Why Michael Cera Wasn't Included in the 'Barbie' Cast Group Texts

'Barbie,' starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, hits theaters July 21.

Michael Cera's super bad old phone prevented him, albeit slightly, from forming an even stronger bond with the cast of Barbie. All good though. Cera says his character in the film would have probably kept a distance anyway.

People recently reported in its Barbie special issue that before the start of shooting principal photography, Margot Robbie hosted a sleepover for her fellow Barbie actresses. The outlet quoted Barbie actor Simu Liu describing what took place.

"Margot was so great. She had a sleepover with the Barbies before photography started, and the Kens were allowed to either visit briefly or to phone in and say hi," he said.

He went on to say that the Kens "made sure to show our support but not be overbearing with our presence," so "all the Barbies and Kens got in a group chat."

Except one person was missing from the group chat. Cera, who explained why he wasn't included and why he was OK with it.

"I don't have an iPhone myself. ... I have a flip phone," he told People. "But I still think I wouldn't belong on [the group chat] anyway, because [my character] Allan is sort of in his own little world. Greta's gift for me when I arrived was a picture disc of NSYNC's No Strings Attached, which felt like somehow a real guiding light in the backstory of this character." 

It shouldn't come as a surprise that Cera's still flossing a flip phone. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cera's not one to embrace modern technology or social media.

"This is a conscious choice, because I feel a bit of fear about it honestly like I'd really lose control of my walking life," he told the Hollywood trade magazine in February. "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 sat there lonely and bored. So I had an early aversion to them."

Flip phone episode aside, Cera admitted to ET in June 2022 that he was sad about being done filming.

"In a way, it's already over and we had such a good vibe," Cera said. "There's a really good cast vibe on this movie and I think the movie's gonna be great. I’m really excited about it."

Barbie hits theaters July 21.

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