In the space of a few months in 2007, Michael Cera burst into the public consciousness by way of two very different, very beloved films.
The first was Superbad, the teen buddy comedy that is one of the most defining of the Millennial generation. The second was Juno, the Oscar-winning independent teen-pregnancy story.
Both films were runaway successes, making instant stars of their casts.
Listen to Mamamia's daily entertainment podcast The Spill. Post continues below audio.
At the time, Cera was just 19.
Now 35, he has reflected on that time and how the sudden shove into the spotlight caused him to have a career crisis early on.
"I didn't know how to handle walking down the street," he said in an interview with The Guardian.
"Fame makes you very uncomfortable in your own skin, and makes you paranoid and weird. There were lots of great things about it, and I met a lot of amazing people, but there's a lot of bad energies, too, ones that I was not equipped to handle."
He cited experiences with "drunk people" as an example.
"You know, if people are drunk, and they recognise 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. It was like a burning feeling the whole time, just like everybody was so aware of me. It was a mistake.
