The Oscar-winning role Jim Carrey desperately wanted: “I didn’t want to tell him”
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Jim Carrey changed comedy stardom forever.
After appearing in Dumb & Dumber, The Mask, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective within the same year, it was clear that he was going to dominate the industry with his eccentric sense of humour. Ironically, Carrey was so successful as a comedy star that his dramatic abilities tended to be overlooked.
It’s become more common for actors best known for comedy to branch out and take on more serious roles; whether its Jonah Hill in Moneyball, Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems, Seth Rogen in Take This Waltz, or even Steve Carell in Foxcatcher, it can be challenging for stars to launch a new phase of their careers that cuts out the quality that they had previously been best known for.
In fairness to Jim Carrey, taking on more serious parts was always on his mind since he was able to use his inherent charisma to make The Truman Show even more heartbreaking, and was ironically able to give one of his most grounded and serious performances by playing the comedian Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon, but despite receiving rave reviews, Carrey failed to receive Oscar nominations for either role, despite winning Golden Globes for both.
Even if Carrey feels like the author of every film that he appears in, he’s also shown an interest in working with highly respected artists. At the time that Carrey was at his peak, Ron Howard had been on an upward swing thanks to the success of The Paper, Apollo 13, and Random. Although Carrey wanted to star in A Beautiful Mind, Howard had a different project in mind for him.
“This was also around the time I was going to do A Beautiful Mind, and Jim very much wanted to do A Beautiful Mind, a movie with drama and gravitas,” Howard told Vulture.
Adding, “I was already pursuing Russell Crowe, and I didn’t want to tell him, so I’d always veer back to the Grinch. I’d go, ‘No, no, no, you’re so much better for this. This would be great.’”
A Beautiful Mind tells the powerful true story of John Nash, a brilliant mathematician who suffered from severe mental illnesses that nearly brought his life to a tragic end, and given that Carrey had proven that he could play troubled, sensitive characters in the past, it’s easy to understand why he was interested in the part, but Crowe was simply considered to be a more prestigious actor at the time, as he had just won an Academy Award for ‘Best Actor’ in Gladiator.
Carrey instead got to work with Howard on his live-action remake of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which became the director’s biggest hit ever, and while the film earned mixed responses at the time, it was one of the highest-grossing titles of 2000 and has developed a strong following from those who grew up with it.
Even though A Beautiful Mind ended up winning the Oscar for ‘Best Picture’ and got Howard his first trophy for ‘Best Director’, it tends to be remembered as an unworthy winner when compared to other nominees that year.
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