Michael Cera on What ‘Leader’ Tom Cruise Is Like On Set

Michael Cera recently shared what it was like filming with Tom Cruise, calling him “such a leader.” During an interview on “The Louis Theroux Podcast” Cera spoke about shooting a pre-taped segment with Cruise in 2010 for the MTV Movie Awards. “Tom runs the set,” he explained.

Cera, 37, was a rising star at the time, having appeared in hit films like “Superbad” and “Juno” as well as the series “Arrested Development.” But he was nonetheless starstruck even just filming a short segment alongside Cruise, calling the experience “surreal.” 

The “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” star recalled watching Cruise in action, noting the way he took charge. “I was really there for like five minutes, but what I observed was, he was like the first AD on the set….,” Cera shared.

Tom Cruise Playfully Called Michael Cera Out 

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Although Cera and the “Mission: Impossible” star were only briefly filming together, Cruise took the segment seriously. So much so that he chided Cera for talking on set. 

“…I arrived, they were shooting, and I was talking to the writer… We were just kind of mumbling while they were shooting, but they could hear us,” Cera explained. “It was just like 40 feet away. And Tom Cruise looks at me, I’ve never met him, and they’re in the middle of a take…and he goes, ‘Is that Michael Cera talking during a [expletive] take?’”

Cera said he knew Cruise was kidding around, but he’d meant what he said. “He was joking, but it was also like, ‘Do shut up,’ you know?” 

Michael Cera Could Take a Joke

It wasn’t until later in the day that Cera and Cruise were formally introduced to each other. And Cruise was intent on keeping the joke going. “Then I met him, he is like, ‘Talking during a [expletive] take,’” Cera remembered. 

Cera, who is known for his comedy chops, met the mega-star at his level. “I knew he was playing around, so I was like, ‘Hey man, it wasn’t me, it was the writer,’” Cera recalled. “He was like, ‘I’m kidding, I’m kidding.’ And I was like, ‘I’m kidding too.’”

Although Cera was able to hold his own when talking with Cruise, he was not always so comfortable interacting with fans. The actor shared with Louis Theroux that when he first began getting recognized, he didn’t know how to handle it. “I would…kind of go into fight or flight mode,” he revealed.

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