“The British poster is different,” Michael Cera says, as he paces from one end of the hotel room to the other. He’s pointing out how the American version depicts Benicio Del Toro chomping a cigar in a bathtub with a glass of wine. Both temptations are airbrushed out for British audiences. I hadn’t noticed it but now it’s hard to ignore. “I guess you guys don’t do cigars and booze,” he adds wryly.

Cera, who plays Swedish intellectual Bjorn in The Phoenician Scheme, is on the promotional beat in London. He’d just returned from Cannes, where the film was in competition. Although he was supposed to have a part in 2023’s Asteroid City, that didn’t transpire for personal reasons. Cera has always felt fitting for Anderson’s world, and Bjorn is an excellent comedic debut in his troupe of regulars – both quirky and touching, and he plays the third part of a trio that sees him alongside Del Toro’s Zsa-zsa Korda and Mia Threapleton’s Liesl. Cera is also working on his first directorial feature, Love is Not the Answer. It stars Pamela Anderson, Steve Coogan, and Jamie Dornan. Not much is known yet, and Cera is tight-lipped, but we discussed how working with Anderson has influenced his filmmaking. 

In the end, it’s an actor who has famously had a voice for so long now seeking to introduce it elsewhere. “When you feel you have something to say,” he explains, “there’s a need to go ahead and find a home for it. For me, it’s not just about stories. It’s about a feeling.”

Michael Cera sat down with A Rabbit’s Foot to discuss working with Wes, the awkwardness of applause and why he wants to be Bill Murray.

Chris Cotonou
You’re working with Edgar Wright again. Did you see him on this trip to London? 

Michael Cera
Yeah, he came to see the movie last night. He was quite excited and we chatted about our next project. I love working with Edgar and we’re putting that together now. 

Chris Cotonou
Do you generally have a good instinct with directors? 

Michael Cera
If you’re both as excited about the idea, then you gel. As long as you’re coming from the same enthusiasm to work to a common goal. 

Chris Cotonou
You were supposed to work with Wes Anderson previously. 

Michael Cera
I had a small part in Asteroid City, but I couldn’t do it. I was depressed about having to miss the chance to work with Wes, but this is a much more involved part. So I was blown away. And it was a redemption from having missed the first opportunity. 

Chris Cotonou
Do you feel like the character was written for you? 

Michael Cera
Wes starts thinking about his cast really early. When he sent me the script, he gave me a full breakdown of who was going to play each part and it’s great because you can visualise it. He told me about the cast and I said, “Oh my god, what a team!” And naturally, he gets who he wants… If you’re a director in that position it helps inform you how to structure the part. 

Chris Cotonou
I spoke with Benicio Del Toro recently. He said that he thought his casting was a brave decision. But I feel like you’re a more seamless choice for Wes Anderson’s universe.

Michael Cera
That’s how I feel about Benicio. Our team had a beautiful chemistry. If I wasn’t a part of this movie, I’d be very enticed by it. When I see Benicio on the poster I think: “That’s good alchemy – those two guys together.” 

Chris Cotonou
Can you tell me a bit about Bjorn? Where did the character come from?

Michael Cera
First and foremost, it felt as though the character was fully realised on the page. When I read the movie, I saw it in my head. The energy of the character was completely established in writing and his approach was evident because of the harmony of that central trio. I asked myself what flavour I had to bring. But I weirdly thought about Leon Trotsky as a visual reference. We didn’t end up totally going that way but it did inform the direction we eventually found. There are a couple of Scandinavian filmmakers, too. But mostly, Bjorn has plenty of Kenneth Mars’s performance as Hugh Simon in Peter Bogdanovich’s What’s Up, Doc?

Chris Cotonou
It all makes sense now.

Michael Cera
It’s not really the same character. But it’s the effect of that character that I found aspirational. It’s disruptive to have a character like that show up. It became a kind of target. 

Chris Cotonou
How did you develop chemistry with Mia and Benicio? 

Michael Cera
It’s so well baked into the dynamic of the story and in the casting. I’m sure Wes cast it with that in mind, but we did spend time together before shooting. We had two weeks rehearsing, just being ourselves. And rehearsals mean you spend a lot of time just sitting around, talking, and getting to know each other. Then we would read scenes. We would discuss other movies; talk about life, about the characters, about Germany, where we were. And, you know – when you do that for 2 weeks, you become familiar and you develop a trust in one another. We felt very aligned. We knew we had each other’s backs—healthy dynamic sniping, no toxicity. If you just show up without that, it can be imbalancing. Wes wants to make the best movie he possibly can. 

