Jim Carrey

Actor

• Born: January 17, 1962
• Place of Birth: Newmarket, Ontario, Canada

During the 1990s, comedian Jim Carrey showcased his goofy talents in many films, having opened up the decade by appearing in television’s edgy sketch comedy seriesIn Living Color. Not since Jerry Lewis, Lucille Ball, and Charlie Chaplin had audiences been so entertained by someone so adept at physical comedy.

Drawn at a young age to performing clownishly for his peers, James Eugene Carrey dropped out of high school, moving to Los Angeles in 1979. The 1980s were a time of struggle for the young artist. He appeared in supporting roles in several films and eventually found regular work as a stand-up comedian. In 1990, he joined the cast in the sketch comedy series In Living Color. Immediately his particular brand of exaggerated lunacy became a favorite of many fans. Outrageously funny, Carrey specialized in over-the-top, extreme body and facial movements in his manic antics.

Carrey’s film career took off during the 1990s. He tirelessly threw himself into a rigorous schedule, developing eccentric characters for various films, including Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber in 1994; Batman Forever (playing the Riddler) and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls in 1995; The Cable Guy in 1996; Liar, Liar in 1997; The Truman Show in 1998; and Man on the Moon in 1999. In these last two films, Carrey extended his reach into dramatic roles that earned him two Golden Globe Awards. In The Truman Show, he played a man exploited by the entertainment industry. His uncanny portrayal of the late comedian Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon was critically acclaimed.

In 2000, Carrey played the title role in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which became the second highest-grossing Christmas film of all time. Though the film received mixed reviews, critics generally praised Carrey's performance, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. Carrey next starred in Bruce Almighty (2003), a comedy about an ordinary man who is tapped to stand in for God (Morgan Freeman) while the deity is on vacation. Critical reception was again mixed, but the film was a box office success.

Carrey returned to more dramatic roles with 2004's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, in which he starred opposite Kate Winslet as a man who decides to have his memories of his ex-girlfriend erased. The film received widespread critical acclaim and earned Carrey Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for Best Actor. Later that year, Carrey was inducted into the Canadian Walk of Fame.

Carrey's other notable twenty-first century roles include Horton the elephant in the children's animated film Horton Hears a Who (2008), conman and prison inmate Steven Jay Russell in the critically acclaimed dramedy I Love You Philip Morris (2009), and a reprise of his Dumb and Dumber role in the sequel, Dumb and Dumber To (2014). In 2016, he presented the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy.

In 2018, Carrey began starring in the comedy drama series Kidding, following a children's television show star while his personal life falls apart. After a second season appeared in 2019, Carrey was nominated for two Golden Globes for his role, including for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series—Musical or Comedy. In 2020, Carrey briefly portrayed then-presidential nominee Joe Biden in a series of sketches on Saturday Night Live during the later stages of the 2020 US presidential election. Carrey then appeared as the villainous Dr. Robotnik in the 2020 film adaptation of the iconic video game series Sonic the Hedgehog. He later reprised his role in the 2022 sequel Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Carrey published his first novel, Memoirs and Misinformation, in 2020.

Carrey announced in April 2022 that he was considering his retirement from acting, citing both exhaustion and satisfaction regarding the length and breadth of his career. However, in 2024, he announced that he would reprise his role as the mad scientist in Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

In 1997, People magazine named Carrey one of the fifty most beautiful people in the world. Carrey divorced twice during the 1990s. He has one child, Jane, with his first wife, Melissa. In the late 2010s, Carrey began pursuing painting and, in 2017, he released a short documentary, I Needed Color, highlighting his completed works.

Impact

One of the great comedic actors of the 1990s, Jim Carrey amazed audiences with his flair for physical fun and, late in the decade, with his dramatic performances. He continued to star in a variety of films in the early twenty-first century.

Bibliography

Carrey, Jim, and Ben Stiller. Interview by Judd Apatow. Sick in the Head: Conversations about Life and Comedy. Ed. Judd Apatow. New York: Random House, 2015. Print.

Itzkoff, Dave. "Jim Carrey, Unmasked." The New York Times, 29 Jun. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/books/jim-carrey-memoirs-and-misinformation.html. Accessed 22 May 2024.

Knelman, Martin. Jim Carrey: The Joker Is Wild. Buffalo: Firefly, 2000. Print.

Lammers, Tim. "Jeff Daniels Says He’ll Be ‘Listening’ Should Jim Carrey Call Him About Reuniting For Another Film." Forbes, 21 Mar. 2024, www.forbes.com/sites/timlammers/2024/03/21/jeff-daniels-says-hed-be-listening-should-jim-carrey-call-him-about-acting-together-again/?sh=295db9b92b06. Accessed 22 May 2024.

Trakin, Roy. Jim Carrey: Unmasked! New York: St. Martin’s, 1995. Print.