- Michael Cera spoke about his 2013 film "This Is the End" with GQ.
- Cera said it was "great" when Rihanna slapped him during one scene.
Michael Cera reflected on being slapped by Rihanna while filming the 2013 film "This Is the End."
During a video interview with GQ published Wednesday, Cera shared details about the moment while discussing several of his previous films.
In the movie, Cera plays a fictionalized version of himself at a star-studded housewarming party that happens to take place during a series of apocalyptic events in Los Angeles.
While there, Cera smacks Rihanna on the behind — prompting her to slap him across the face. The wild scene became a stand-out moment in the film.
"She definitely hit me," Cera told GQ. "But I wanted that. I think it's a lot funnier and a lot more convincing. A fake slap just doesn't look good, so she hit me hard."
He added, "Yeah, she really sent me flying, and it was great. And now it's on film forever, this pain that I experienced."
During a June interview with Rolling Stone, Cera also touched on the topic, saying it didn't take much to convince Rihanna to slap him.
"I thought it would look a lot better if she hit me. I don't think it took much convincing to get her to do it," he said. "I definitely did not regret it! I was into it."
Seth Rogen — who wrote, directed, and starred in the film — said Rihanna slapped Cera so hard that it messed with his equilibrium.
"In the script, Michael Cera slaps Rihanna's ass, and she doesn't hit him back in the script, but he asked her, 'Can I slap your ass for real?'" Rogen said during a June 2013 appearance on "Sway In The Morning."
"And she said, 'You can slap my ass for real if I can slap you back in the face for real,'" Rogen continued.
Rogen said they did the scene a few times before striking gold.
"We did it like three or four times, and on the fourth time, she, like, smacked the fucking shit out of him so hard. She cupped his ear and actually whacked out his equilibrium, and he had to go lay down in his trailer for around half an hour," he said. "But that's the take we used in the movie, we didn't add any sound to that or anything."
More recently, Cera starred as Allan in Greta Gerwig's blockbuster film "Barbie." According to Variety, the film surpassed $1 billion at the global box office this month.