Michael Cera Turned Down 'Harry Potter' for Strange Reason
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If "The Phoenician Scheme" star Michael Cera had made a different choice, today he would be one of the stars considered part of the "Harry Potter" pantheon.
Cera was on "The Louis Theroux Podcast," where he revealed he was in talks to become part of the "Fantastic Beasts" spinoff films, but he bowed out because he was worried about becoming too famous.
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"I don't even know if I was offered, I think I just declined to engage with it because I think it would be like probably six years commitment or something," Cera said.
"But also, I did sort of make a conscientious choice to limit my exposure a little bit, or just try and be a little more in control of it. And I felt like doing, especially little kids' movies, I had a big fear of doing things that I would get too famous."
Michael Cera attends Focus Features' "The Phoenician Scheme" New York Premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center on May 28, 2025 in New York City.
Michael Cera attends Focus Features' "The Phoenician Scheme" New York Premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center on May 28, 2025 in New York City.
Jamie McCarthy/WireImage
It's up for debate whether or not Cera ultimately had all that much to worry about. While the original plan was for five "Fantastic Beasts" films to be released, the box office saw diminishing returns with each additional entry.
In 2022, "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore" suffered an underwhelming performance at the box office, and while the film series has never officially been canceled, there's no word of a fourth film in the works.
Regardless, Cera says he's shaken off the feeling that made him pass on "Fantastic Beasts".
"I think I've outgrown that particular feeling, but I think that's what that was at that time," Cera said. "But if a franchise came along now and seemed interesting, I don't think on the grounds of it being a franchise I would storm out of the office or anything."
Asked about a possible role in the MCU, Cera joked, "A superhero who is a big fan of dairy, I could play."
As far as the upcoming "Harry Potter" series set to debut on HBO Max, Cera is probably too late with most of the roles being filled. One of the only major roles left is that of the villain Voldemort, with some rumors pointing toward Cillian Murphy as a favorite.
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