Line #31 Creator/JimCarrey


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8	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jim_carrey_4.jpg]]
9	[[caption-width-right:350:"[[Film/AceVentura Allllll-righty then!]]"]]
10
11	->"''My focus is to forget the pain of life. Forget the pain, mock the pain, reduce it. And laugh.''"
12
13	James Eugene Carrey (born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-born actor known for his comic prowess, supported by a colorful personality, a moldable face and an affinity for energetic {{slapstick}} performances, although he's also earned considerable acclaim in [[TomHanksSyndrome serious dramatic roles]].
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15	Born in Newmarket, Ontario, Carrey launched his career as a comic in the late 1970s as a celebrity impressionist. He moved into acting in the mid-1980s, most notably in the short-lived sitcom ''Series/TheDuckFactory'', but -- after expanding his stage act beyond impressions by adding eccentric observational humor and commentary -- came to attention as a cast member on ''Series/InLivingColor''.
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17	Serving as the cast's TokenWhite male, he more than managed to hold his own with several popular sketch characters, including mannish bodybuilder Vera [=DeMilo=]; Fire Marshal Bill Burns, a masochistic, cartoonishly destructive fire marshal hired to teach people fire safety (with disastrous results), whether or not he's somewhere where fire safety is needed; and Grandpa Jack [=McGee=], the depressed, divorced, alcoholic host of ''The Dysfunctional Home Show''. Some notable celebrity impressions he did for the show include Creator/PaulReubens (as Pee-Wee Herman), Music/VanillaIce, Creator/TomHanks (in a parody of the movie ''Film/{{Philadelphia}}''), Sgt. Stacey Koon (from the infamous Rodney King beating trial in the early 1990s), UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush, UsefulNotes/BillClinton, and Music/MichaelBolton.
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19	When the small-scale film ''Film/AceVentura: Pet Detective'' arrived on theater screens in early 1994, it was roasted by critics but proved to be a surprisingly big hit. As it happened, he did two other hit movies that year (''Film/TheMask'' and ''Film/DumbAndDumber'') and was soon an A-list performer -- the first big film comedy star of the 1990s, and ultimately the biggest.
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21	Carrey has played many classic characters, and his involvement in a movie will often be a success -- so successful, any subsequent films and series usually suffer from his absence, as he rarely makes sequels to his own films. He developed a distaste for playing the same characters again and again on ''In Living Color''; the only reason he did the ''Ace Ventura'' sequel was due to contract reasons, and so thoroughly detested working on it that he openly declared he would never do a sequel again. In 1995, he even turned down a $10 million paycheck--which would have set a record, at the time, for the highest sum ever offered to a single actor--to reprise his role as Stanley Ipkiss in ''The Mask 2''. He held to this until 2014's ''Dumb and Dumber To'', re-teaming with Creator/JeffDaniels and the Farrelly brothers. (He ''was'' interested in reprising the role of Count Olaf for a sequel to 2004's ''Film/{{A Series of Unfortunate Events\|2004}}'', but the film did not do well enough at the box office to warrant such.) He broke his rule again in 2022 by reprising his role of Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik for ''Film/{{Sonic the Hedgehog 2\|2022}}'' and again for the [[Film/SonicTheHedgehog3 third installment in the trilogy]].
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23	Starting with ''Film/TheTrumanShow'' (at least as an A-lister), he's also appeared in more dramatic fare, with ''Film/EternalSunshineOfTheSpotlessMind'' probably containing his most lauded serious role. Nowadays, he's well-respected for his total acting range as in the Showtime {{Dramedy}} ''Series/{{Kidding}}'', which ran two seasons.
24
25	In his youth, Carrey's family struggled with poverty after his father Percy lost his job as an accountant; for a time, they were even homeless. Nonetheless, his parents were supportive of his show business ambitions (in part because Percy gave up a potential career as a saxophonist for the more "stable" accountancy job). In his early days performing standup comedy, Carrey reportedly wrote himself a check for almost $1 million and promised himself that he would, one day, be worth enough to legally cash it. That promise was fulfilled as his star rose in 1994; by ''Dumb and Dumber'', he had already earned several times more than the check itself was worth. When his father died that year, he put the check he wrote to himself in his father's casket.[[note]]Other stories contend he was more ambitious still, writing a ''$10 million'' check to himself when he was '''ten years old''', postdated 1995. Either way, that hope also came to pass as true![[/note]]
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27	He's often dubbed by Creator/MarioCastaneda and Creator/GerardoReyero for Latin American Spanish releases of his films and by Creator/EmmanuelCurtil in French. In Japanese dubs, he's often voiced by Creator/KoichiYamadera.
