Jim Carrey has had one hell of a career. Starting out as a comedian from Newmarket, Ontario, Carrey’s singular presence onstage – from his unflappable energy to his caricatural impressions –earned him attention from filmmakers, eventually becoming inarguably the biggest comedy actor of the 1990s. Last year, he suddenly announced his retirement from performing, though it is fair to wonder if things will stay that way.
Carrey had quite an interesting path to superstardom between the early ‘80s and ‘90s. His first reported role was in the 1981 CBC production Rubberface, followed by 1983’s Canadian B-movie comedy All in Good Taste, and soon after, that same year, came a small Canadian comedy film called Copper Mountain opposite the legendary Alan Thicke. A year later Carrey landed his first American role in Finders Keepers, before making his debut as a leading man in an American production, Once Bitten, in 1985. 1986 was a major turning point for Carrey, as he had the chance to work with none other than Francis Ford Coppola on Peggy Sue Got Married, in which he played a supporting role. Carrey rides this success with a number of other supporting roles, showing range by appearing in the thriller The Dead Pool (alongside Clint Eastwood as Inspector “Dirty” Harry Callahan) and sci-fi comedy Earth Girls are Easy (next to Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum) in 1988, while in 1992 he featured the Emmy-nominated made-for-television drama Doing Time on Maple Drive opposite Lori Loughlin. Meanwhile, from 1990 to 1994 Carrey was a regular cast member on the hit sketch comedy show In Living Colour, which was crucial in the actor and comedian making a name for himself. While his first three feature-length productions acted a showcase for his range as an actor and a sign of what was to come later, it was his next three movies, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask and Dumb and Dumber, all of which, shockingly, released in 1994, that launched Carrey into a stratosphere all of his own.
From there, right up to 1998, Carrey went on one of the most commercially successful runs ever seen from a comedy actor. During this time, he also starred in Batman Forever, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, The Cable Guy, Liar Liar, and The Truman Show, the latter of which became one of the most critically acclaimed movies of Carrey’s career and the first of many showcases for his dramatic chops to a large audience. However, the following year saw the release of Miloš Forman’s underrated Man on the Moon, where Carrey delivers arguably the best performance of his career, yet it was also his first true commercial flop as a leading man. Although Carrey bounced back right away by reteaming with Dumb and Dumber writers and directors Peter and Bob Farelly to deliver the hilarious Me, Myself and Irene, a shift in his career had already begun.
Moving into the 21st century Carrey began leaning into more dramatic roles, such as The Majestic (which was another major commercial failure) and the hugely acclaimed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Of course, he still made time for the type of comedies that launched his career in the first place, such as Fun with Dick and Jane and I Love You Philip Morris, while stealing the show with idiosyncratic performances in the likes of How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. Nonetheless, it is undeniable that his star had begun to wane as we crept into the 2010s, not quite the bankable star he once was, though this may have been somewhat by design.
In recent years Carrey has been involved in some activism (though his protests against vaccines, alongside former partner Jenny McCarthy, are undoubtedly problematic), he has been an outspoken critic of Trumpism in America and has focused on painting as a creative outlet that has frequently complemented his political views. Politics even bled into his work, with Carrey renouncing his role in 2013’s Kick-Ass 2 in the wake of shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary due to the film’s violent nature. In fact, it was after 2013 that Carrey began to take a step back from performing, featuring only in four productions since 2014. He’s still made them count, though, with Carrey’s last two movies, 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog and its 2022 sequel, ranking amongst the highest grossing films of his career, thanks in no small part to his acclaimed performance as the iconic villain Dr. Robotnik, which many favourably compared to his more eccentric roles in the ‘90s.
Yet, this commercial rejuvenation has not swayed Carrey from his own plans, announcing in April last year that he was retiring from acting, describing his intentions as “fairly serious”. While he has left the door open to return if “the angels bring some sort of script that’s written in gold ink,” he has also noted that “I really like my quiet life and I really like putting paint on canvas and I really love my spiritual life…I have enough. I’ve done enough. I am enough.” While many fans would always want one more production from the comedy and acting legend, not a single one of us can argue with that.