The Grinch is feeling very merry by the end of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," but Jim Carrey wasn't quite feeling the same way. Here's how Carrey's fuzziest role was also one of his most painful.
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00:00The Grinch is feeling very merry by the end of How the Grinch Stole Christmas,
00:04but Jim Carrey wasn't quite feeling the same way.
00:07Here's how Carrey's fuzziest role was also one of his most painful.
00:11How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a holiday viewing tradition for countless families.
00:15The redemption of Jim Carrey's mean, green, Christmas-hating monster
00:18is a tale that can make even the most stoic person's heart grow three sizes.
00:22The experience of making the movie understandably changed the life of its star forever,
00:27but not necessarily in a good way.
00:29Jim Carrey was already a popular actor when he agreed to star in How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
00:33Films like Dumb and Dumber, Ace Ventura, and Liar Liar established him as one of
00:37Hollywood's most popular funnymen at the time, with a knack for outrageous faces and voices.
00:41How the Grinch Stole Christmas was a change of pace,
00:44mainly because the role required him to hide behind layers of monster makeup.
00:48Still, he jumped at the chance to portray such an iconic character. As he told Empire,
00:52It's one of those things that you just can't say no to. And for me,
00:55The Grinch is about change of heart. And that's what's important to me about this tale,
01:00that even the most surly human being can be broken by Christmas.
01:04Not healthy! I'm feeling…
01:12Carrey even gained the support of Dr. Seuss' widow, Audrey Geisel,
01:15who wanted him to play the Grinch after learning about his method acting in the biopic Man on the
01:19Moon. It seemed like everything was perfectly positioned to bring the Grinch into live action,
01:24but it didn't take long until all of the excitement turned into chaos behind the scenes.
01:29Filming was a grueling and transformative experience for Carrey. The makeup process
01:32was especially brutal, as he had to sit in a chair for hours, which was uncomfortable
01:37and made him difficult to be around. Carrey equated the experience to being buried alive,
01:42so an actual CIA instructor was brought in to teach Carrey coping mechanisms for dealing with
01:47torture. Carrey would also go missing from the set seemingly at random,
01:51which delayed the production and created more headaches for everyone involved.
01:55Reflecting on the experience and his behavior, the actor revealed on The Graham Norton Show
01:59that his drug addiction made him act unprofessional at times. As he put it,
02:03I couldn't really enjoy it because I was stoned. Back then, all I ever cared about was my next fix.
02:09I guess I could use a little social interaction.
02:13Unfortunately, Carrey wasn't the only person who suffered on the set.
02:17The actor's attitude was so poor that the film's Oscar-winning makeup artist,
02:20Kazuhiro Tsuji, took a leave of absence because he needed a break from all the negativity.
02:25Tsuji eventually returned to find that Carrey's attitude had improved significantly,
02:29but the experience still motivated the makeup artist to seek out therapy afterward.
02:33How the Grinch Stole Christmas was released in 2000, ending what many considered the golden era
02:37of Carrey's comedic career. While the actor would never again experience a year as good as his 1994,
02:43which saw the releases of Ace Ventura, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber, he still received plenty of
02:48critical acclaim for Bruce Almighty in 2003 and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in 2004.
02:53Despite the love that the latter film received at the Oscars, the post-Grinch years saw Carrey
02:57starting to question his place in the industry and the true meaning of his career. He told Film
03:02Threat in 2001,
03:04There is definitely a feeling of, is what I'm doing worthwhile? Are people being touched?
03:08Is it making any difference at all? Am I serving somebody? You don't want to end up at the end
03:13going, what I did was all for me, and that's it. That's a huge concept I'm dealing with.
03:17Carrey isn't as prolific as he was in the 90s, and that's by choice. It seems that he's become
03:23disillusioned with fame and feels like he has nothing left to prove after all that he's accomplished.
03:28In 2022, Carrey shared sad news with fans following his role in Sonic the Hedgehog 2,
03:32revealing that he was stepping away from Hollywood indefinitely. At the time,
03:36the actor claimed that he was serious about retiring from the spotlight,
03:39but left the door open to appearing in projects that excited him.
03:43So what excites Jim Carrey? Apparently, more Sonic.
03:46Carrey will not only be returning as Dr. Evo Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog 3,
03:50but he's also portraying the mad scientist's father, Gerald.
03:53Carrey is also slated to star in Evergreen Pines and the Fading Summer,
03:56which tells the story of a middle-aged man who goes in search of a mystical creature.
04:00Fans can rest assured knowing that they'll get to see the comedy legend in at least a
04:04couple more movies before he calls it quits for good.