28	----
29	!![[AC:Roles of Note:]]
30	* ''Series/TheDuckFactory'' (1984): Skip Tarkenton (First regular TV role)
31	* ''Film/OnceBitten'' (1985): Mark Kendall (First lead role in a film)
32	* ''Film/PeggySueGotMarried'' (1986): Walter Getz
33	* ''Film/EarthGirlsAreEasy'' (1988): Wiploc
34	* ''Film/PinkCadillac'' (1989): Lounge Singer
35	* ''Series/InLivingColor'' (1990–1994): Vera [=DeMilo=], Fire Marshall Bill Burns, Grandpa Jack [=McGee=], Background Guy, etc.
36	* ''Film/DoingTimeOnMapleDrive'' (1992): Tim Carter
37	* ''Film/AceVentura'' series (1994, 1995): Ace Ventura (First and second films -- a rarity, as noted above)
38	* ''Film/TheMask'' (1994): Stanley Ipkiss/The Mask (Aka Big Head) (First film of franchise)
39	* ''Film/DumbAndDumber'' (1994): Lloyd Christmas (First and third films of franchise)
40	** ''Film/DumbAndDumberTo'' (2014)
41	* ''Film/BatmanForever'' (1995): Edward Nygma/The Riddler (Third film of franchise)
42	* ''Film/TheCableGuy'' (1996): Chip Douglas
43	* ''Film/LiarLiar'' (1997): Fletcher Reede
44	* ''Film/TheTrumanShow'' (1998): Truman Burbank (Won the Golden Globe for Best Actor -- Drama)
45	* ''Film/ManOnTheMoon'' (1999): Creator/AndyKaufman[=/=][[AlterEgoActing Tony Clifton]] (Won the Golden Globe for Best Actor -- Comedy)
46	* ''Film/MeMyselfAndIrene'' (2000): Charlie Baileygates/Hank Evans
47	* ''Film/{{How the Grinch Stole Christmas\|2000}}'' (2000): The Grinch
48	* ''Film/TheMajestic'' (2001): Peter Appleton (His first truly against-type role, though Truman and Kaufman hinted towards it)
49	* ''Film/BruceAlmighty'' (2003): Bruce Nolan (First film of franchise)
50	* ''Film/EternalSunshineOfTheSpotlessMind'' (2004): Joel Barish
51	* ''Lemony Snicket's Film/{{A Series of Unfortunate Events\|2004}}'' (2004): Count Olaf
52	* ''Film/FunWithDickAndJane'' (2005 remake): Dick Harper
53	* ''Film/TheNumber23'' (2007): Walter Sparrow/Fingerling
54	* ''[[WesternAnimation/HortonHearsAWho2008 Horton Hears a Who!]]'' (2008): Horton (His second Dr. Seuss film)
55	* ''Film/YesMan'' (2008): Carl Allen
56	* ''WesternAnimation/{{A Christmas Carol\|2009}}'' (2009): Ebenezer Scrooge '''[[ActingForTwo and]]''' the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come (all via MotionCapture)
57	* ''Film/ILoveYouPhillipMorris'' (2010): Steven Russell
58	* ''Film/MrPoppersPenguins'' (2011): Tom Popper
59	* ''Film/TheIncredibleBurtWonderstone'' (2013): Steve Gray
60	* ''Film/KickAss2'' (2013): Colonel Stars and Stripes
61	* ''Film/Anchorman2TheLegendContinues'' (2013): CBC News Anchor Scott Riles (uncredited)
62	* ''The Bad Batch'' (2016): The Hermit
63	* ''Dark Crimes'' (2016): Tadek (A psychological thriller where he not only plays a straight role but uses a Polish accent as TranslationConvention)
64	* ''Series/{{Kidding}}'' (2018–2020): Jeff Piccirillo/Mr. Pickles
65	* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehogFilmSeries'': [[Characters/SonicTheHedgehogFilmSeriesDrRobotnik Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik]]
66	** ''Film/{{Sonic the Hedgehog\|2020}}'' (2020)
67	** ''Film/{{Sonic the Hedgehog 2\|2022}}'' (2022)
68	** ''Sonic the Hedgehog 3'' (2024)
69	* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'': UsefulNotes/JoeBiden (A recurring guest role in the first half of Season 46, during the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign that pitted Biden against Creator/DonaldTrump. Prior to this, Carrey hosted the show in 1996, 2011, and 2014, made a surprise appearance with musical guest Music/{{Soundgarden}} in 2003, and participated in the show's 40th anniversary special in 2015.)
