Jim Carrey’s experience during 2000 classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas saw the actor ‘buried alive every day’ and it nearly led him to quit the film altogether.
They say that beauty is pain and it certainly turned out that way for Jim Carrey when it came to creating – well, perhaps not the most beautiful – but certainly the best festive film character of all time – in my opinion at least.
The hit sees Carrey take on the iconic role of the green, hairy – but ultimately warm-cheeked – hater of people (not actually Christmas).
It’s one of the actor’s best-known and loved roles to date – despite it criminally not having seen him win an Oscar as a result – however, it was a character he very nearly walked away from altogether.
During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show in 2014, Carrey opened up about taking on the role in Ron Howard’s adaption of the Dr. Seuss classic and why he turned around to Howard at one stage and said he ‘couldn’t do the movie’ anymore.
His decision to nearly quit the role? Well, it was all as a result of how getting into character of the Grinch involved Carrey sitting down for a staggering 3.5 hours each day to transform into the ostractized Who.
On the first day, the prosthetics and make-up even took a staggering nine hours to complete. And Carrey revealed that the experience ‘was like being buried alive every day’.
The actor even recalled putting his leg ‘through a wall’ in his trailer as a result of how bogged down and frustrated he became with the green get-up.
He added: “I told Ron Howard I couldn’t do the movie.”
However, producer on the film, Brian Grazer, ultimately came up with a solution – of sorts.
Grazer called in a favor from a CIA operative who had experience in training agents in how to withstand torture – naturally.
Carrey then underwent a series of lessons with the operative learning ‘distraction techniques’ to help him get through feeling buried alive underneath all the greenery.
Carrey explained: “If you’re freaking out and spiralling downward, turn the television on, change a pattern, or have someone you know come up and smack you in the head, punch yourself in the leg, or smoke – smoke as much as you possibly can.”
The actor resolved: “So that’s how I got through the Grinch.”
Well, prepare to have a whole new level of appreciation for Carrey when you watch the festive favorite ahead of Christmas this year.
