Jim Carrey shares how feeling 'trapped' in Grinch prosthetics drove him to seek CIA anti-torture training
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Jim Carrey’s transformation into the Grinch for the 2000 Christmas classic 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' is unforgettable but behind the scenes, the experience was anything but festive.
The actor revealed that his time in the iconic green prosthetics was so harrowing he required CIA anti-torture training to endure the process, Unilad reported.
Jim Carrey shares shocking details about grueling Grinch makeup experience
Appearing on 'The Graham Norton Show' in 2014, Jim Carrey described feeling “trapped” during the months-long shoot, comparing the experience to being “buried alive.”
He explained, “I couldn’t see, I couldn’t breathe, and I couldn’t scratch myself. It was like having a refrigerator strapped to my back.”
The elaborate makeup application took two-and-a-half hours daily to perfect and another hour each evening to remove. Throughout the 92-day shoot, Carrey spent an astonishing 230 hours in the makeup chair.
To help him cope, a CIA specialist taught him distraction techniques, such as altering his thought patterns, punching himself in the leg, and even chain-smoking.
“If you’re freaking out and spiraling 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," he revealed.
Carrey mentioned that listening to the Bee Gees was another way to soothe himself.
Carrey wasn’t the only one to feel the strain. Director Ron Howard donned the full Grinch costume for a day to empathize with the actor’s discomfort.
Meanwhile, makeup artist Kazuhiro Tsuji temporarily left the project due to the overwhelming stress but eventually returned after Carrey began managing the ordeal using the coping strategies he’d learned.
Reflecting on the intense experience, Carrey joked, “By the end, you could hit me in the face with a baseball bat, and I’d say, ‘Good morning. Nice to see you.’”
Jim Carrey teases potential comebacks for iconic roles in 'The Mask' and 'The Grinch'
Jim Carrey, who once flirted with retirement, is now keeping the door open for a return to some of his most iconic roles.
While promoting 'Sonic the Hedgehog 3', the actor revealed to ComicBook that he’s carefully considering each new project, with a potential comeback for Stanley Ipkiss from 'The Mask' among them. Carrey emphasized that he’d only reprise the role if the script were “just right.”
The beloved comedian also expressed enthusiasm about revisiting 'The Grinch', but this time with the help of modern technology.
Reflecting on the grueling experience of wearing heavy prosthetics for the 2000 classic 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas', Carrey explained how CGI could revolutionize the process.
“If we can figure out 'The Grinch', the thing about it is that, on the day, I had to do that with a ton of makeup, and I could hardly breathe. It was an extremely excruciating process. But the children were in my mind the whole time—‘It’s for the kids, it’s for the kids.’ Now, with motion capture and things like that, I could be free to do some other things.”
Carrey concluded optimistically, “Anything’s possible in this world.”
In addition to these musings, Carrey is set to star in a mystery film titled 'Evergreen Pines' and the Fading Summer', written and directed by David Robert Mitchell.
