What Is Michael Cera's Net Worth and Salary?
Michael Cera is a Canadian actor who has a net worth of $20 million. Best known to general audiences for his role as George Michael Bluth on "Arrested Development," Michael Cera was able to parlay the success of that character into a string of feature films, such as "Superbad," "Juno," "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," "The Lego Batman Movie," and "Barbie," and a small but well-loved part in 2017's "Twin Peaks: The Return." Since 2022, Cera has played John on the Hulu series "Life & Beth" alongside the show's creator, Amy Schumer.
Early Life
Michael Cera was born Michael Austin Cera on June 7, 1988, in Ontario, Canada. Michael's parents, Linda and Luigi, worked for Xerox, and he has two sisters, Jordan and Molly. Cera attended public school until ninth grade when he dropped out to pursue acting. He eventually completed high school by correspondence. He has said that his interest in acting was sparked by repeatedly watching the film "Ghostbusters" when he came down with chicken pox at an early age.
Acting Career
Auditions and small parts followed. Michael's first role was an unpaid extra in a Tim Hortons commercial in Canada, which led to a speaking part in a Pillsbury commercial. Then, his career got a big boost when he was cast in the Canadian television series "I Was a Sixth Grade Alien" in 1999. In 2002, he appeared in the film "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" and also lent his voice to the animated shows "The Bernstein Bears" and "Braceface."
Shortly after that, Michael's major breakthrough came in the form of the role of George Michael Bluth on the award-winning television series "Arrested Development." In 2005, he was named Best Actor at the San Gio Festival in Verona, Italy, for the short film "Darling Darling." In 2006, Cera guest starred in an episode of "Veronica Mars" and the Adult Swim series "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!" In 2007, Michael and his best friend, Clark Duke, began posting short videos on their website and later signed a deal with CBS to create and star in the short-form comedy show "Clark and Michael." In August 2007, Cera starred in "Superbad" with Jonah Hill, a film written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. He hosted a stage version of the sketch comedy series "Saturday Night Live" while the writers were on strike. Also in 2007, Michael starred in the critically acclaimed film "Juno," which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. For both of his films that year, Cera won the Breakthrough Artist in the Austin Film Critics Association Awards. He then starred in the independent film "Paper Heart" in 2009 and "Year One" alongside Jack Black later that year. The same year, his short story "Pinecone" was published in "McSweeney's Quarterly," and he appeared in "Youth in Revolt." Michael continued to star in a number of popular movies throughout the next decade, mixing leading roles like the title part in "Scott Pilgrim vs the World" and strange, off-beat cameo roles like the ones he has in the film "Entertainment" and David Lynch's "Twin Peaks: The Return."
Michael also continued to rack up an impressive list of television credits during this time. His voice can be heard in every episode of the Adult Swim series "Children's Hospital" over the hospital PA system, and in 2012, he joined the elite society of performers to do voice work on the animated sitcom "The Simpsons." He also made two guest appearances on the television version of "Comedy Bang! Bang!," and in 2013, he appeared in the role of Spanish Bartender in a television special by the Canadian band Arcade Fire. He's done three episodes of the Comedy Central favorite "Drunk History," one episode of "Saturday Night Live," and appears in three episodes of the Netflix comedy series "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp." He can also be seen in one episode of the YouTube anthology program "Weird City," appearing in the role of Tawny in the episode "A Family," which was released to the platform in 2019.
In 2014, Cera made his Broadway debut in Kenneth Lonergan's "This is Our Youth." In 2018, he made a return to stage work in a Broadway production of Lonergan's "Lobby Hero," which earned him a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play. The following year brought a return to his breakthrough role as George Michael Bluth on the latter seasons of "Arrested Development," which in the interim had moved from Fox over to Netflix. He also appeared in the film "Gloria Bell" with Julianne Moore in 2018. In 2023, he played Allan in the year's highest-grossing film, "Barbie," which grossed $1.446 billion at the box office.
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Music Career
Cera has also done work in the music field, albeit not as prolifically as his work in acting. In 2010, he appeared as both a backup vocalist and on the mandolin on the Weezer song "Hang On" from the album "Hurley." He's played bass in the band Mister Heavenly and is also part of another indie rock outfit called The Long Goodbye. His music skills came in handy in both "Scott Pilgrim vs the World" and "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," both of which feature musical performances by Cera, and in 2014, he released his debut album, "True That," on Bandcamp.
Michael Cera Quotes On Money
"I don't spend very much money. Basically I spend money on food and DVDs."
"I don't think anyone cares whether you're working or not. I have the luxury now of not having to support anyone and not really needing a whole lot of money."
Real Estate
Michael Cera appears to have shied away from the movie star mansion lifestyle for the most part, but in 2019, he did earn a few real estate headlines for acquiring an impressive residence in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. He paid a reported $2.4 million for a four-bedroom home that dates all the way back to 1899 and is said to have retained some original features from that distant era, including marble mantles and a mahogany staircase. The townhouse also has an additional garden apartment on the ground level.
