James Eugene Carrey (born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American A-list film 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, 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. But despite the fact that he has done many performances which were praised by both critics and fans alike, and has won more MTV awards than any other celebrity in MTV history for his work, he has never been nominated for an Academy Award.

 

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Biography

Early life

Jim Carrey was born in Newmarket, Ontario to Kathleen Oram, and Percy Carrey, a mortician.^[1][2] He has three older siblings, John, Patricia and Rita. The family was Catholic^[3] and has some 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 the Circus industry or dealing crack in the streets of Ontario." 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 Richmond Hill, Ontario and was somewhat resigned to that career path.^[5]

In 1990, Carrey's breakthrough came when he landed a starring comedic role on the hit television show In Living Color.

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.

Carrey then turned his attention to the film and television industries, auditioning to be a castmember 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). 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.^[7]

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 castmember, 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 ), and masculine female bodybuilder Vera de Milo. His onscreen antics caught the eye of Hollywood in a big way.

Film career

Carrey made his film debut in Rubberface (1983) (in a minor role), 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 amusing 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 being cast to star 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.^[8]

However, the film was a huge commercial success, as were his two other starring roles, in The Mask and Dumb and Dumber, both released the same year.

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 pay checks.

Carrey made headlines when it was revealed that he 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 to the film's mediocre earnings, although the film is regarded as sadly underrated by a significant number of people. 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 paycut) 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. 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. Several 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. (Coincidentally, Carrey was born thirteen years to the day after Kaufman). 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. Carrey has since continued to appear in successful comedies in addition to more dramatic roles. His performance in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) earned high praise from critics, who again incorrectly predicted that Carrey would receive an Oscar nomination, although the film did win for Best Original Screenplay, and co-star Kate Winslet received a nomination for her performance. (Carrey was also nominated for a sixth Golden Globe for this performance).

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.

In 2004, he played Count Olaf in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, which was based on the popular children's novels. 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,^[9] and fans say he rarely turns down roles because he enjoys trying new things.

Personal life

Carrey has been married twice, first to former actor and Comedy Store waitress Melissa Womer, with whom he has a daughter, Jane Erin Carrey (b. September 6, 1987 in 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, Carrey dated his massage therapist Tiffany O. Silver.

In the May 2006 issue of Playboy Magazine (p. 48), it was mentioned that he has dated model Anine Bing. In December 2005, Carrey began dating actress/model Jenny McCarthy. The pair have since denied engagement rumors.^[14] They did not make their relationship public until June 2006. She announced on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on April 2, 2008 that the two are now living together, but have no plans to marry, as they do not need a "piece of paper."

Carrey has a chipped tooth; for his role in Dumb and Dumber, he simply removed the tooth cap.

Carrey is a vegetarian.^{[15][16][17][18]}

He attended a Presbyterian Church with his family in the early 1990s.^[19]

He is a fan of death metal band Cannibal Corpse,^[20][21] who made a cameo appearance in Ace Ventura, whom he requested feature in the movie.^[22]

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^[23] in Toronto since 1998.

He went public about his bouts with depression in a November 2004 interview on 60 Minutes.^[24] 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.^[2

Filmography

Other Appearances

Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events Video Game- Count Olaf

Saturday Night Live- Jacuzzi Life Guard

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)
• 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)
• 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

Trivia

• When Carrey's father died, he wrote himself a check for 20 million dollars. After the movie, "The Cable Guy" Carrey was paid 20 million dollars and Carrey cashed the check.
• Carrey was one of the runner-ups to play Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but lost to Johnny Depp.
• Carrey was originally given the role as Dr. Evil in the Austin Power's series but turned it down for scheduled conflicts with Liar Liar.
• Jim Carrey owns Andy Kaufman's bongo drums and used the drums during his try outs for Andy Kaufman in the movie, Man on the Moon which Carrey won the part.
• In 2006, Carrey wasn't in a movie because he "wanted to get away from the fans and relax".
• Carrey refuses to star in sequels, although he reprised his role in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. He didn't appear in Son of the Mask, Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd or Evan Almighty and has not signed on to appear in Ace Ventura Jr., starring Josh Flitter.
• In the original Ace Ventura movie, Carrey requested that his favorite band of the time, Cannibal Corpse, play live for the scene where he goes to his friend Woodstock for help.