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71	!!Other works of note:
72	* ''Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond'' (2017): A retrospective documentary of the intense more-than-MethodActing he did for ''Film/ManOnTheMoon''.
73	* ''Memoirs and Misinformation'' (2020): An autofictional (re: heavily, ''heavily'' fictionalized memoir) SurrealHumor novel written with Dana Vachon.
74	* ''Dawn FM'' (2022): For this ConceptAlbum by Music/TheWeeknd he plays [[TheFerryman the DJ]] who appears on three numbers: the title track (which leads directly into "Gasoline" and is included in the video for "Sacrifice"), "Out of Time", and the closing track "Phantom Regret by Jim" (which features him reciting an original poem). He also appears onscreen in the music video for "Out of Time".
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76	!!Tropes associated with his roles:
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78	%% As with all Creator/ pages, trivia tropes about the creator specifically are to be posted here,
79	%% not a Trivia/ page, as they technically are InUniverse in the case of the person's career.
80	%% However: As with all Creator/ pages, items that could go on a specific work's trivia page go there, not here.
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82	* AdamWesting: He's often poked fun at his goofy LargeHam reputation.
83	** From ''Batman Forever'': "Was that over the top? I can never tell!"
84	** In his first ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' appearance (1996), the ''Creator/JoePesci Show'' skit he appeared in had him playing Creator/JimmyStewart... while [[Series/TheKidsInTheHall Mark McKinney]] played Jim Carrey. "Stewart" is appalled by "Carrey" ("Smoke a lot of dope, do you son?") and mocks him as a diva:
85	--->'''"Jimmy Stewart":''' Hello, I'm Jim Carrey! I'll do ANYTHING for a laugh! I need attention twenty-four hours a day! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! ''''[brays like a donkey]''
86	** When he presented an Oscar in 1997, he envisioned himself being used in [[TheDeadRiseToAdvertise commercials after his death]], making fun of a then-current Trident slogan: "Who wants gum? (''turns around and starts talking out of his butt'') I do! I do!"
87	** When he didn't get an Oscar nomination for ''The Truman Show'', he still agreed to present an award. He pretended to break down into self-pitying tears during his intro. He was asked to participate in a gag the following year during Billy Crystal's opening film montage segment to poke fun at not being nominated for ''Man on the Moon'', but declined.
88	** In ''Liar Liar'', there's a scene where Carrey's five-year-old son has discovered that his father can't lie, and is asking Carrey if various parenting clichés are true. The last one is:
89	--->'''Max:''' If I keep making this face ''[makes a face]'', will it get stuck that way?\
90	'''Fletcher:''' Not in a million years. In fact, some people make a good living that way.
91	** During the HilariousOuttakes, the opposing lawyer (Swoosie Kurtz) he's trading insults with screams "Overactor!" (after being prompted to as a joke by the director). He laughs and says "Oh no. They're on to me," after playfully pretending to choke her.
92	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7StsXTQhYs This clip]] from ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is ostensibly from a {{Biopic}} with Carrey playing Conan (this was when ''Man on the Moon'' was new), and Carrey's Conan acts as if he holds a grudge against the actual Jim Carrey. At the three-minute mark, Carrey/Conan makes fun of the facial contortions and catchphrases of Ace Ventura and The Mask.
93	** In ''Series/ThirtyRock'', the episode "Leap Day" shows him playing the lead in ''Leap Dave Williams'', a fictional film with a plot not unlike his more family-friendly [[TheEveryman Everyman]] fare: Overworked businessman Dave Williams finds himself transforming into the mythical Leap Day William, a [[HumanoidAbomination fish person who lives at the bottom of the Marianas Trench]] that emerges every Leap Day to give candy to crying children.
94	** From his own website:
95	--->''Oh great and powerful creator, how can I distinguish myself from other actors? [[{{beat}} ...]]talk out of my what?''
96	** ''Memoirs and Misinformation'' is basically ''Adam Westing: The Novel''. For instance, "Carrey" goes full MethodActing while preparing for the prospective role of Mao Zedong's ghost inhabiting his body (it's a Creator/CharlieKaufman screenplay, natch), while bristling at his agents who are trying to convince him to star in a Disney movie based on the Play-Doh Fun Factory toy.
97	* AdvertisedExtra: After the success of ''Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'', some of his earliest films were given home video releases which emphasized his involvement.
98	** In his first released film, ''Introducing... Janet'', Carrey was the co-star, and didn't come in until about 10 minutes, the film really being about the titular Janet. It came to home video in 1995, retitled ''Film/{{Rubberface}}'', with Carrey being the only person on the cover and the only name above the title, and the description on the box made it seem as if he was the protagonist.
