Carrey’s resumé is colorful and varied, with roles ranging from the hilariously idiotic (see above) to the heart-wrenching and moving (The Truman Show, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Man on the Moon). That variety and versatility is deliberate. “For me, art is trying to take a mixture of pain and intelligence and create something that wasn’t there before,” he previously revealed to Parade. “There’s something beautiful about taking a painful thing and making a painting out of it. I have some horrific paintings I’ve done, and some characters that I’ve done that I wasn’t happy being in, but they were a part of me at the time and I needed to express it in a way that isn’t, you know, pulling my pants down in the middle of an intersection. Not that I’m above that.” For a few years, Carrey took a breather from the entertainment industry, despite consistently being in high demand. “I just didn’t want to be in the business anymore,” Carrey explained to The Hollywood Reporter. “I didn’t like what was happening, the corporations taking over and all that. And maybe it’s because I felt pulled toward a different type of creative outlet and I really liked the control of painting—of not having a committee in the way telling me what the idea must be to appeal to a four-quadrant whatever.” He told The Hollywood Reporterthat he has no interest in pursuing fame, which played a role in his brief respite from acting after 2016. “There’s a weightlessness to it,” he said of notoriety. “You can dream about it all you want, but until you get it, you don’t realize that it’s really not a place that’s very comfortable for very long.” That may all well play a role in why the Sonic the Hedgehog 2star has floated the idea of retirement recently: He’s more focused on being present than on leaving a legacy. “I don’t care if people remember my name. I want what I do to mean something now,” he told Parade. “I care that the people I came in contact with maybe were a little bit freer or a little bit better or a little bit happier, and they did something for somebody, and it spiraled. We can each, in our lives, affect so many people. So that’s all I’m after. It’s a good life. A really good life.” Of course, it’s easy to have a good life when you know you’ll never have to worry about making ends meet. Find out Jim Carrey’s net worth and how he earned it.
How did Jim Carrey become famous?
Thrown into poverty after his father lost his job when Carrey was just 12 years old, the star’s comedy standup career began (with his parents’ encouragement) when he was all of 15. Carrey once recalled to Barbara Walters that his father helped him write his act. “My parents held my comedy up as something special—I was what was special about them in a way,” he told The Hollywood Reporter, adding that his siblings were also supportive. Carrey’s relationship with his father is largely what propelled him to success, and his dad didn’t fight him even when he asked to drop out of high school to pursue comedy. “My dad was the guy who could just stand in the middle of a room and everybody would be wrapped around his finger. He was just this incredible human being.” Still in his teens, Carrey moved to Los Angeles in 1981, where he performed standup more regularly as an impressionist, mimicking everyone from James Deanto Henry Fondaand beyond. He told Walters that he essentially manifested his acting career, driving to Mulholland Drive and telling himself over and over that he was a successful actor, with a check in his pocket for $10 million that he’d written to himself “for acting services rendered.” In the late 1980s, Carrey landed small roles in films including Earth Girls Are Easy(with Geena Davisand Jeff Goldblum) and Francis Ford Coppola’s Peggy Sue Got Married(with Kathleen Turnerand Nicolas Cage). In 1990, he got his big break when he was the only white man cast on the sketch show In Living Color, where he debuted such iconic characters as Fire Marshall Bill. He remained on the iconic sketch series until 1994, when he starred in two massively successful movies: The Maskand Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. As for Carrey’s $10 million check, he held onto it until he was able to cash it in 1995—but instead of doing that, he put it in his father’s casket when he died to let his beloved dad know that he’d made it.
What is Jim Carrey’s net worth?
Carrey’s estimated net worth is $180 million, and if you ask him, he’s happy to leave it that way. He told Access Hollywoodin April 2022 ahead of the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, “I’m retiring. Yeah, probably. I’m being fairly serious." He added that he may consider more projects but, “It depends. If the angels bring some sort of script that’s written in gold ink that says to me that it’s going to be really important for people to see, I might continue down the road, but I’m taking a break.” Carrey, one of the wealthiest and highest-paid actors in the business, has recently taken to visual art as a medium that brings him peace and serves as a creative outlet. He explained, “I really like my quiet life and I really like putting paint on canvas and I really love my spiritual life and I feel like—and this is something you might never hear another celebrity say as long as time exists—I have enough. I’ve done enough. I am enough.”
How much does Jim Carrey make per movie?
