Michael Cera vs. Jesse Eisenberg: is this the end of the lovable geek?
Ever since he stole our hearts as the Tommy Bahama–bedecked George Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, Brampton boy Michael Cera has been Hollywood’s go-to geek. Not since Lewis and Gilbert took their revenge has any actor done so much to make dorks look cool. He did it in Superbad, then he did it in Juno, then in Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, and so on. For a while, Cera ruled supreme over all things dweeb, but some recent developments in movieland—namely Jesse Eisenberg’s amazing performance as ruthless Facebook über-geek Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network—have us wondering whether Cera and the era of the lovable Poindexter is officially over.
To settle the debate, we ask that you vote for your preferred geek, but first, a few points to consider.
• Big-screen showdown: Rumour has it that Cera was keen to play Facebook’s morally questionable creator in The Social Network. Truthfully, we can’t imagine anyone nailing the unlikely combination of intense nerdiness and obscene A-holeism quite like Eisenberg. Insiders say he’s a shoe-in for a best actor nomination come Oscar season, and we think he deserves it. (Advantage: Eisenberg)
• Small-screen chops: If you haven’t seen every last episode of Cera in Arrested Development, we suggest you stop reading this blog entry immediately and get thee to a DVD store. And if you haven’t seen a single episode of Eisenberg’s short-lived TV series Get Real, well, you probably shouldn’t bother because it wasn’t very good. (Advantage: Cera)
• Diva factor: Cera is the infamous Arrested Development movie holdout. That’s right. Ron Howard, Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi and David Cross were in, but Michael Cera wasn’t sure. As if! We needn’t point out that the guy wouldn’t even have a career without AD, but we will anyway. But Eisenberg has also been known to outgrow his britches. During the promotional tour for Adventureland, he answered a question about his co-star Kristen Stewart’s relationship with Robert Pattinson by pointing out that there are people starving in Africa. Oh, get over yourself. (Advantage: neither)
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No mention of Eisenberg’s solid performances in either Roger Dodger or The Squid and the Whale? (both great films). I’m detecting a little GTA bias here.
I can’t believe people are still trying to lump these two together. We’re asked who we prefer, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Cera scores higher in the poll, but if you’ve seen more Eisenberg performances outside of Zombieland, you might just reconsider your vote.
What was wrong with Zombieland? A goofy-zombie movie….true the premise has been done, but still a laugh riot.
Ah, such a shame these two are getting pitted against each other. There is actually a clip somewhere on YouTube where MC, while doing press for Pilgrim, was quite complimentary towards Jesse and shared a funny story how he sometimes gets mistaken for him. I wonder if the two have ever met before? Anyway, I am glad Jesse is getting some spotlight for his good work and I’m still going to be a firm supporter of Cera too.
Perhaps we need a “both” button?
@ sTuBBY
You’re right, Zombieland is a fun movie. I mentioned it because it’s probably the film that most people recognize him from, and I’m guessing his performance in this film kickstarted the Michael Cera comparisons.
People of the us!! Jesse is really a lot better than Micheal! Vote for jesse!!! please think about how awesome zombiland and the social network was!!
I really like both of these actors. But Jesse is the obvious choice. Micheal has been in less films i believe. To have 2 people going against each other without them voting i think is terrible. But if the world really wnats to know which ones better it is up to them. Hope yall make the right choice wich is guess what? JESSE!!
Are you out of your mind?? Vote for jesse!!! He was outstanding in the social network. Vote for eisenberg not cera! We all know jesse actually deserves to win
Rose is right!! And so is Bay!! Are you people not reading the info about the Micheal??!!!
JESSE!!!! vote for him! we dont need a both button cuz only one(and thats jesse)will win!dont be surprised if cera loses.
jesse is totally winning!! dont you people wnat to be on the winning team!!
haha…jesse is winning. sucks to be u michael cera supporters!
sooooo awesome!! i hope jesse wins!!! he is totally amazing and unbelievably hot!!
have a nice try gettin cera’s votes up. some people are sayin michael is going to win but thats NOT going to happen. cuz jesse is SO much better.
Jesse is so cute!! zombie fan is so right and we all know it!!
YAY! over 500 votes for jesse. and indeed igloos rule! he is SO HOT. cera, you are going down cuz theres alot more eisenberg fans than cera.
truthfully, i couldnt even begin to imagine cera playing zuckerberg in the social network.however, jesse was the perfect fit and i was completly astounded by his remarkable performance. :)
jesse was in the movie of the year, the social network. michael cera was in scott pilgram vs the world. he cant compete with that. vote for jesse!!!
over 600 votes for jesse. try to beat that cera fans!!!!!!!!!
JESSE REALLY RULES!! 605 VOTES BEAT THAT!!
michael gets mistaken for jesse.
oh Jesse. Jesse has the capability of acting in any role but Michael only acts in movies with foolish absurdity. what a pity.
lets throw a pity party for michael!
Jesse fans rule!!
ya… Jesse Eisenberg is way in the lead, by like double. Michael Cera fans,say goodbye to your chances of winning. When does this poll end??
i love zombieland. its AWESOMe.therefore, jesse is the obvious choice. i mean, wat good movies was michael in?
movies such as: super-bad, youth in revolt, year one, Juno. they were all great movies. while Jesse Eisenberg only had two good movies.
jesse is way hotter
jesse is probably more successful
@Everyone! There are children starving in Africa!
Jesse is SO HOT
He is hot…he should totally win. Keep voting!
Michael isn’t going to win…. jesse is way in the lead. Go jesse!
Did anyone see Joan of Arcadia with Amber Tamblyn?
Jesse played the brother and he was great.
I think that we are mixing apples and oranges, as each is good is his own type of role.
Uh, no — Jesse Eisenberg never appeared in Joan of Arcadia. Neither of the actors who played Joan’s two brothers look ANYTHING like him.
Whoever you pick love that geek has got it’s sexy back. By the way,the brother in Joan of Arcadia was played by Jason Ritter, now looking pretty hot in new series, The Event.
>”he answered a question about his co-star Kristen Stewart’s relationship with Robert Pattinson by pointing out that there are people starving in Africa. Oh, get over yourself.”
I suggest *you* get over *yourself*. That was a wonderful reply by Eisenberg.
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It was strange. The first mention I heard of Michael Cera and Jesse Eisenberg being mistaken for one another was on Conan last year. I wasn’t convinced. They shared a small physical resemblance.
However, while watching “30 Minutes of Less” I was convinced about why their identities were confusing to the masses. The first time I heard Eisenberg speak in that movie, I immediately thought he sounded like Michael Cera. Weird.