Michael Cera has explained why he's notoriously difficult to locate on social media, revealing in a recent interview that he doesn't even have a smartphone.
The 34-year-old actor - who is most notable for his roles as George Michael Bluth in Arrested Development and as Evan alongside Jonah Hill in Superbad - recently took part in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Canada-born Cera discussed his upcoming projects - including Amy Schumer's Hulu series Life & Beth, and the all-new Barbie movie starring Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie.
He also took the time to delve into his dislike for social media and smartphones.
Of his decision to not join social media, Cera told journalist Alex Ritman: "It doesn't feel conscious. I guess it's just something that I didn't elect to do. Because everybody does it, it starts to feel like a big choice. But it's just not interesting to me. But I also don't have a smartphone. And that is a conscious choice, because I feel a bit of fear about it honestly like I'd really lose control of my waking life.
"Right when people started having smartphones, when it was Blackberries, I had lunch with a friend of mine who was my best friend at the time, and he'd just gotten a Blackberry, and for the whole meal he was typing emails, and I was sat there lonely and bored. So I had an early aversion to them," he continued.
And you have to admire his commitment, given that these days many actors and other celebrities commonly receive job opportunities through social media. Cera admitted that his unique decision may have affected him, but that he cannot know for sure, saying: "Yeah, I really can't know the answer to that. But it's very possible. I mean, I'm definitely not holding any sway in that category. So if that's an important thing I think I wouldn't be considered."
To be fair, not having access to a smartphone or social media accounts feels true to Cera's usual roles as awkward, off-beat characters. So secretive is the actor that the internet wasn't even aware he was married and had a child until Amy Schumer accidentally let it slip last year.
"Michael has a baby too," the comedian said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight in March 2022, adding: "Is that public knowledge? … I just outed him. I just outed his baby."
Cera himself then touched upon this in his recent Hollywood Reporter interview, explaining how becoming a parent has changed the way he approaches work: "I think the only thing that it affects is that you just want to spend as much time with them as possible.
"So when I was 20, I would have been way happier to go off to some weird city and live in a hotel for three months. And when you have kids, you want to be with your family. And you miss them a lot."