It turns out that Michael Cera and Alia Shawkat were not faking their affection for each other on “Arrested Development” and are actually good friends off set. In a 2017 interview with the Guardian, Shawkat said, “I used to go to parties when I was 14 or 15 with Michael Cera … we would just drink cranberry juice and make fun of everybody the whole time, doing pranks in the corner.” In another interview in early 2022 with The New Yorker, Alia Shawkat reflected on her time playing Maeby in the series. Shawkat said, “So much of it was amazing. Michael Cera is still one of my best friends.”
Of course, a friendship is different from a romantically-fraught relationship between cousins who grew up together, so the actors still had to do their fair share of acting out for their characters’ bizarre emotions. Still, it certainly helps to know each other well enough to develop on-screen chemistry, and it also helps to like each other.
Cera and Shawkat are not the only actors from the comedy series who are friends outside of work. Jason Bateman and Will Arnett from “Arrested Development” are friends in real life, as well, which likely contributes to the strength of their hilarious brotherly relationship on camera.
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