VIDEO: Bizarre Super Bowl ad lands Emmy nomination for Brampton’s Michael Cera

Canadian talent picked up plenty of nominations for the 2024 Emmy Awards, including Brampton’s own Hollywood star Michael Cera for his appearance in an odd and somewhat off-putting Super Bowl commercial.

The nods were announced on Wednesday with Canadian A-listers like Martin Short nominated for his performance in the hit TV series Only Murders in the Building, and Cera’s “The Barbie Movie” co-star Ryan Gosling for his stint hosting “Saturday Night Live,” where he and Mikey Day dressed as the iconic characters from “Beavis and Butt-Head.”

Cera got his nomination for outstanding commercial for his work in a strange Super Bowl ad for skincare brand CeraVe that aired during the game, which featured the actor chatting with a unicorn-dolphin hybrid among other odd visuals.

The surreal commercial sees Cera give himself a massage with the product, asking if “human skin truly be this moisturized?” before climbing a rock face and slathering the cream on the cliff.

Things get even more odd when Cera’s reflection in a funhouse mirror becomes two strapping male models before chatting with a unicorn dolphin, trading complements with the sea creature before promising “all day hydration” with “his” cream.

“I’m Michael Cera, and I’m pleased to announce that this is my cream,” the Brampton film star says in the Super Bowl ad, claiming to be the namesake and creator of the moisturizing lotion.

“The truth has been hiding in plain sight – I am CeraVe.”

While Cera’s real commercial has earned a nomination, fake advertisements promoting cryptocurrency circulated on social media earlier this year with what appears to be a doctored picture of the Brampton-born actor in handcuffs, claiming he is involved in a “scandal.”

Known for his iconic roles in “Superbad” and “Arrested Development,” Cera once upped his Hollywood profile last summer starring alongside Gosling and Mississauga’s Simu Liu as Allan in “The Barbie Movie.”

The Brampton actor recently reprised his title role in “Scott Pilgrim Takes Off,” an anime based on graphic novels by Canadian writer and cartoonist Bryan Lee O’Malley, which also served as the source material for the 2010 cult-classic romantic-action-comedy film.

Other notable Canadians nominated for the 2024 Emmy Awards include Hamilton’s Eugene Levy for best hosted non-fiction series or special for “The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy,” and Montreal’s Kevin O’Leary and Toronto’s Robert Herjavec for best reality show host for their roles on ABC’s “Shark Tank.”

Calgary’s Amber Humphries, who worked on FX’s “Fargo” is nominated in the production design category for an hour-long narrative contemporary program, while Toronto’s Shayne Fox, Jody Clement, Aaron Noel and Kerri Wylie, who worked on “What We Do in the Shadows,” are up for outstanding production design for a half-hour narrative program.

The 76th Emmy Awards will take place on Sept. 15.

– With files from The Canadian Press