and ended up starring in the movie.