99	** The first film Jim Carrey did (which got released a few years after ''Introducing... Janet'') was ''All in Good Taste'', in which he only appears briefly and has no dialogue. Home video releases have him in the main image on the cover and his name above the title as if he is the star.
100	** After Carrey hit it big in 1994, the 1992 film ''High Strung'' was rereleased in theaters before getting a home video release, putting Jim Carrey on the cover, including a line from a review saying "Jim Carrey is funnier than he was in Ace Ventura", and the description talking about his involvement. While he has an important role in the film, he only appears in the film for about five minutes.
101	* AnimatedAdaptation: His first [[Film/AceVentura three]] [[Film/TheMask hit]] [[Film/DumbAndDumber movies]] were all turned into Saturday morning cartoons in the mid-90s. Note that all of those movies were rated PG-13, resulting in the adaptations having more family-friendly jokes while retaining all of the wacky characteristics.
102	* BlackComedy: ''The Cable Guy'', in which his character turns out to be a stalker.
103	** ''Me, Myself and Irene'' features him as a cop with a split personality.
104	** ''Fun with Dick and Jane'' is about an upper-class couple forced to start robbing banks, etc. to make ends meet.
105	** Much of the humor in the {{Dramedy}} ''Kidding'' is this trope; for instance, his character -- an idealistic children's show host whose life is falling apart -- becomes obsessed with playing an unauthorized mobile phone game that allows the player to shoot his show's puppet characters with a rifle as a means of letting off stress.
106	* BusCrash: The reason he never appeared in sequels to the films he starred in, though he did star in the second ''Ace Ventura'' film as well as, eventually, the third ''Dumb and Dumber'' film.
107	* CareerResurrection: Carrey had a rough time of it in TheNewTens. His relationship with anti-autism pseudoscience promoter Jenny [=McCarthy=] was problematic to say the least, and then there was 2014's ''Film/DumbAndDumberTo'', the sequel to ''Film/DumbAndDumber''. Due to various legal issues surrounding that film against the crew responsible for making it, it was the end of Carrey's reign as a box office heavyweight (and he was the biggest for a time). For a few years he was mainly in small arthouse releases and direct-to-video fare, and doing controversial paintings critical of various right-wing political figures, including then-President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump. He also suffered from depression, exacerbated by the suicide of an ex-girlfriend. Slowly but surely he recovered: ''Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond'', a documentary about his experiences on ''Film/ManOnTheMoon'', was acclaimed, he had a critical success with ''Series/{{Kidding}}'', and finally playing Dr. Robotnik in ''Film/{{Sonic the Hedgehog\|2020}}'' gave him his first big movie -- and a hit at that -- in years. From there he not only had another hit with [[Film/SonicTheHedgehog22022 the sequel]] but had success as a novelist with ''Memoirs and Misinformation'', went viral with his limited-time stint on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' as Joe Biden, and appeared to great acclaim on Music/TheWeeknd's ''Dawn FM''.
108	* TheCastShowoff: In quite a few of his films and shows, he's gotten the chance to show off either of his pretty impressive singing or dancing skills, and sometimes both. A few memorable examples being ''Film/OnceBitten'', ''Film/TheMask'', ''Film/TheCableGuy'', ''Film/ManOnTheMoon'' (in which he sings, dances, ''and'' plays conga drums, affecting multiple character voices to boot), ''Film/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'', ''Film/YesMan'' (for which he learned to play both the guitar and ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution''), and ''Series/{{Kidding}}'' (which had TWO {{Musical Episode}}s).
109	* CharacterCatchphrase: Many, especially when he became an A-list star. ''WesternAnimation/CloseEnough'' did an entire episode ("The Canine Guy") invoking his most quotable films.
110	** "Alrighty then!" (A catchphrase of his stand-up comedy that was written into ''Ace Ventura'')
111	*** Ace Ventura often shows himself or others out with a quick "Take care now, bye-bye then!"
112	** "Lemme show ya somethin'!" (''In Living Color!'')
113	** "Sssssssssssmokin'!" (''The Mask'')
114	** "Sssssssomebody stop me!" (''The Mask'')
115	** "B-E-A-Utiful!" (''Bruce Almighty'')
116	** "[[Radio/TheLoneRanger Hi-ho Silver! Away!]]" (He says this in both ''Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls'' and ''Bruce Almighty'', despite playing a different character in each.)
