Michael Cera personally emailed Greta Gerwig for role as Allan in Barbie

Michael Cera recently thrilled fans with his portrayal of the awkward and shy doll Allan in the hit film, Barbie. 

And now the Canadian actor, 35, has revealed he was so keen to score a role in the movie that he personally emailed director Greta Gerwig, 40, for a part.

Speaking to GQ, Cera said he took matters into his own hands after his manager almost turned down the opportunity when speaking to casting agents.

For a daily dose of 9Honey, subscribe to our newsletter here

READ MORE: Surprise detail from Jen Aniston and Brad Pitt’s wedding emerges

“My manager got a call checking on my availability for it, and he called me and he said, ‘I got a call about this movie. It’s the Barbie movie. Greta Gerwig’s directing it, and it’s filming in London for four months of something, so I told them you probably wouldn’t want to to do it because you probably don’t want to go to London,'” Cera explained in a clip.

Stunning celebrity looks at Barbie’s Australia premieres

He said he was so shocked at what he heard he decided to contact Gerwig directly himself.

“I was like, ‘What! What do you mean? Call them back!’ He didn’t like blow it or anything, but he’s like, ‘I managed their expectations that you might not want to do it.’ I was like, ‘How can I not do it? I need to do it!'”

READ MORE: Star quits show after bombshell affair with co-star exposed

“I somehow got Greta’s email address, I think through a common friend of ours, and I emailed her like, ‘Can I be in it? Can I do that part?'” Cera said.

Cera said Gerwig immediately replied and the eventually got onto a Zoom call.

“And she was like, ‘Let’s get on a Zoom right now. Here’s a Zoom link, I’ll be on there for the next hour.’ So she was just hanging out on the Zoom, like, ‘Click the link whenever you’re ready.’ And then we talked about it, and it just all happened really fast from there,” he said.

He added: “It feels like the right time to have a Barbie movie. It was fun [on set].”

Barbie has already grossed a whopping U$1.18 billion and counting globally since it was released on July 20.

It stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, as well as actors John Cena and America Ferrera.

Only 53 movies have made it to that incredible $US1 billion mark in modern box office history, a feat that Barbie has achieved in just a few short weeks.

The film has secured its place as the second highest-grossing Warner Bros. film in history, only second to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.

According to Variety, Margot Robbie is set to make millions for her work on and off-screen as a producer on Barbie.

Three individuals with knowledge of Robbie’s deal told Variety that the actress is set to make $50 million (approx. $77 million) in salary and box office bonuses.