Canadian actor Michael Cera was born in Brampton, Ontario, to parents
who worked for Xerox. His mother, Linda, who is from Quebec, has
English, Irish, Scottish, and Dutch ancestry, and his father, Luigi
Cera, is Italian (from Sicily). Michael is the middle child between two sisters. He
was educated at Conestoga Public School, Robert H. Lagerquist Senior
Public School and Heart Lake Secondary School until the grade nine.
Cera then completed his high school education via correspondence.
During a childhood illness he repeatedly viewed
Ghostbusters (1984), learning the
dialogue. It was this that sparked his interest in performing. He went
on to take classes in improvisation at The Second City Toronto. Roles
followed in commercials and TV, but he first came to major public
attention when he was cast as George Michael Bluth in the critically
acclaimed comedy series
Arrested Development (2003).
After the cancellation of this series, Cera successfully transitioned
into movies, scoring starring roles in various projects such as
Superbad (2007),
Juno (2007),
Youth in Revolt (2009) and as the
eponymous hero in
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010).
Alongside acting, Cera is also a musician - he sings and plays guitar
and bass.