117	** "And in case I don't see ya -- good afternoon, good evening, and good night!" (''The Truman Show'')
118	** "Yeah-bsolutely!" (''Mr. Popper's Penguins'')
119	** "See you at the bottom!" (''Kidding'')
120	** ''Man on the Moon'' takes an askew glance at the trope. Latka, Andy Kaufman's ''Taxi'' character (adapted from his stage act), has "Tank you veddy much" as his catchphrase. The montage of his work on the show ends with a FullyAutomaticClipShow of him saying that, implying that -- at least to Andy -- his character isn't much more than it.
121	** In his first ''Saturday Night Live'' appearance, [[http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/jim-carrey-monologue/n10866/ he tries to do his opening monologue in character as an alien]] but ends up placating an unhappy "audience member" who just wanted to hear his catchphrases -- namely the first three listed above.
122	*** During the Cold Open after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 Presidential election, Carrey made his final appearance as Biden, attempting to be a gracious winner, but finally saying: "In every election, there has to be a winner, and... a [[Film/AceVentura LA-HOO-SUH-HERRRRRRR!]]" to raucous applause (and causing Creator/MayaRudolph to visibly [[{{Corpsing}} corpse]]).
123	* ChewingTheScenery: Along with Creator/RobinWilliams, Carrey was ''the'' comic actor best known for over-the-top, rapid-fire, scene-stealing humor in TheNineties.
124	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: A master of this. Even a lot of his more grounded, "everyman" type characters tend to have their heads in the clouds.
125	* CoveredInGunge: He got slimed during the 2003 and 2011 [[UsefulNotes/KidsChoiceAward Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards]].
126	* CreatorBacklash:
127	** Carrey was so displeased with ''Film/AceVenturaWhenNatureCalls'' that he swore off doing any sequels until ''Film/DumbAndDumberTo'' nineteen years later.
128	** After the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School drastically affected his stance on gun control in America, he opted not to help promote ''Film/Kickass2'', a film released mere months after the tragedy and which features a lot of gun violence.
129	* DeadpanSnarker: When he's not a LargeHam, he's this.
130	* TheEveryman: Truman Burbank is specifically raised to be this trope in ''The Truman Show''. Peter Appleton, Bruce Nolan, Dick Harper, Carl Allen, and Tom Popper "naturally" qualify, and the events of their stories involve outside forces turning their lives upside down.
131	* FaceFault: He pulled it off ''in live-action'' in the film ''Liar Liar''. After a long sequence of hiding from high-end executive types, he runs into the last person he wants to see, shouts ''"God in Heaven!"'' and collapses to the ground. He is probably the only person who will ever be able to pull off a FaceFault without it looking totally forced/awkward/just kind of stupid.
132	* FakeAmerican: He's actually from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada (that's in Greater UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}}), though he is a naturalized American with dual citizenship.
133	* HarpoDoesSomethingFunny: He cannot be scripted. He cannot be directed. ''He can only be aimed.'' In an interview during the making of ''Film/MeMyselfAndIrene'' he said, "It's amazing how blank a script will be. It just says 'Jim does something funny.'" Several of his directors (such as Creator/JoelSchumacher and Creator/RonHoward) note that Carrey's perfectly capable of staying on script, but he ''heavily'' prepares for roles and brings his own ideas to enhance them, with their permission and with his willingness to do as many takes of a scene as needed. For the scene in which Fletcher beats himself up in a bathroom in ''Film/LiarLiar'', Carrey, upon being shown the set he would be working with, gave it a thorough analysis and and then told director Tom Shadyac exactly what he would be doing and in what order, down to where padding and the like would be needed for specific pieces of the set.
134	* HeCleansUpNicely: Due to his smarmy, rubber-face persona, it is easy to forget that he is a tall, dashing man. It is more evident in his {{Dramedy}} and straight drama roles -- but it was also a factor in his being cast in ''Film/TheMask''. As director Charles Russell discusses on the Blu-Ray commentary track, he was familiar with Carrey's stand-up and sketch comedy work before seeing him on a talk show and, realizing how attractive he actually was, saw potential in casting him as a character who was both zany ''and'' a credible romantic lead.
135	* HilariousOuttakes: ''Liar Liar'' and ''Bruce Almighty'' run them over their respective end credits (the latter has additional outtakes on its DVD), the ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' DVD has an outtakes reel as a bonus feature, and before any of those was the ''In Living Color'' bloopers episode, where one montage focused just on [[{{Corpsing}} him getting the giggles during various skits]].
136	** Apparently, there's about 2 hours worth of footage of him from ''Fun with Dick and Jane'' torturing Jeff Garlin with a voice modifier though no footage has been released in full.
137	* TheHyena: Carrey's characters tend to have a smarmy, nasal laugh. He added a variation in ''Film/MeMyselfAndIrene'' by making Hank give a chuckle so raspy it sounded like a dog panting.
