Recent Shows: Liar Liar
Biography:
The youngest of four children born to Percy (an accountant and aspiring
jazz saxophonist) and Kathleen, Jim Carrey was an incurable extrovert
from day one. As a child he performed constantly, for anyone who would
watch, and even mailed his résumé to "Caro ...(read more)
The youngest of four children born to Percy (an accountant and aspiring
jazz saxophonist) and Kathleen, Jim Carrey was an incurable extrovert
from day one. As a child he performed constantly, for anyone who would
watch, and even mailed his résumé to "Carol Burnett Show, The" (1967) at age 10. In junior high
he was granted a few precious minutes at the end of each school day to
do stand-up routines for his classmates (provided, of course, that he
kept a lid on it the rest of the day). Carrey's early adolescence took
a turn for the tragic, however, when the family was forced to relocate
from their cozy town of Newmarket to Scarborough (a Toronto suburb).
They all took security and janitorial jobs in the Titan Wheels factory,
Jim working 8-hour shifts after school let out (not surprisingly, his
grades and morale both suffered). When they finally deserted the
factory, the family lived out of a Volkswagen camper van until they
could return to Toronto. Back on firmer ground, Carrey decided to
strike out into the comedy club scene. He made his (reportedly awful)
professional stand-up debut at Yuk-Yuk's, one of the many local clubs
that would serve as his training ground in the years to come. He
dropped out of high school, worked on his celebrity impersonations
(among them 'Michael Landon' and 'James Stewart (I)' ), and in 1979 worked up the nerve to
move to Los Angeles. He finessed his way into a regular gig at The
Comedy Store, where he impressed 'Rodney Dangerfield' so much that the veteran comic
signed him as an opening act for an entire season. During this period
Carrey met and married waitress Melissa Womer, with whom he had a
daughter (Jane). The couple would later go through a very messy
divorce, freeing Carrey up for a brief second marriage to actress
'Lauren Holly' . Wary of falling into the lounge act lifestyle, Carrey began to
look around for other performance outlets. He landed a part as a novice
cartoonist in the short-lived sitcom "Duck Factory, The" (1984) ;
while the show fell flat, the experience gave Carrey the confidence to
pursue acting more vigorously. He scored the male lead in the
ill-received 'Lauren Hutton' vehicle Once Bitten (1985) , and a supporting role in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) ,
before making a modest splash with his appearance as the alien Wiploc
in Earth Girls Are Easy (1988) . Impressed with Carrey's lunacy, fellow extraterrestrial
'Damon Wayans' made a call to his brother, 'Keenen Ivory Wayans' , who was in the process of
putting together the sketch comedy show "In Living Color" (1990) . Carrey joined the cast
and quickly made a name for himself with outrageous acts (one of his
most popular characters, psychotic Fire Marshall Bill, was attacked by
watchdog groups for dispensing ill- advised safety tips). Carrey's
transformation from TV goofball to marquis headliner happened within
the course of a single year. He opened 1994 with a starring turn in
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) , a film that cashed in on his extremely physical brand of humor
(the character's trademark was talking out his derrière). Next up was
the manic superhero movie Mask, The (1994) , which had audiences wondering just
how far Carrey's features could stretch. Finally, in December, he hit
theaters as a loveable dolt in the Farrelly brothers' Dumb & Dumber (1994) (his
first multi-million dollar payday). Now a box-office staple, Carrey
brought his manic antics onto the set of Batman Forever (1995) , replacing 'Robin Williams (I)' as
The Riddler. He also filmed the follow-up to his breakthrough, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995) ,
and inked a deal with Sony to star in Cable Guy, The (1996) (replacing 'Chris Farley' ) for a
cool $20 million--at the time, that was the biggest up-front sum that
had been offered to any comic actor. The movie turned out to be a
disappointment, both critically and financially, but Carrey bounced
back the next year with the energetic hit Liar Liar (1997) . Worried that his
comic shtick would soon wear thin, Carrey decided to change course. In
1998, he traded in the megabucks and silly grins to star in 'Peter Weir's
Truman Show, The (1998) . Playing a naive salesman who discovers that his entire life is
the subject of a TV show, Carrey demonstrated an uncharacteristic
sincerity that took moviegoers by surprise. He won a Golden Globe for
the performance, and fans anticipated an Oscar nomination as well--when
it didn't materialize, Carrey lashed out at Academy members for their
narrow-minded selection process. Perhaps inspired by the snub, Carrey
threw himself into his next role with abandon. After edging out a
handful of other hopefuls (including 'Edward Norton (I)' ) to play eccentric
funnyman 'Andy Kaufman (I)' in Man on the Moon (1999) , Carrey disappeared into the role, living
as Kaufman -- and his blustery alter-ego Tony Clifton -- for months
(Carrey even owned Kaufman's bongo drums, which he'd used during his
audition for director 'Milos Forman' ). His sometimes uncanny impersonation was
rewarded with another Golden Globe, but once again the Academy kept
quiet. An indignant Carrey next reprised his bankable mania for the
Farrelly brothers in Me, Myself & Irene (2000) , playing a state trooper whose Jekyll and
Hyde personalities both fall in love with the same woman ('Renée Zellweger' ).
