Michel Cera - Stuck forever playing the same character

[Pandaren]

....I see a trend.


And you all see it. We get an aspiring actor who, like many, will be playing the same role quite possibly forever.

The last, what it is, six(?) of ten movies he's worked on he's been the same wishy-washy white kid.

I see no evidence this trend will end.

Other actors stuck playing the same character: Ben Stiller,

[Prime32]

Jackie Chan, but only in English-language movies.

[Tavar]

In theater/movies it's called being typecast. Jack Black gets typecast, from what I've seen.

[Don Julio Anejo]

Michael Douglas. Owen Wilson. Samuel L. Jackson (hey, playing a bad-ass muthafudger is still being typecast if you do it every single time). Morgan Freeman. Hugh Grant. Pretty much 70% of all big-name actors are typecast in one way or another. You don't see Eddie Murphy playing a bad-ass muthafudger. And you don't see Jack Black in a romantic comedy along the lines of When Harry Met Sally.

[RabbitHoleLost]

And you don't see Jack Black in a romantic comedy along the lines of When Harry Met Sally.
You totally do.
The Holiday and Shallow Hal.

[Dienekes]

You totally do.
The Holiday and Shallow Hal.

along the lines of When Harry Met Sally. Just being in a romantic comedy doesn't count.

Sorry, I thought those two movies were pitiful.

[RabbitHoleLost]

along the lines of When Harry Met Sally. Just being in a romantic comedy doesn't count.

Sorry, I thought those two movies were pitiful.

Well, if we're only naming off good movies, that kinda goes against the point of the thread. Jack Black isn't typecasted, as he's played other roles...he just sucks in them.

[Philistine]

Well, if we're only naming off good movies, that kinda goes against the point of the thread. Jack Black isn't typecasted, as he's played other roles...he just sucks in them.

So he isn't typecast, but he should be?

Works for me. :smallbiggrin:

[jmbrown]

Some actors go to great lengths to avoid being typecast like Marlon Wayans in Requiem for a Dream and Elijah Wood in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Usually it doesn't work because the against-type rolls they play aren't that prominent. Some people have trouble getting work because they always end up in the same roles. Michael Cera doesn't so much as act as he does read lines on a script. The guy's real life personality is so akin to his movie personalities that it doesn't seem like he does much work.

[Sneak]

Paul Newman was typecast as ****ing awesome, if that counts.

[Alteran]

Michael Cera's next role is Scott Pilgrim, in the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. This role is similar to his earlier ones, but still considerably different. I'm curious to see how he'll treat the character. Hopefully they didn't make Scott Pilgrim into a more typical Michael Cera character, that would be completely four tens.

[Rogue 7]

Some actors go to great lengths to avoid being typecast like Marlon Wayans in Requiem for a Dream and Elijah Wood in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.


Assuming that Elijah Wood's been typecast thanks to LOTR, try Sin City for a better attempt at it.

[pita]

Assuming that Elijah Wood's been typecast thanks to LOTR, try Sin City for a better attempt at it.

Actually, I've only seen Elijah Wood do one good guy role, and that was LOTR.I haven't seen 9 yet.
He was awesome as a hitman in Chain of Fools. The best part of a movie that included Selma Hayek, Tom Wilkinson, and Jeff Goldblum.
I think he's typecast as a bad guy, what with the evidence I have.
Actors are typecast because they're good at a certain role, so nobody hires them for another. Jack Black isn't at fault, IMO, for the fact that his non-wacky movies suck. Romantic comedies are bad by default, and The Holiday was horrifying.
Actors who want to avoid being typecast can do it. The problem is that being typecast leads to more money. So some avoid it, some don't. And Michael Cera, I think, likes money.

[Icewalker]

From my experience, and what I've seen, typecasting can often be justified. Someone plays the same role all the time because it's the role which they fit, either because they're bad at playing other roles, or they're just so good/so fitting for the role in less changeable ways, like appearance. Case in point, Schwarzenegger. Incredibly typecast, but can you imagine him doing well in just about anything else? (Maybe he could, I don't really know the guy's acting outside of the majority of his movies).

