Indie king Michael Cera grows up

We had to kill Cera first, Seth Rogen,one of the directors,said. It just felt right.

Kill Michael Cera,the cuddly,tortured indie boy king of Juno? Why not murder a basket of puppies while you are at it?

Except the version of Cera in This Is the End is a coked-out sex fiend who has it coming. In fact,the real Cera,a persistent model of twitchy adorableness,has been playing some rugged roles lately. In Crystal Fairy,he is the kind of drug tourist who gives Americans abroad a bad name.

Cera is now 25 and in that place where many actors who were irresistible when they were young become invisible as they reach adulthood. It hasnt gone that way for him. Instead,he is adding significant wrinkles to how people see him. While his characters have seemed daunted by the leap to adulthood,the guy who played them seems to be doing just fine.

In Crystal Fairy,Cera is cast as a boorish drug tourist named Jamie,who casually invites along a woman named Crystal Fairy he met at a party. Her hippie raps and strained spirituality bring out the worst in Jamie. Shot in 12 days,the film still manages to cover significant ground. There are epiphanies,not all of them drug-induced,and a fair amount of insight into human dynamics.

His fans could not be blamed for wondering how Cera,the tracksuited dweeb from Juno,became so capable of playing damaged,unlikable people. Even the nicest people in the world know what its like to be selfish, he said.

Cera already has some directing credits as well. He directed a short film starring Charles Grodin,a hero of his,called Brazzaville Teenager,based on a short story by Bruce Jay Friedman,another hero of his. Theres also a short called FailureMy love life in four minutes,along with a comedy website on YouTube.

Besides,Cera has done some guitar work on his film soundtracks. Alia Shawkat,who plays his cousin crush in Arrested Development,said he was a scary-good pianist and guitar player.

In a lot of his work on the Web,Cera makes fun of show business. Speaking of which,there was a nerd throwdown conjured by the press between Cera and Jesse Eisenberg,another smart,nervous talker.

I get it a lot, he said. I was in a convenience store one time,and the guy ahead of me goes,Jesse Eisenberg? I went,No. Then he goes,Michael Cera? I was pretty impressed he got it on the second try.