Michael Cera’s ‘Barbie’ Fight Scene Was a Last-Minute Decision

Michael Cera has opened up about his challenging experience with COVID-19 when he was unexpectedly called upon to film a fight scene for the movie ‘Barbie.’ Cera, who portrayed the character Allan in the film, discussed the ordeal on the ‘Happy Sad Confused’ podcast.

Originally, the scene was intended to feature a cameo from Ben Affleck, who was supposed to initiate the fight scene in which Cera’s character was involved. However, Affleck had to withdraw from the scene due to his commitments as both an actor and director on ‘Air,’ leaving Cera to step in.

Also Read: America Ferrera Praises ‘Barbie’ as a ‘Bold and Inspiring Masterpiece’

Cera explained, “I think Ben wanted to do it, but he was directing his movie. They’re like, ‘OK, Ben’s out, something has to happen here. So you’re gonna fight them.’ So I had to jump in with the stunt team.”

Recalling the challenges he faced during filming, Cera revealed, “I had just gotten over COVID and they had me training, and I almost died. Just doing the warm-up! I had to lie down in my trailer and they sent the nurse to see me and I was sent home. So then we had a second rehearsal and I learned it. That’s the story basically.”

In other ‘Barbie’ news, director Greta Gerwig previously shared her amusement over a deleted scene from the film featuring Cera. Additionally, Robert Downey Jr. recently praised Margot Robbie for her lead role in ‘Barbie,’ stating that he believes she deserves more recognition.

This comes after Robbie was overlooked for a ‘Best Actress’ nomination at the upcoming Oscars, along with Gerwig missing out on a ‘Best Director’ nomination. Despite these omissions, ‘Barbie’ received a total of eight Oscar nominations, including ‘Best Picture,’ ‘Best Adapted Screenplay,’ ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for Ryan Gosling and ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for America Ferrara.