"I think he thought that I was like a contest winner" - Michael Cera recalls his interaction with Jackie Chan

Canadian actor Michael Cera looked back on his interaction with Jackie Chan. On May 30, 2025, he sat down with NME for an interview when the interviewer, Alex Flood, asked him about meeting the Karate Kid: Legends star.

Cera explained that he had met Jackie Chan unexpectedly just about 20 minutes earlier. He mentioned that while a photographer was taking his pictures, she told him she had to go photograph Jackie Chan next.

Surprised to hear Jackie was nearby, he said he didn’t know him personally. The photographer then invited him to come along and meet Jackie, and he happily agreed. Michael Cera said:

“When I met him, I think he was like, ‘Who's this person what are we doing what?’ He was like, ‘Here okay come.’ I think he thought that I was like a contest winner he was like, ‘Okay come on do a picture real quick.’”

Cera felt that he was taking up Chan’s time as he was busy with the radio interview. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the two actors were at the venue to promote their recent films.

Elsewhere in the interview, Michael Cera shared that Rubber Soul by The Beatles was one of his favorite albums. Although he didn’t care much for the band growing up, he changed his mind at 18 after giving the album a proper listen.

He also mentioned that he had never met any of The Beatles and felt it would be awkward if he did, as he wouldn’t know what to say.

Michael Cera on working with Wes Anderson on The Phoenician Scheme

In an interview with Kino TV on May 28, 2025, Michael Cera was asked how it felt when he walked into Wes Anderson’s set for the first time. He shared that stepping onto the set for the first time felt amazing.

It was a new experience for him, starting with Wes waving from a hotel balcony. Then, they rode together in a golf cart through the streets of Potsdam, wind in their hair, on the way to set, something Cera had never experienced before. Speaking about the crew, he said:

“And Wes, you know, he has all of these people on his team, on his crew that are sort of tenured, you know, have been with him for like 20 and more years and so they all know the drill, you know.”

Michael Cera went on:

“He doesn't have to break in a whole new team every time. It's like an old pair of shoes and it's just like friends. It's a big group of friends. They embrace you right away. It's very nice.”

When asked about how he prepared for his Norwegian accent, Michael Cera said he got help from a Norwegian friend, who asked others to record the lines for him. He listened to a few different voices to pick up on specific pronunciations and word qualities.

However, Michael Cera didn’t stick strictly to those examples. Instead, he focused more on making the character sound musical and lively rather than aiming for perfect accuracy. He admitted that Norwegians might find the accent cringeworthy, but he felt it worked well for the story.

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Also Read: What did Wes Anderson say about Gene Hackman? Filmmaker reflects on having "friction" with late actor

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