Jim Carrey: Encyclopedia II - Jim Carrey - Film Career

Jim Carrey - Film Career

Carrey made a forgettable film debut in Rubberface (1981). Four years later, he had a starring role in the dark comedy Once Bitten as Mark Kendall, a teen virgin who is pursued by a 400-year old vampire (Lauren Hutton). Carrey, however, did not experience box office success until almost a decade later when he got a starring role in the comedy Ace Ventura, Pet Detective, which premiered only months before In Living Color ended. The film was panned by the critics, and helped earn him a 1994 Golden Raspberry Award nomination as Worst New Star. However, the film was a commercial success, as were two other releases that same year, The Mask and Dumb and Dumber.

The following year, Carrey appeared as the Riddler in Batman Forever(Which many say was the highlight of the movie) 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 paychecks.

Carrey made headlines when it was revealed that for his next film, The Cable Guy, he was paid twenty million dollars, a record payday for a comedic actor. The attention drawn to his salary, coupled with negative reviews and the character's dark mood in contrast to his other performances, all contributed to the film's box office failure. Jim Carrey quickly rebounded with the successful Liar Liar, a return to his trademark style.

Despite the regular comedy successes, Jim Carrey took a chance and a slight paycut to star in The Truman Show (1998), a change of pace that led to forecasts of an Academy Award nomination which did not happen, leading Jim Carrey to appear on the show and joke "it's an honor just to be nominated ... oh no." The same year, Carrey got to flex more of his acting muscles with an appearance as the fictionalized version of himself on Garry Shandling's The Larry Sanders Show, making an unforgettable impression by ripping deliberately into Shandling's character and exposing a not so funny man behind the mask.

In 1999 Carrey fought hard and 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 win the role. (Note: It has been said that Carrey played Kaufman better then Kaufman did, with many people praising how well the character turned out). Coincidentally, Carrey was born 13 years to the day after Kaufman.

Jim Carrey continues to appear in successful comedies as well as more dramatic roles. His performance in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) earned high praise from critics, who once again incorrectly predicted that Carrey would receive his first Oscar nomination.

Carrey played the young animator Skip Tarkenton on NBC's The Duck Factory. The comedy, which aired April 12, 1984 - July 11, 1984, offered a behind-the-scenes look at the crew that produced a children's cartoon.[1]

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Film Career", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki