Jim Carrey

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Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey at a press conference in February 2007
Birth name	James Eugene Carrey
Born	January 17, 1962 (1962-01-17) (age 46) Newmarket, Ontario
Years active	1979-Present
Influences	Dick Van Dyke, Jerry Lewis, Mel Brooks, Bill Cosby
Influenced	Devon Werkheiser, Josh Flitter
Spouse	Melissa Womer (1987-1995) Lauren Holly (1996-1997)
Golden Globe Awards
Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama 1999 The Truman Show Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy 2000 Man on the Moon Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated: 1995 The Mask 1998 Liar Liar 2002 How the Grinch Stole Christmas Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama Nominated: 2006 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

James Eugene "Jim" Carrey (born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He is known for his manic, slapstick performances in comedy films such as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective; Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls; The Mask; Dumb and Dumber; Me, Myself & Irene; Fun with Dick and Jane; The Cable Guy; Liar Liar; and Bruce Almighty. Carrey has also achieved critical success in dramatic roles in films such as The Truman Show, Man on the Moon, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. He also provides the voice for Horton in the animated feature film Horton Hears a Who!, released March 14, 2008. The film was his first animated feature role. He has won two Golden Globe Awards.

Biography

Early life

Carrey was born in Newmarket, Ontario, the son of Kathleen (née Oram), a homemaker, and Percy Carrey, a musician and accountant.^[1][2] He has three older siblings, John, Patricia, and Rita. The family was Catholic^[3] and of part French Canadian ancestry (as the original surname was Carré).^[4] After the family moved to Scarborough when Carrey was 14, he attended Blessed Trinity Catholic School in North York for two years, before enrolling at Agincourt Collegiate Institute, Scarborough's oldest high school.

Carrey lived in Burlington, Ontario, for eight years and attended Aldershot High School. In a Hamilton Spectator interview (February 2007), Carrey remarks that "if his career in show business hadn't panned out he would probably be working today in Hamilton, Ontario at the Dofasco steel mill." When looking across the Burlington Bay towards Hamilton he could see the mills and thought "those were where the great jobs were." He already had experience working in a science testing facility in Richmond Hill, Ontario, and was somewhat resigned to that career path.^[5]

Start in comedy

In 1979, under the management of Leatrice Spevack, Carrey started doing stand-up comedy at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, where he rose to become a headliner in February 1981, shortly after his 19th birthday. One reviewer in the Toronto Star raved that Carrey was "a genuine star coming to life."^[6] In the early 1980s, Carrey moved to Los Angeles and started working at The Comedy Store, where he was noticed by comedian Rodney Dangerfield. Dangerfield liked Carrey's performance so much that he signed Carrey to open Dangerfield's tour performances.^{[citation needed]}

Carrey then turned his attention to the film and television industries, auditioning to be a cast member for 1980–1981 season of NBC's Saturday Night Live. Carrey was not selected for the position (although he did host the show in May 1996). Joel Schumacher had him audition for a role in D.C. Cab, though in the end, nothing ever came of it.^[7] His first lead role on television was Skip Tarkenton, a young animation producer on NBC's short-lived The Duck Factory, airing from April 12, 1984, to July 11, 1984, and offering a behind-the-scenes look at the crew that produced a children's cartoon.^[8]

Carrey continued working in smaller film and television roles, which led to a friendship with fellow comedian Damon Wayans, who co-starred with Carrey as a fellow extraterrestrial in 1989's Earth Girls Are Easy. When Wayans' brother Keenen began developing a sketch comedy show for Fox called In Living Color, Carrey was hired as a cast member, whose unusual characters included masochistic safety inspector Fire Marshall Bill (whose dangerous "safety tips" were the target of censors and watchdog groups who saw the character as a dangerous example for naive younger viewers^{[citation needed]}), and masculine female bodybuilder Vera de Milo. His on-screen antics caught the eye of Hollywood.

Film career

Carrey made his film debut in a minor role in Rubberface (1983), which was known as Introducing...Janet at the time of release. Later that year, he won the leading role in Damian Lee's Canadian skiing comedy Copper Mountain, which included his impersonation of Sammy Davis Jr. Since the film had a less than one hour runtime consisting largely of musical performances by Rita Coolidge and Rompin' Ronnie Hawkins, it was not considered a genuine feature film. A few years later, Carrey saw his first major starring role in the dark comedy Once Bitten, in the role of Mark Kendall, a teen virgin pursued by a 400-year old female vampire (played by Lauren Hutton). After supporting roles in films such as Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), Earth Girls Are Easy (1988), and The Dead Pool (1988), Carrey did not experience true stardom until starring in the 1994 comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, which premiered only months before In Living Color ended its run. The film was panned by critics, and earned Carrey a 1995 Golden Raspberry Award nomination as Worst New Star.^[9]

However, the film was a huge commercial success, as were his two other starring roles from that year, in The Mask and Dumb and Dumber. In 1995, Carrey appeared as the Riddler in Batman Forever and reprised his role as Ace Ventura in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. Both films were successful at the box office and earned Carrey multi-million-dollar paychecks.

