“He’ll burn your soul”: the actor Jim Carrey called scary
Throughout his decades-long career that allowed him to evolve from overzealous comic to respected and acclaimed dramatic actor, Jim Carrey tried his hand at many different kinds of performances, but even attempting to be scary was never part of it.
The two-time Golden Globe winner did admittedly bring varying degrees of intensity to his work in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Man on the Moon, The Number 23, and Dark Crimes, but the fact the latter two were nothing short of terrible indicated that when it was time to get serious, Carrey was significantly better suited to pathos than outright petrification.
Being one of the biggest, most popular, and highest-paid stars in Hollywood during the peak of his powers entrenched Carrey firmly at the top of the A-list before he’d even showcased his latent dramatic capabilities, but that didn’t mean he was above being left somewhere between enthralled and trepidatious when he crossed paths with a genuine living legend.
The major selling point of Carrey’s reunion with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Liar Liar director Tom Shadyac on biblical comedy Bruce Almighty was always going to be the leading man applying his signature shtick to one of the highest jobs in the spiritual land, but just as integral to the film’s success as his rubber-faced boisterousness was the casting of the man upstairs.
In what was either inspired, blatantly obvious, or a combination of the two, Morgan Freeman was drafted in to play God. His solemn gravitas made an excellent foil for Carrey’s relentless mugging, with the star describing his opposite number as “so class” in an interview with the BBC. However, he did admit there was a shred of nervousness on his part.
“Man, he’s so cool and… kind of scary. He terrified Tom, it was hilarious. Tom didn’t know what to do with Morgan,” he said, but fortunately Carrey did. “The first day I met Morgan, I walk up to him, shake his hand and say, ‘Hi Morgan, this is so great, I’m so glad you’re doing this movie’. And he says, ‘Nice to meet you, too. Now, never touch me again.'”
It’s reasonable to assume the Academy Award winner was at least partially joking, but Carrey nonetheless described Freeman’s aura as being “like this laser that goes right to your soul.” Shadyac got the hardest time of all, with the esteemed filmmaker being “raked over the coals something awful” by the esteemed veteran, even though it was in jest.
Carrey even called Freeman “one of those guys that every actor is afraid of,” with his mere presence enough to force any performer to up their game. Why? According to Carrey, you’ve got to “be ready, or he’ll burn your soul.” Ominous, but nonetheless illustrative of the elder statesman’s reputation.