In 2011, Carrey made Forbes’ list of highest-paid actors, raking in a reported $20 million per movie at his peak. That said, his total take-home pay for every project likely varies by box office performance and demand. According to Business Insider, when adjusted for inflation, Carrey’s groundbreaking $20 million salaries would each be worth more than $35 million today! Despite his big bucks, Carrey has said he isn’t necessarily motivated by fame or money. He’s famously quoted as saying, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”
How much was Jim Carrey paid for The Mask?
The Mask was an absolutely massive success, grossing $352 million on a $23 million budget. Released in 1994, the same year as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Carrey’s payday was $450,000. As far back as 1989, The Mask was initially pitched as a horror film to more closely follow the violent Dark Horse Comics on which it was based, exploring the themes of classic animation, anonymity and the corruption of absolute power. Instead, it was reworked as a “sssssssmokin’” PG-13 comedy thanks to Carrey’s signature facial movements and voice for Stanley Ipkiss. It also served as a star vehicle for Cameron Diaz—who was scouted for the movie by chance when she walked out of a modeling agency.
How much did Jim Carrey get paid for his commercial?
Carrey reprised his Cable Guy persona for a Verizon Fios Super Bowl commercial in February 2022. It was his first commercial ever (not counting trailers for his own movies) and his salary isn’t publicly known—but considering other stars have reportedly pocketed between $500,000 to more than $2 million for Super Bowl ads, it’s safe to assume he made at least as much as he did for The Mask. Verizon CCO and SVP Andrew McKechnie told AdWeek, “Hopefully, when the viewers see it, it will feel like a great story both from a cultural standpoint and, in terms of 25 years later, what The Cable Guy ultimately represents.”
What is Jim Carrey’s highest-paid movie?
Carrey’s highest-paying film is actually one that a lot of people may have forgotten about. Released in 2008, Yes Manstarred Carrey as a guy who literally couldn’t say no alongside Bradley Cooper and Zooey Deschanel. While reviews were middling, like most Carrey-led comedies of the time, it made big bucks, not just for the studio, but also for the star himself. According to Forbes, Carrey relinquished his upfront salary in exchange for partial ownership of the movie. It was a significant gamble, but one that paid off in a huge way: Yes Man grossed $223 million worldwide, netting the actor a whopping $30 million payday. At the time—and still today—it was one of the highest acting salaries for a single role in history.
How much did Jim Carrey get paid for The Truman Show?
For his first foray into dramatic acting, Carrey accepted a whopping 40 percent pay cut from his usual sum. Carrey reportedly made $12 million for The Truman Show as opposed to his typical $20 million fee for comedies, and it was a successful showcasing of his talents. Carrey was nominated for a Golden Globe for his critically acclaimed portrayal of unwitting reality star Truman Burbank. Of course, with a huge amount of TV being reality-based now, plus the advent of YouTube and social media, The Truman Show feels almost quaint and nostalgic. When asked about a potential sequel, Carrey told Collider, “I think The Truman Show is something that exists on a micro level now. It was kind of a story about that on a macro level. But now everybody has a subscriber channel. Everybody has their own little Truman Show world. There’s something to be had there. I often think, and am asked about, what would have happened to Truman when he goes outside the wall. It took me a while to realize that basically, he was alone out there, too, because everybody went back inside. They all wanted to be in the dome.”
Why didn’t Jim Carrey do Mask 2?
Carrey was in talks to star in a sequel to The Mask with Diaz reprising her role of Tina Carlyle, but Carrey opted out after making Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, released in 1995. In a sitdown with Walters in March 1995, Carrey revealed that he was offered $10 million for The Mask 2. However, after playing Ace Ventura twice, he got bored and wanted to do something more challenging as an actor, walking away from the would-be franchise that made him a household name. That said, Carrey isn’t completely against reprising the role of Stanley Ipkiss, but there is one condition he’d need producers to meet in order to do so. “I don’t think in terms of sequels and stuff like that… The Mask I think, myself, you know, it would depend on a filmmaker,” he told ComicBook.com. “It depends on a filmmaker really. I don’t want to do it just to do it. But I would only do it if it was some crazy visionary filmmaker, sure.”
How much did Jim Carrey make off Ace Ventura?