138	* LargeHam: He has a folder under Film at the trope entry for a reason -- and it was originally the first one, at that. Think Creator/JackLemmon turned up to eleven. There's an image somewhere on the Internet of various expressions he's made juxtaposed with various memes and the uncanny resemblance he has to them.
139	* LeslieNielsenSyndrome: Some of his highest-profile pre-fame roles, done while he was gaining notoriety as a standup comedian, were the {{Dramedy}} ''Film/PeggySueGotMarried'', two Creator/ClintEastwood action flicks (''Film/TheDeadPool'' and ''Pink Cadillac''), and the TV movie drama ''Doing Time on Maple Drive''. Anyone who has paid attention to his career laughs at people who were amazed at Carrey's ability to do drama in later roles, because they'd known for decades!
140	* LostInCharacter: An infamous case with ''Film/ManOnTheMoon''. To portray the film's subject, Creator/AndyKaufman, Carrey utilized a version of MethodActing by staying in-character as Kaufman for the entirety of the shoot; that is to say, whether the cameras were rolling or not. He effectively let Kaufman's persona take over his own for a few months, to the point where not only does he [[IdentityAmnesia not remember a single thing he did during this period]], but he also attributes his actions when in-character to Kaufman to this very day. When production wrapped up and Carrey could finally drop the Kaufman persona, he was so mentally exhausted that he felt like an EmptyShell of his former self and understandably declined to appear as Kaufman in the music video for Music/{{REM}}'s "The Great Beyond". It's possible some of his stranger/more controversial antics post-''Man on the Moon'' stem in part from the sheer degree to which the Kaufman persona destroyed his old state of mind...but Carrey doesn't exactly regret the experience, as he was tired of the perpetually sunny, funny persona he'd been playing as a public figure up to that point and being able to completely shed it by playing Kaufman, and reconstructing what he wanted for himself afterward, was freeing.
141	* NoIndoorVoice: Virtually every single one of his comedic roles has him screaming at the top of his lungs at ''some'' point. (It also happens in the {{Dramedy}} ''Film/ManOnTheMoon''...when his character is playing an in-universe persona, that is.)
142	* PeopleInRubberSuits: Although many of his more eccentric/fantastical roles (Wiploc, The Mask, The Riddler, Tony Clifton, Count Olaf) required heavy makeup/costuming, playing The Grinch took this to the next level. The sheer envelopment and pain of a full-body suit and thick contact lenses made him near-impossible to work with for the first few weeks of filming. Director Ron Howard and company stood firm and managed to help him endure the process; amazingly his performance in the finished product gives no hint to how grueling the experience was for him (and it was his biggest hit up to that point).
143	* PrettyBoy: [[https://www.reddit.com/r/VintageLadyBoners/comments/150p3q/young_jim_carrey_being_absurdly_handsome/ Yes]], especially when he is not distorting his face like a living cartoon character. See [[SheCleansUpNicely He Cleans Up Nicely]] above.
144	* PlayingAgainstType: He played a variety of both comic and serious roles prior to becoming an A-lister and thus identified only with comedies. ''Film/TheMajestic'', ''Film/EternalSunshineOfTheSpotlessMind'' and ''Film/{{The Number 23}}'' are his most deliberate attempts to play against type since then.
145	* PlayingWithCharacterType: ''Film/TheCableGuy'' and ''Film/TheTrumanShow'' play his star-making over-the-top, zany persona for, respectively, BlackComedy and drama.
146	* RecurringElement:
147	** A noticeable number of his characters are associated with '''the color green''': the Mask, the Riddler, the Grinch, Colonel Stars-and-Stripes, and Jeff Piccirillo/Mr. Pickles. Even Doctor Robotnik gets a green costume.
148	** '''Television and its effects on those who watch and make it''': Skip Tarkenton is an animator on a children's cartoon show. Wiploc and his cohorts LearntEnglishFromWatchingTelevision. Stanley Ipkiss' nature and abilities as The Mask stem from his love of vintage Looney Tunes/Tex Avery shorts. Edward Nygma's journey to supervillainy involves a device that creates 3D television images but ''also'' allows him to intercept the brainwaves of viewers. Chip Douglas was effectively raised by TV thanks to a neglectful mother, with frightening results. Truman Burbank is unknowingly raised ''on'' television. Andy Kaufman becomes a national star on television and leverages fame into increasingly wild performance art that plays with the medium. Bruce Nolan is a local television reporter. Steve Gray is a StageMagician/extreme stunt performer with his own cable TV show. Jeff Piccirillo is a children's show host who struggles to cope with the unhappy real world. (And this list doesn't even cover minor roles like the [=CBC=] anchorman or recurring ''In Living Color!'' characters.)