Point is, while sometimes typecasting is bad, sometimes it's just the right role to fit the actor. But yeah, a lot of people are typecast who could play other roles but don't get to...

[Cheesegear]

The best part of a movie that included Selma Hayek, Tom Wilkinson, and Jeff Goldblum.

Speaking of, he's pretty typecast. I can't tell the difference from most of his movies and now his role in Law & Order.

...And Bruce Willis.

[Dienekes]

Bah, plenty of good actors are typecast. It isn't a bad thing until their character becomes annoying (I'm looking at you McConaughey). Hell, some of my favorite actors are typecast, Bruce Willis was mentioned, and you can't become more typecast than John Wayne

[Muz]

He's the Anthony Michael Hall for the current generation. In another 15 years Cera will be in a TV series based on a Stephen King tale. :smallwink:

[skywalker]

I made this comment walking out of Youth in Revolt today. Interesting film, I saw it as a strange subversion of the "classics."

Anyway, yes, Michael Cera has yet to play anyone besides George Michael Bluth (himself? I have no idea, never met the guy) in wide release.

There is a difference between being unable to play anything else, and being typecast. Which is which is often hard to tell. I confess to having seen neither The Holiday nor Shallow Hal, tho JB was widely considered the weak link the former and the latter was deemed utterly forgettable. Samuel L. Jackson seems to have voluntarily typecast himself as "Samuel L. Jackson," which is fine really.

To be fair to Cera, most actors his (my) age are either incapable or typecast. A lot of the most famous young faces that have been in more than one movie or series are pretty similar. Cera, Jonah Hill (both from Superbad), Shia LeBouf, Jesse Eisenberg, all fall in this category, Eisenberg and Cera even play the same guy a lot of the time. It's not much better on the female side of the equation.

At this point, I'd say it's easier to classify which young actors haven't played the same person over and over again. In truth, I can only pick out two actors: Anton Yelchin (who played Chekov in Star Trek) and Emile Hirsch, whose work is pretty widely known. Hirsch is my pick for actor of the generation so far. But it's still early, and we have to give them time to grow and fail and succeed and also for new ones to crop up.

[SteveUnicorn]

I made this comment walking out of Youth in Revolt today. Interesting film, I saw it as a strange subversion of the "classics."

Anyway, yes, Michael Cera has yet to play anyone besides George Michael Bluth (himself? I have no idea, never met the guy) in wide release.

There is a difference between being unable to play anything else, and being typecast. Which is which is often hard to tell. I confess to having seen neither The Holiday nor Shallow Hal, tho JB was widely considered the weak link the former and the latter was deemed utterly forgettable. Samuel L. Jackson seems to have voluntarily typecast himself as "Samuel L. Jackson," which is fine really.

To be fair to Cera, most actors his (my) age are either incapable or typecast. A lot of the most famous young faces that have been in more than one movie or series are pretty similar. Cera, Jonah Hill (both from Superbad), Shia LeBouf, Jesse Eisenberg, all fall in this category, Eisenberg and Cera even play the same guy a lot of the time. It's not much better on the female side of the equation.

At this point, I'd say it's easier to classify which young actors haven't played the same person over and over again. In truth, I can only pick out two actors: Anton Yelchin (who played Chekov in Star Trek) and Emile Hirsch, whose work is pretty widely known. Hirsch is my pick for actor of the generation so far. But it's still early, and we have to give them time to grow and fail and succeed and also for new ones to crop up.

I'd have to agree with pretty much all this. Although I think I prefer Yelchin to Emile Hirsch. I'm not sure If I could say either one is the actor of their generation mainly because I'm not sure which generation their in. If we are including all of the people born in the 80's, I would say that my personal pick would either have to be Ben Foster or Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

[factotum]

In theater/movies it's called being typecast. Jack Black gets typecast, from what I've seen.

