Michael Cera Was Almost in Harry Potter Spinoff Fantastic Beasts

At one point in his career, Michael Cera preferred to keep his mischief closely managed.

The Phoenician Scheme star recently revealed that he once had the opportunity to join the Harry Potter franchise with a role in the prequel spinoff Fantastic Beasts, though he turned it down out of a desire to keep things like they were.

“I don’t even know if I was offered, I think I just declined to engage with it because I think it would be like probably six years commitment or something,” he said during an appearance on the June 26 episode of the Louis Theroux Podcast. “But also, I did sort of make a conscientious choice to limit my exposure a little bit or just try and be a little more in control of it.”

He explained, “I felt like doing, especially little kids’ movies, I had a big fear of doing things that I would get too famous.”

Since then, the 37-year-old—who throughout his career has starred in many fan-favorite movies and shows such as Juno, Superbad and Arrested Development—has seen his perception of his place in Hollywood has changed.