Michael Cera has had anything but a predictable career.

After breaking through on “Arrested Development,” the 29-year-old has starred in everything from the teen rom-com “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” to big budget films like “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” Now he’s starring in “Person to Person,” a New York-set indie from director Dustin Guy Defa that also stars Abbi Jacobson and Tavi Gevinson. In the film, which hits theaters Friday, Cera plays a bumbling crime reporter trying to impress a new trainee, played by Jacobson.

Page Six recently caught up with the actor.

How would you describe your character in “Person to Person,” Phil, a crime reporter at a New York tabloid?

He’s a lonely person, which is kind of obvious by the end of the movie. He’s devoted to his work but maybe doesn’t have any joy in his life and he’s kind of unsure how to grab it. I like the way that he unfolds as a character. He starts off in sort of a powerful position that he puts himself in or attempts to be in and then he sort of unravels by the time the movie’s over.

What do you think being a reporter is really like?

It seems hard. It seems like he’s working his ass off and then he can’t really even get a story on the front page of this newspaper. Clearly, it’s a very unrewarding slog and it’s breaking him down.

What was it like working alongside Abbi?

It was nice! I had a great time with Abbi. I had not met her before this. Oh no, I’m sorry. I had met her once but we had never worked together.

You seem to have very natural chemistry with one another.

It serves the story. In the story, we’re two people who are just meeting, so it’s kind of helpful. We didn’t have to challenge things to create that dynamic. We just kind of got to know each other throughout these scenes while getting to know each other so it all kind of worked.

How was it being part of an ensemble cast?

I loved it. I got to have one conversation with Philip Baker Hall, which was great. A real highlight for me was just hanging out between scenes and getting to know him. He was an incredibly sweet guy when I talked to him.

I got a chance to meet and spend time with Bene Coopersmith who plays Bene … He gave me a tip that there’s this shop somewhere down in Chinatown where you just walk in and there’s a counter and then you buy a big bag of frozen dumplings. So if you get one of these for the winter, you can live through the winter on them.

What else do you have in the works?

We’re about to do more episodes of “Arrested Development” which is going to take us through to the end of the year. It’s exciting. I’m curious how it will feel. I was 14 when I worked with all of these guys. [Creator] Mitch Hurwitz is a very big figure in my life because of that. It’s a great thing to work with him now that I’m 29.

This interview has been edited and condensed.