The cool offbeat comedy Youth in Revolt airs on BBC Two on Saturday December 20 at 11:40pm. Harry Guerin talked to star Michael Cera at the time of the film's cinema release in February 2010 - read the interview here.
In Youth in Revolt, Cera plays Nick Twisp, an aspiring intellectual trapped in suburban hell.
The appeal of the film is captured in Nick's opening narration: "I'm a voracious reader of classic prose, an aspiring novelist and feel the world would be a better place if every radio station played Frank Sinatra's My One and Only Love at least once an hour. Needless to say, I'm still a virgin."
If you're squirming/laughing at the sound of that then you'll be doing plenty more by the end of Nick's misadventures, which include $5m worth of damage, an escape from a French finishing school and arguably the worst attempt at faking your own death in movie history.
Harry Guerin: Long before you stepped in front of the cameras on Youth in Revolt you were a big fan of the CD Payne book on which it is based.
Michael Cera: I was about 16 when I first read it and then I read it a couple of times after that. On the surface level I just really loved the voice of the book - it's really, really funny. They're [Payne's books] quite comforting in that sense because it's a sense of humour where Nick can't relate to anyone around him. It's just a comfort in any novel when you have a character that sort of is, an outsider, and you're in their mind, hearing their inner monologue - you feel like you're being let in on something. I was also going through having my first girlfriend when I read it, so I was connecting with it in that way. It's just a really special book, I think. It's incredibly written.
HG: When did you first hear about the film and was it a long process until you were actually standing in front of the cameras?
MC: It was - it was a really long process. I got sent the script when I was about 16 and we didn't end up shooting until I was 19 going on 20. In between when I first got the script, and when we were actually working, I was constantly asking about it, asking what was happening with the movie, seeing if it was getting anywhere. It was one of those movies that just sort of sat around for a while and took a while to get some momentum. I think they'd been trying to make the movie since the 90s. The book came out in '92 and I think shortly after that the rights were bought.
HG: The film has a great supporting cast, including Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta and M Emmett Walsh. When you're working with actors do you soak knowledge up like a sponge and pick up things from them?
MC: Definitely. On every project, no matter who you're working with, you're always going to see different styles and approaches to a scene. It's always interesting and always educational. And these are some of my favourite actors, so it was really nice to get to see how they do what they do.
HG: I presume this was a low-budget film and that the makers had so many great people because they would only need to be on the set for a few days.
MC: Absolutely. Steve Buscemi was there for, I think, a week - the first week of shooting and then he was gone. Ray Liotta came in for maybe two days and then took off. It almost felt like a TV series at times where we were kind of having guests! But it made for a really interesting shooting experience.
HG: There are some great one-liners in Youth in Revolt and you have brilliant timing in your delivery of them. Is that something you've had to work very hard at or did it come naturally?
MC: I haven't really intentionally worked hard on it, but I've been performing since I was about eight-years-old. I guess it just comes with doing that. The more you do that, I think, the more comfortable you get with your rhythms and feeling out other actors and finding things.
HG: Is it fair to say that Youth in Revolt is a film you had to 'carry' a lot more because you're the main star and are playing two characters?
MC: Definitely. It was really a new thing for me.
HG: Did you feel any pressure?
MC: I didn't, because Miguel Arteta [director] is really good at making everything feel comfortable. He's really good at setting a certain tone on his sets and there was just no pressure whatsoever. It was all collaborative and he really makes you feel valued and he cares about everyone's opinions. That sort of just takes all the pressure off of it and makes you want to do the best job you can just to make him proud.
