Michael Cera reveals what surprised him about 'The Phoenician Scheme'

The Phoenician Scheme star Michael Cera was surprised to find out his character lasted throughout the film.

When Cera got the script for the Wes Anderson film, he didn’t expect to be in the entire film.

"The biggest surprise — when Wes sent me the script — I didn't expect to be along for the whole ride," he told Entertainment Weekly. "And that was thrilling to get to watch Wes basically make this whole movie."

The film also stars Benicio del Toro and Mia Threapleton in major roles, and Cera found it "very fulfilling" to work with the duo.

"To collaborate with people like Wes and Benicio and Mia and watch them do their thing and watch the movie come together, it's very gratifying," he gushed. "It was nice to be along for the whole production with them."

For his first collaboration with the famed filmmaker, the Year One actor did his best to do justice to the material.

"You just get one chance to make this movie, and want to make sure you deliver on the great material that Wes has created," he said.

"It's really good material. I think that's the challenge in a way: You just want to make sure you nail it. But working with Wes, you work away at it until you do feel good. He's very relentless in that pursuit. So then you feel confident as an actor that you're going to get it. You're working with someone that's not going to move on until it's in there," Michael Cera added.

The Phoenician Scheme is now in theaters.