Carrey earned twenty million dollars for his next film, The Cable Guy (directed by Ben Stiller), a record sum for a comedy actor. The attention drawn to the paycheck, coupled with some negative reviews, and the film's dark sensibility, all contributed^{[citation needed]} to the film's mediocre earnings. Carrey quickly rebounded with the successful (and lighter) Liar Liar, a return to his trademark comedy style.

Carrey took a chance to play a more serious role (and a slight pay cut) to star in The Truman Show (1998), a change of pace that led to forecasts of Academy Award nominations. Although the movie was nominated for three other awards, Carrey did not personally receive a nomination, leading him to joke that "it's an honor just to be nominated...oh no," during his appearance on the Oscar telecast.^{[citation needed]} However, Carrey did win a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama and an MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance. That same year, Carrey appeared as a fictionalized version of himself on the final episode of Garry Shandling's The Larry Sanders Show, making an impression by ripping deliberately into Shandling's character.

In 1999, Carrey won the role of comedian Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon. Other actors, including Edward Norton, were interested in the role, but Carrey's audition, including an act with the bongo drums Kaufman used in his performances, helped him to be cast^{[citation needed]}. Despite critical acclaim, he was not nominated for an Academy Award, but again won a Best Actor Golden Globe award for the second consecutive year.

In 2000, Carrey reteamed with the Farrelly Brothers, who had directed him in Dumb and Dumber, in their comedy, Me, Myself & Irene, about a state trooper with multiple personalities who romances a woman played by Renée Zellweger. The film grossed $24 million dollars on its opening weekend and $90 million by the end of its domestic run.

In 2003, Carrey reteamed with Tom Shadyac for the financially successful comedy Bruce Almighty. Earning over $242 million in the U.S. and over $484 million worldwide, this film became the second highest grossing live-action comedy of all time.

His performance in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in 2004 earned high praise from critics,^[10][11][12] who again predicted that Carrey would receive an Oscar nomination; the film did win for Best Original Screenplay, and costar Kate Winslet received an Oscar nomination for her performance. (Carrey was also nominated for a sixth Golden Globe for his performance).

In 2004, he played the villainous character Count Olaf in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, which was based on the popular children's novels of the same name. In 2005, Carrey starred in a remake of Fun with Dick and Jane, playing Dick, a husband who loses his job after his company goes bankrupt.

In 2007, Carrey reunited with Joel Schumacher, director of Batman Forever, for The Number 23, a psychological thriller co-starring Virginia Madsen and Danny Huston. In the film, Carrey plays a man who becomes obsessed with an obscure book he believes is somehow based on his life.

Carrey has stated that he finds the prospect of reprising a character to be considerably less enticing than taking on a new role.^[13] The only time he has reprised a role was with Ace Ventura. (Sequels to Bruce Almighty, Dumb and Dumber, Batman Forever, and The Mask have all been released without Carrey's involvement.)

Despite having a twenty year career with no Academy Award nominations, Jack Nicholson (who in the first 20 years of his career had 5) has named Carrey the "Jack Nicholson" of the next generation.

Personal life

Carrey has been married twice, first to former actress and Comedy Store waitress Melissa Womer, with whom he has a daughter, Jane Erin Carrey (b. September 6, 1987 in the Los Angeles County). They were married on March 28, 1987, and were officially divorced in late 1995. After his separation from Womer in 1994, Carrey began dating his Dumb and Dumber co-star Lauren Holly. They were married on September 23, 1996; the marriage lasted less than a year. Carrey dated actress Renée Zellweger, whom he met on the set of Me, Myself & Irene, but their relationship ended in a broken engagement in December 2000. During 2004, Jim dated his massage therapist Tiffany O. Silver. In December 2005, Carrey began dating actress/model Jenny McCarthy. The pair have since denied engagement rumors.^[14] In the May 2006 issue of Playboy Magazine (p. 48), it was mentioned that he has dated model Anine Bing.