Chris Cotonou
Was there one thing about the film you especially love? 

Michael Cera
It was watching Wes make a movie, and how he works. It’s a very political kind of job and he does it in a way that’s unique. He’s relentless and communicative but gracious and high spirited. But don’t get it twisted. He’s not going to let anything hurt his movie. So there’s also times when he’s rightly protective. And you realise it’s a mix of all these things that comes together for his films.

Chris Cotonou
Did any of this inspire you, as you go on to make your own feature film?

Michael Cera
You always do with directors – as an actor you get to work so closely. But it’s more a matter of osmosis. So, I can’t say how it will affect my filmmaking. Yet, I’m sure it will. 

Chris Cotonou
What’s the main motivation for you becoming a first-time filmmaker with Love is Not the Answer? It’s a story you came up with yourself. 

Michael Cera
Firstly, it’s easy to become a frustrated director when you’re an actor [laughs]. I wished I could have a crack at it, because it looks fun, and over time you have feelings about how a movie can be made. With my upcoming film, I feel as though there’s none being made like it. That’s the main thing. I want to make a movie that goes into an under-explored world. It could not work. I hope it does. I want it to. The other thing is that I feel as though I have a voice of my own. And I want somewhere to place it. 

Chris Cotonou
Can you describe your first meeting with Wes? 

Michael Cera
It was a general meeting type of thing, going on 20 years ago. I was thrilled he was interested in meeting me, and so I went and had tea with him and his wife. He was doing a tea ceremony! And Harvey Keitel was there. I think Wes was supposed to be meeting Harvey and he decided to lump those two meetings together. And he saw nothing wrong with that, even though we were pretty different – we had a great time hanging out. As you can imagine, being with Wes Anderson and Harvey Keitel is a lot of fun. Over the years, we kept in touch and he’s remained a friend.

Chris Cotonou
Can you tell me about now being a part of Wes Anderson’s troupe? It reminds me of Bergman’s roster of regulars. 

Michael Cera
It’s very Bergman. Fassbinder – yes. Paul Thomas Anderson had it in the beginning of his career. It’s creating a team. There’s something nice about that family dynamic. And it’s in the spirit of tradition. I think he also does it because it’s all about the experience with Wes – he creates experiences. Even when we were in Cannes. He was curating the entire trip, choosing the hotel, assigning people their seats at dinner. He’s the consummate host; very, very charming. And it’s the same thing with his filmmaking. 

Chris Cotonou
How was your trip to Cannes with the movie? It had a very warm reception. 

Michael Cera
Surreal. It was an out-of-body thing. I find it hard to read those situations, but I really loved watching the movie in that theatre. I’d never been to a movie In Competition at Cannes, so the whole experience of being in that room was incredible. I wanted to soak it up, as I don’t know if I’ll ever be back. It took 37 years! I was proud to be a part of this movie. All the fanfare, the opulence of Cannes… this is alien to me and I don’t know what any of it means. I enjoyed it, though. Even being on the red carpet, which I normally have a total flight or fight feeling. People are snapping, yelling, and I’m sweating. There’s terror in my eyes [laughs]. But by the time I got there, I realised: this is wonderful. But standing and clapping for me feels so strange!

Chris Cotonou
You mean, once the movie is over?

Michael Cera
Yeah. Not that I don’t appreciate it. It’s… I just don’t know what we’re doing. Do I make eye contact with people while they clap? It’s a little strange. I guess I was focusing on how Wes felt. I was happy for him – it’s his moment. I’m proud the movie made it to Cannes and premiered there. But, you know, they time the claps there, and people publish how long the clap went on for. 

Chris Cotonou
There are rules. Supposedly, filmmakers signal their interest in the film by a specific length of clap time. 

Michael Cera
It as foreign as North Korea to me! It’s a language I don’t speak. 

Chris Cotonou
If you could be any character from Wes Anderson’s pantheon, who would you have loved to play the most? 

Michael Cera
It’s funny, because I think everybody’s perfect. But Steve Zissou looks fun to play. But I guess what I’m really trying to say is, I wish I was Bill Murray.