Isn't that because he generally plays himself anyway? The ones who don't get typecast are the ones who really can act--look at Alec Guinness, for example; in "Kind Hearts and Coronets" he plays eight different roles, and despite their relatively short appearances he easily manages to persuade you these are eight entirely different people!

[SteveUnicorn]

Or heck, Gary Oldman. He looks and acts pretty different in pretty much everything he does.

[skywalker]

I'd have to agree with pretty much all this. Although I think I prefer Yelchin to Emile Hirsch. I'm not sure If I could say either one is the actor of their generation mainly because I'm not sure which generation their in. If we are including all of the people born in the 80's, I would say that my personal pick would either have to be Ben Foster or Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Only seen Yelchin in Star Trek and Charlie Bartlett. Apparently, I need to see Alpha Dog, since 3 of the 4 guys we've mentioned are in it (only Levitt is missing). By contrast, I've seen several of Hirsch's films, Lords of Dogtown, Into the Wild, Speed Racer, and Milk. I appreciated his performances in all of them, particularly the first 3, since for various reasons he was involved with holding up a lot of the film. By contrast, I thought he defined "supporting actor" with his role in Milk, making the part his own and shining without stealing the show.

An interesting side note - Catharine Hardwicke seems twisted up in this young talent (she directed Hirsch in Dogtown and Kristen Stewart, who I would've picked for best female, in Twilight) but unable to produce their best results. Whereas Dogtown was mediocre and Twilight was the worst turn of Stewart's (admittedly young) adult career, both actors are great separately and together worked wonders under Sean Penn's direction in Into the Wild.

I deliberately left Gordon-Levitt out when I originally thought about this. I can't explain why, but he seems "older" to me. "Generation Y" apparently stretches from 1982 to 1998, according to wikipedia. I have no idea if that's accurate but I think I was vaguely using that as "their generation." It's hard to pick generations of actors anyway.

Ben Foster I've seen once, in 3:10 to Yuma. While his part isn't huge, he steals the movie in a lot of ways. I remember walking out of the theater with my dad, and fully agreeing with his exclamation that "Charlie was scary!"

If we're including everyone under 30 (or soon to be 30) then I agree with Gordon-Levitt.

I also just learned that Justin Long (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Long) is old.

[Kaelaroth]

Zooey Deschanel. Calm down, m'nerdlets, I'm not saying she's not gorgeous. Or even a bad actress.
But come on! "I'm a kooky girl who just needs true love", though well acted, is seemingly all she outputs. Admittedly, this may shift as she becomes more mainstream, and wonders away from indie fantasy women roles.

Jessica Alba, too, perhaps, trapped in roles that showcase her well-endowed chest, more than anything else.

[Soepvork]

Tom Cruise used to be strongly typecast in my opinion:

"Hi, I'm a young talented (insert random profession). Too bad I can't get along with the others in (random profession) because they are stuck in their old ways and I a bit rebellious. Oh well, at least one girl believes in me..."

[Asheram]

Speaking of, he's pretty typecast. I can't tell the difference from most of his movies and now his role in Law & Order.

...And Bruce Willis.

I disagree with that. Bruce willis have been known to play other roles than the classical "tough guy"


But I'm surprised. Why haven't anyone mentioned Mr Rock face himself;Steven Seagal

[Moglorosh]

Ben Stiller? Ben Stiller? I utterly fail to see how he's the same character in every movie.

[Athaniar]

Also, Christopher Lee, the (sort of) eternal villain. And I wouldn't want it any other way. Dracula, Scaramanga, Dooku, Saruman; the man's a truly awesome actor.



Jessica Alba, too, perhaps, trapped in roles that showcase her well-endowed chest, more than anything else.
As I said, typecasting is not always bad.

[factotum]

Also, Christopher Lee, the (sort of) eternal villain. And I wouldn't want it any other way. Dracula, Scaramanga, Dooku, Saruman; the man's a truly awesome actor.