Variety reports that Carrey made a relatively meager $350,000 for his first go-round as Ace Ventura in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective in 1994. Carrey is also credited as a writer on the hit comedy, which grossed $107 million worldwide on a $15 million budget. It’s unknown if Carrey got extra cash for back-end box office profits for Ace Ventura, as it was his first leading role in a movie, giving him limited negotiating power at that time. In 1995, Carrey reportedly got paid $10 million for the sequel, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls—and rejected Spike Jonzeas director of the project, instead opting for Steve Odekerk. Carrey told ScreenCrush of the decision, “I’ve been wanting to do something with Spike forever. I was stupid enough to turn him down to direct Ace 2, ’cause I had no idea who he was. And he came in and pitched all kinds of s**t, and he was about to take over the world and I didn’t know it. I was like, ‘I don’t know, this guy’s new.’ And I’ve been kicking myself ever since.” In 2017, a reboot of the Ace Ventura franchise was proposed, but a year later, Carrey’s co-star Tommy Davidsontold press that Carrey wasn’t interested in returning to the role anytime soon.
How much did Jim Carrey make for The Grinch?
Carrey reportedly made his usual $20 million salary for 2000’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Additionally, Carrey also received back-end box office bonuses, and while his percentage of that isn’t publicly known, we do know it’s likely a sweet sum: The movie grossed $346 million worldwide, granted it was on a relatively large estimated $123 million budget. The money was hard-earned by all involved because of the prosthetics and makeup needed for the titular curmudgeon’s costume, with the yellow contact lenses being especially uncomfortable for the actor, who allegedly took his frustrations out on makeup artist Kazuhiro Tsuji. Tsuji told Vulture that he left the production temporarily because of his treatment, coming back only after Carrey and director Ron Howardacknowledged how invaluable his work was to the movie. For his part, Carrey told The Los Angeles Timesthat the experience was a “real lesson in Zen.”
Does Jim Carrey still get paid for The Grinch?
It’s unknown if Carrey receives royalties from How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Despite his frustrations during the filming process, Carrey looks back on it fondly now, saying in an interview promoting Sonic the Hedgehog, “It’s really fun when you see a little kid dressed up as The Grinch, or something like that—or they come up to me in the streets and their parent says, ‘You know who that is? That’s The Grinch.’”
How much did Jim Carrey get paid for Dumb and Dumber?
According to Variety, Carrey made a cool $7 million for his role of the dim-witted Lloyd Christmas in Dumb and Dumber — significantly more than his co-star, Jeff Daniels, who reportedly was paid just $50,000 to play Harry Dunne. Daniels wanted to work with Carrey so badly that he took the role despite the lowball offer. Lloyd’s chipped tooth was real. Carrey explained in a 1995 interview with Entertainment Weekly, “Clark La Prairie jumped on my head in grade school detention. The nuns sent me home with my tooth in an envelope.” In his other roles, he wears a cap that he removed for the iconic comedy. “De Niro gains weight,” he said. “I file my teeth off.” The screwball comedy classic grossed an enormous $247 million worldwide on a $17 million budget. Carrey and Daniels teamed up once more for Dumb and Dumber To in 2014. The film grossed $170 million worldwide on a $40 million budget.
How much did Jim Carrey get paid for The Cable Guy?
Carrey made $20 million upfront for The Cable Guy, plus an additional 15 percent of the back-end box office profits, according to Variety. He was the first actor to ever make $20 million for a movie and set an entirely new precedent for A-list salaries. The 1996 film had a promising start at the box office, grossing $20 million in its first weekend, but then fizzled out, grossing a total of $103 million worldwide on a $47 million budget. Varietyreported that when advertising and promotional costs were factored in (which isn’t included in a movie’s officially listed budget), The Cable Guy likely barely broke even for Columbia Pictures. This means that Carrey’s historic payday was also his first box office disappointment. The studio likely rued the decision somewhat, because Carrey wasn’t even their first choice for the part: Director Ben Stiller was slated to play the titular Chip, but was concerned that starring and directing the same flick would be too much for him. The part was reportedly written with Chris Farley in mind, but he turned it down, and Adam Sandler was also in consideration for the role. Carrey previously told Parade, “That part is really special to me. But I also feel like The Truman Show or Eternal Sunshine are things that were kind of universal vibratory buttons or something; I don’t know how to describe it. It vibrated with people, and it still does, and it was my prayer when I began to do the kind of work that’s got some sophistication, even if it’s comedy.”
How much did Jim Carrey make for Liar Liar?
Carrey made another $20 million for Liar Liar, and this time the studio got its money’s worth. The 1997 fantasy-comedy grossed $303 million worldwide on a $45 million budget — an honest hit and a true box office comeback. The movie was well-received by critics as well, and earned Carrey a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal as the pathologically lying attorney who’s forced to be completely truthful for a single day. Next, find out comedian and movie star Kevin Hart’s net worth and how he earned it.