Carrey's real-life persona wound up falling for her too--a few months
after the film wrapped, the pair announced they were officially a
couple. By then, Carrey had already slipped into a furry green suit to
play the stingy antihero of 'Ron Howard (I)'s How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) . He plans to take a break
from the limelight after the holiday flick (as he puts it, "I'm looking
forward to getting out of America's face"). Is there another Carrey
reinvention in the works? If so, he's not talking.
IMDb Editors
Trademarks:
* Flexible body movements.
* Frequently plays a character who wears green or is green.
* Makes weird facial expressions in his more comical roles. A lot of times, the
expression is accompanied by an equally weird voice or laugh.
* Flexible body movements.
* Frequently plays a character who wears green or is green.
* Makes weird facial expressions in his more comical roles. A lot of times, the
expression is accompanied by an equally weird voice or laugh.
Quotes:
* "I tend to stay up late, not because I'm partying but because it's the
only time of day when I'm alone and I don't have to be on, performing."
* "Until Ace Ventura, no actor had considered talking through his ass"
* "It's insane...I mean, Nicholson, H ...(read more)
* "I tend to stay up late, not because I'm partying but because it's the
only time of day when I'm alone and I don't have to be on, performing."
* "Until Ace Ventura, no actor had considered talking through his ass"
* "It's insane...I mean, Nicholson, Hoffman, Jackson, Kline - I don't see
how I can lose." - Regarding his chances at 1997 Golden Globes
* "I've been dubbed the man most responsible for the dumbing of America,
so obviously I don't put much stock into thoughts like (the theme of
the 'dumbing down' of contemporary comedy). People love to laugh, and
most people can find humor in just about anything, which is great.
Trying to label or categorize comedy is ridiculous. I mean, if you
laugh at a fart joke, does that make you a moron? I don't think so."
* "Maybe there is no actual place called hell. Maybe hell is just having
to listen to our grandparents breathe through their noses when they're
eating sandwiches."
* "That's the trouble with being me. At this point, nobody gives a damn
what my problem is. I could literally have a tumor on the side of my
head and they'd be like, 'Yeah, big deal. I'd eat a tumor every morning
for the kinda money you're pulling down."
* "I'm charming, but I dip into the Prozac now and then."
* I don't believe in this fairy tale of staying together for ever. Ten
years with somebody is enough. In ten years, you can give a lot of
love.
* "I have no intention of giving up my Canadian heritage, and all those
who loved and supported me. My upbringing in Canada made me the person
I am. I will always be proud to be a Canadian."
* After recording a cover of 'I am the Walrus': "There! I did it! I
defiled a timeless work of art! For my next trick, I will paint a clown
face on the Mona Lisa while using the shroud of Turin as a
dropcloth."
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Posted on 12/27/07 02:48 PM.
u r so funny
Posted on 11/30/07 03:04 AM.
hi MR jim cary i love u so much che_ammar@hotmail.com