As I said, typecasting is not always bad.

It's not like those four characters really bore any relation to each other apart from being the bad guy, though, is it? Is it really typecasting when you're still getting to play such a wide variety of roles?

[Crow]

Adam Sandler is the same way. I'm pretty sick of the guy actually.

[SteveUnicorn]

Maybe I need to see Stewart in more because I thought she was atrocious in Adventureland. She was like an black hole of energy that really brought down the movie. It's not a good thing when I'm rooting against the main love interest.

The more I think about it, the more I might agree on Emile Hirsch. I didn't like him so much in Alpha Dog, but he was probably my favorite part of Milk. I'm not sure how he wasn't nominated for an oscar that year. But then again the oscars really don't mean a whole lot.

If you want to see a really good Ben Foster performance (performance, not necessarily movie) I would recommend Hostage. He is pretty much terrifying all the way throughout. And word on the street is he is probably going to be nominated for an Oscar this year for The Messengers.

Now, before i keep derailing the thread, typecasting is done pretty much as a money making thing I would say. If Actor X was in a hugely successful role, then Studio Y wants to try and recreate that success. For example, Anchorman makes a lot of money, so the studio casts Will Ferrell in pretty much the same role for the past 9 years. Even though he is capable doing other things ( He used to have a much dry humor on saturday night live, and Stranger Than Fiction was rather good).

[Athaniar]

It's not like those four characters really bore any relation to each other apart from being the bad guy, though, is it? Is it really typecasting when you're still getting to play such a wide variety of roles?

Both Dracula, Saruman, and Dooku are also spellcasters. In addition, both Dracula and Dooku are counts.

Also, another funny thing: Saruman dies by being impaled by a wooden stake in the movie, unlike his book death. This was intentional.

[Warpfire]

Poor Michael Cera, getting paid unbelievably large amounts of money to be himself in front of a camera, or at most play one character over and over again.

So sorry for him.

Also he's funny.

[Gaelbert]

e last, what it is, six(?) of ten movies he's worked on he's been the same wishy-washy white kid.

Well... you know... he is white after all. It's not entirely normal to play a different race if you're white and your name isn't Robert Downey Junior.

[Shraik]

I think jack black does get typecasted quite frequently, but there is one movie completely off the wall as compared to normal jack black: King Kong.

[Soras Teva Gee]

I'm tempted to say that in this day and age any actor of name recognition status has at least some degree of typecasting.

Its how you get to be a big name star, build a marketable profile that your agent can send to exec with a "look he was great in X, he can do the same in your movie Y"

[Executor]

Michael Cera is a halfassed little chicken****.

That's all I have to say about him, just thought I should throw it in :smallwink:

[Decoy Lockbox]

I thought Jesse Eisenberg out-Cera'ed Micheal Cera in Zombieland.

I also feel like Michael Cera needs to be cast as Robin in some upcoming Batman movie.

[skywalker]

Well... you know... he is white after all. It's not entirely normal to play a different race if you're white and your name isn't Robert Downey Junior.

He's like the pasty kid tho. That's a bit of a distinction, but I think that's where they were going, at least.


I thought Jesse Eisenberg out-Cera'ed Micheal Cera in Zombieland.

I also feel like Michael Cera needs to be cast as Robin in some upcoming Batman movie.

Adventureland is the same way.

[mshady]

Well, I think there are a few good actors that have not been type cast.

I would submit that Leondard Di Caprio has not. Johnny Depp certainly has not been. Possibly Christian Bale? Al Pacino? Jack Nickolson? I wouldn't have said Brad Pitt until his last couple of movies. Edward James Olmos perhaps?

[JediSoth]

I kinda feel the same way about Jonah Hill as many of you do about Michel Cera.

[skywalker]

I kinda feel the same way about Jonah Hill as many of you do about Michel Cera.

The difference is Michael Cera tends to play more likable characters, is a bit younger, and has shown more glimmer of talent beyond the "crazy Jewish freakout" (at least IMO).