149	** Quite a few of his characters have or end up with '''alter egos''' -- a secret identity, a role they play, etc. Even Peter in ''Film/TheMajestic'' gets amnesia, is mistaken for another person, and begins to live as them. Often times, their character development involves them accepting and revealing who they are BeneathTheMask. (In a sense, Carrey himself underwent this in TheNineties, as discussed in ''Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond''.)
150	** '''Christmas''': Carrey has played The Grinch, Ebenezer Scrooge and the three Christmas spirits who haunt him, and (in the last of the ''Series/DrunkHistory'' web episodes) St. Nicholas. Other works of his that incorporate the holiday or its iconography to varying degrees include several ''Series/InLivingColor'' {{Christmas Episode}}s, ''Film/TheTrumanShow'', ''Film/ManOnTheMoon'', ''Film/TheNumber23'', ''Film/ILoveYouPhillipMorris'', and especially ''Series/{{Kidding}}'' -- and of course, one of his most famous characters is simply named [[Film/DumbAndDumber Lloyd Christmas]]. Ten of his A-list vehicles were released in the November/December "holiday season" period starting with ''Dumb and Dumber'', too.
151	-->'''Dr. Robotnik:''' A lesser man would die here. I'll be home by Christmas.
152	* SerkisFolk: In ''WesternAnimation/AChristmasCarol2009'' he plays four different characters this way, and in the case of Scrooge physically represents him at five different points in his life.
153	* SignificantBirthDate: He happens to share a birthday (January 17) with Creator/AndyKaufman, as pointed out in publicity materials for ''Film/ManOnTheMoon'', ''and'' Creator/ZooeyDeschanel, who played his love interest in ''Film/YesMan''.
154	* {{Slapstick}}: The modern master of the form to the point where, shooting one scene in ''Fun with Dick and Jane'', he fell to the ground accidentally and turned it into a joke. This included catching himself an inch from slamming his face into the ground!
155	* SmiteMeOMightySmiter: He said it in [[Film/BruceAlmighty the movie]] that is the TropeNamer. [[Film/TheTrumanShow And again before that!]]
156	* StandUpComedy: He was already well-established in this niche before his breakthrough to TV and film.
157	* StarMakingRole: Try "Star Making ''Year''!" ''Film/AceVenturaPetDetective'', ''Film/TheMask'', and ''Film/DumbAndDumber'' were all released in 1994, making Carrey the first actor in history to have three #1 hit films in the same year. And prior to those, he'd never had top billing in a movie! (Parodied by ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' in the Spring 1995 episode "Lisa's Wedding", which flashes forward to 2010 and sees Lisa and her beau attend a ''Forty Classic Films Starring Jim Carrey'' festival. Luckily for him, he was able to work a slower pace than that.)
158	* StarringSpecialEffects: When the title character in ''Film/TheMask'' is unleashed, his appearance and powers are realized via a combination of (Oscar-nominated) computer-generated effects and a heavily-made-up Carrey's own physical abilities.
159	* TheTrickster: Starting with Ace Ventura, this is Carrey's most common character archetype (with TheEveryman coming in second), especially as subtropes. Some are actually empowered into it as part of the story.
160	** The Mask: TricksterGod (powers granted by no less than Loki upgrading Stanley Ipkiss from a NiceGuy)
161	** Lloyd Christmas: ThePrankster (being this is one of the few things he's competent at)
162	** The Riddler: DelightingInRiddles, MasterOfIllusion (via the Box 2.0 device; the original Box elevates Edward Nygma FromNobodyToNightmare)
163	** Chip Douglas: TheCharmer, ConMan
164	** Andy Kaufman: TheGadfly (exaggerated when he assumes the Tony Clifton persona), TrollingCreator
165	** The Grinch: ThePrankster
166	** Bruce Nolan: TricksterGod (at least initially once he's empowered from TheEveryman)
167	** Count Olaf: MasterOfDisguise (...sort of)
168	** The Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come: TricksterMentor (unlike in most ''Christmas Carol'' tellings, it torments Scrooge not only with terrible visions but also shrinking him to mouse size and pursuing him on a hearse)
169	** Steven Russell: ConMan, LovableRogue
170	** Steve Gray: ThePrankster
171	** The ''Dawn FM'' DJ: TricksterMentor (crossed with TheFerryman)
172	** {{Word of God}} has said that [[Manga/OnePiece Franky]] is ''based on Carrey'' (specifically, his Ace Ventura portrayal)! On a similar note, a lot of [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Sokka's]] facial expressions are based off Jim's.