Carrey has a chipped tooth; for his role in Dumb and Dumber, he simply removed the tooth cap.^[15] He owns a Gulfstream V. He drives a Saleen S7, which is the car he drove in Bruce Almighty when the character received God's powers.

Carrey is a vegetarian.^[16] He attended a Presbyterian Church with his family in the early 1990s.^[17] Carrey is a big fan of the death metal band Cannibal Corpse,^[18] who made a cameo appearance in Ace Ventura.

Carrey received U.S. citizenship on October 7, 2004, and now maintains dual citizenship of the U.S. and his native Canada, where he has had a star on Canada's Walk of Fame^[19] in Toronto since 1998.

He went public about his bouts with depression in a November 2004 interview on 60 Minutes.^[20] Carrey has made calls to the public, by way of internet videos, to try to bring attention to the political suppression in Burma, especially of Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, whom he describes as a "hero of [his]". ^[21]

Filmography

Other appearances

• Carrey appeared in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events video game as Count Olaf.

• Also showed up on Saturday Night Live as a Jacuzzi life guard.

• And again he showed up on Saturday Night Live as a Dance boy.

• Appeared as the special celebrity guest at the 2003 Kid's Choice Awards.

• Starting with the line "I want to tell you about a hero of mine, her name is Aung San Suu Kyi", Carrey appeared in a straight-to-YouTube video campaigning the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the world's only detained Nobel Peace Prize winner from Myanmar.^[22][23] His appeal to release Aung San Suu Kyi is highly welcomed by many Myanmars, both abroad and domestic.^[24]

• Late Show with David Letterman where he spoke of having cameras inside his internal organs, the live feed of which was aired.

• Appeared in a YouTube video explaining some disasters that are connected to the number 23 as a promo for his 2007 movie The Number 23.

• Made a cameo on an episode of American Idol posing as an audience member to advertise Horton Hears a Who.^[25]

Awards and nominations

Golden Globe Awards

• 1995 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, The Mask (Nominated)
• 1998 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, Liar Liar (Nominated)
• 1999 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama, The Truman Show (Won)
• 2000 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, Man on the Moon (Won)
• 2001 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Nominated)
• 2005 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Nominated)

Screen Actors Guild Awards

• 2000 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Man on the Moon (Nominated)

People's Choice Awards

• 2001 - Favorite Motion Picture Star in a Comedy (Won)
• 2005 - Favorite Funny Male Star (Won)

MTV Movie Awards

• 1994 - Best Comedic Performance (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective) (Nominated)
• 1995 - Best On-Screen Duo (Dumb and Dumber) (Nominated)
• 1995 - Best Dance Sequence (The Mask) (Nominated)
• 1995 - Best Comedic Performance (The Mask) (Nominated)
• 1995 - Best Kiss with Lauren Holly (Dumb and Dumber) (Won)
• 1995 - Best Comedic Performance (Dumb and Dumber) (Won)
• 1996 - Best Villain (Batman Forever) (Nominated)
• 1996 - Best Kiss with Sophie Okonedo (Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls) (Nominated)
• 1996 - Best Comedic Performance (Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls) (Won)
• 1996 - Best Male Performance (Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls) (Nominated)
• 1996 - Best Performance
• 1997 - Best Fight with Matthew Broderick (The Cable Guy) (Nominated)
• 1997 - Best Villain (The Cable Guy) (Won)
• 1997 - Best Comedic Performance (The Cable Guy) (Won)
• 1998 - Best Comedic Performance (Liar Liar) (Won)
• 1999 - Best Male Performance (The Truman Show) (Won)
• 1999 - Best Performance
• 2000 - Best Male Performance (Man on the Moon) (Nominated)
• 2001 - Best Comedic Performance (Me, Myself, & Irene) (Nominated)
• 2001 - Best Villain (How the Grinch Stole Christmas) (Won)
• 2004 - Best Kiss with Jennifer Aniston (Bruce Almighty) (Nominated)
• 2004 - Best Comedic Performance (Bruce Almighty) (Nominated)
• 2005 - Best Villain (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events) (Nominated)
• 2006 - MTV Generation Award

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Jim Carrey

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Jim Carrey

• Jim Carrey at the Internet Movie Database
• Carrey: Life Is Too Beautiful, a summary of a November 2004 60 Minutes interview with Carrey
• Jim Carrey Biography - Cinema.com
• Top 11 Jim Carrey Film Roles on Moviefone
• Jim Carrey - Call to Action on Burma and Aung San Suu Kyi
• [4] - Featured as a Danceboy in Saturday night live