Jim Carrey Offered to Return $20 Million ‘grinch’ Salary & Quit Movie Amid ‘panic Attacks’

Jim Carrey’s Tortuous Experience with “The Grinch”

In an interview marking the 25th anniversary of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” Jim Carrey shared some surprising revelations about his experience playing the iconic role. Carrey, known for his unconventional approach to acting, offered to return a significant portion of his $20 million salary and even quit the film amidst intense panic attacks.

The Making of “The Grinch”: A Torturous Experience

Ron Howard’s 2000 adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s beloved children’s book was a commercial success, grossing $346 million worldwide. However, behind the scenes, Carrey faced an excruciating ordeal due to the extensive makeup and prosthetics required for his role.

Intense Makeup and Prosthetics

Rick Baker, the make-up effects artist who also won an Oscar for his work on “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” recounted that Carrey initially requested a simpler look. However, the studio insisted he be fully transformed into his character, leading to significant discomfort.

“The studio said, ‘We’re paying Jim $20 million, and we want to see him. Just paint him green,’” Baker said. “But it’s not ‘How the Green Jim Carrey Stole Christmas.’ It’s ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas.’ He should look like a fantasy character.”

Uncomfortable Transformation

Carrey explained that the makeup and prosthetics were so intense he couldn’t breathe through his nose. “When it came down to actually designing the Grinch to look like the Grinch, they had to put the tip of my nose on the top of the bridge of the Grinch’s nose,” Carrey said. “So, all of the rest of it was covered and I couldn’t breathe through my nose, and they had a real problem trying to get holes in the mask that could allow me to breathe through my nose. Ultimately, I ended up mouth-breathing through the entire movie.”

The costume itself was made of yak hair that drove him insane all day long. “The suit was made of unnervingly itchy yak hair that drove me insane all day long,” Carrey continued. “I had ten-inch-long fingers, so I couldn’t scratch myself or touch my face or do anything. I had teeth that I had to find a way to speak around, and I had full contact lenses that covered the entire eyeball, and I could only see a tiny tunnel in front of me.”

Severe Panic Attacks on Set

Director Ron Howard revealed that Carrey started having panic attacks during early days of filming due to the discomfort. “I would see him lying down on the floor in between setups with a brown paper bag. Literally on the floor. He was miserable,” Howard said.

On the first day of shooting, Carrey threatened to quit after he was required to be in the makeup chair for eight hours. “He was ready to give his $20 million back! I mean, he was sincere,” Howard added.

The Solution

To prevent Carrey from quitting and to help him endure the hardship of his Grinch transformation, a military expert trained in enduring imprisonment and torture was brought onto the set. “Richard Marcinko was a gentleman that trained CIA officers and special ops people how to endure torture,” Carrey said. “He gave me a litany of things that I could do when I began to spiral. Like punch myself in the leg as hard as I can. Have a friend that I trust and punch him in the arm.

Eat everything in sight. Changing patterns in the room. If there’s a TV on when you start to spiral, turn it off and turn the radio on. Smoke cigarettes as much as possible.”

Later on, Carrey found out that the gentleman who trained him also founded SEAL Team Six. “But what really helped me through the makeup process was the Bee Gees,” Carrey said. “I listened through the entire Bee Gees catalogue during the makeup process because their music is so joyful.”

Reflections on the Experience

Carrey has since reflected on his experience and admitted, “It was something that I asked for that I can’t blame on anyone but myself. You’ve got to be careful what you ask for. You don’t think about it when you see an actor do a part that is about excruciating pain or whatever.

But that actor has to live in that feeling. They don’t just go home and suddenly stop feeling it.”

“The children were in my mind all the time. ‘It’s for the kids. It’s for the kids.

It’s for the kids.’ And now, with motion capture and things like that, I could be free to do other things,” Carrey added.

The article concludes by mentioning Carrey’s interest in potentially returning to play the Grinch through motion picture technology instead of makeup. “Oh, gosh, you know, if we could figure out the Grinch,” Carrey said at a previous interview. “The thing about it is, on the day, I do that with a ton of makeup and can hardly breathe. It was an extremely excruciating process.”