173	* TheToothHurts: He lost a chunk from one of his front teeth in a childhood bicycle accident. He usually wears a cap over it, but removed it for ''Film/DumbAndDumber'' as the damaged tooth fit the character.
174	* TomHanksSyndrome: After establishing himself as a goofy LargeHam, many were surprised when [[Film/TheTrumanShow his]] [[Film/ManOnTheMoon more]] [[Film/EternalSunshineOfTheSpotlessMind dramatic]] [[Film/TheNumber23 work]] came out. Carrey's novel ''Memoirs and Misinformation'', which whimsically features Hanks and other celebrities as fictionalized versions of themselves, has "Carrey" envious (though not viciously so) of Hanks' success in expanding his career.
175	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
176	** Carrey auditioned in for ''SNL'' for Jean Doumanian's 1980-1981 season but Charles Rocket was chosen instead. Carrey could also have been a cast member for the 1985-1986 season[[note]]the one that saw Creator/LorneMichaels coming back to revive his show, only for it to nearly get canceled since no one liked the new cast he brought in -- which included such now famous faces as Creator/RobertDowneyJr., Creator/JoanCusack, Creator/AnthonyMichaelHall, and Creator/RandyQuaid, along with three cast members who would be part of the show's new golden age: Creator/JonLovitz, Nora Dunn, and Creator/DennisMiller[[/note]], and, once again, was passed over. Had Carrey been picked for the 1985-1986 season, he probably would have had more of a chance to shine (even going so far as playing then-President UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan) and either would have joined the new golden age cast in 1986 or be a very entertaining one-season wonder)...or maybe not. On David Letterman's show, Carrey recalled that when he went to audition for ''Saturday Night Live'', there was a man outside one of the high windows of the NBC building [[DrivenToSuicide preparing to jump and kill himself.]] He considered this [[ThisIsGonnaSuck a bad omen]] and decided not to go through with it. Clips of his audition tape (for when he auditioned for the 1985-1986 season) have appeared on the ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' 40th Anniversary Special in a montage of audition tapes of past and present cast members (and some now-famous people who auditioned for the show and didn't make it, like Carrey, Creator/AndyKaufman, and Creator/KevinHart). The three times Carrey has hosted (in 1996, 2011, and 2014) and his brief, but memorable stint as President-elect Joe Biden (as of the Christmas 2020 episode hosted by Kristen Wiig, Creator/AlexMoffat is now playing Biden) for the first six episodes of ''SNL'''s 2020-2021 season are about as close as viewers are going to get to seeing what Jim Carrey would have been like as an ''SNL'' cast member.
177	** Creator/TheWachowskis wanted him to play ComicBook/PlasticMan in the never-made film based on their script. Which, even if the script was kinda crappy, ''still'' would have been epic.
178	** He almost didn't do ''Film/AceVentura'' because he didn't care for the script. He only said yes after they allowed him to work on it.
179	** He was originally cast as Doctor Evil in ''Film/AustinPowersInternationalManOfMystery'', but he dropped out due to schedule conflicts with ''Film/LiarLiar''.
180	** He was considered to star as Captain Jack Sparrow in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl'' and as Willy Wonka in ''Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory''. Both roles went to Creator/JohnnyDepp. (In ''Memoirs and Misinformation'', he's warned by his agents not to turn down a role in Disney's Play-Doh Fun Factory movie because otherwise they'll just hire Depp, and look what happened the last time that was the case...)
181	** He was considered at one point for the role of Greg in ''Film/MeetTheParents'', and even contributed jokes to the screenplay, including Greg's surname "Focker".
182	** He was considered for a film adaptation of ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry'' in the '90s.
183	** He was slated to star in a remake of the 1964 film ''Film/TheIncredibleMrLimpet'' in the late '90s using MotionCapture to put Carrey's face on the CGI Mr. Limpet character. It was scrapped after a disastrous test footage screening.
184	** For many years, he was mooted for the lead role in ''Believe It or Not'', a Creator/TimBurton-helmed {{Biopic}} of Robert Ripley that was ultimately never produced.
185	** He was originally cast as the protagonist of ''Film/PhoneBooth'' but had second thoughts and dropped out to be replaced by Creator/ColinFarrell.
186	** He was considered for the part of the hobo in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS12E21SimpsonsTallTales Simpsons Tall Tales]]" as Carrey really wanted to voice a character on the show, but he would up being played by Creator/HankAzaria because Carrey was busy. Surprisingly, he ''still'' hasn't appeared on the show.
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Context Creator / JimCarrey