The movie experience Jim Carrey ”hated”
In terms of professional acting, Jim Carrey has become a physical wonder. Although he may have secured his start in the world of comedy, Carrey’s strengths as an actor come from how diverse his characters can be, from the existential crisis going on in The Truman Show to everyone’s favourite hater of Christmas in the retelling of Dr Seuss’ The Grinch. While he has remained a professional throughout his career, there was one experience that he would rather forget working on.
Coming out of the 1990s, Carrey still relied on his physicality to get him through his most significant roles. Even when delivering over-the-top performances in movies like Batman Forever, Carrey knew how to put his entire body into the production, letting his movements act for him rather than any lines of dialogue.
As the new decade was dawning, Carrey was allowed to work on one of the biggest films of his career, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Operating like a fever dream over its runtime, Carrey is seen going through various situations of emotional turmoil, often going from romance to distress within a few frames.
Although Carrey could brave through the different scenes, the approach of director Michel Gondry was not like any typical director. Since the French auteur was never one to yell action or to say cut when a take was over, Carrey was constantly on edge to make sure that each part of his performance came out perfectly when in front of the camera.
According to producer Anthony Bergman, the whole crew tried to take Carrey out of his comfort zone, telling Hollywood Gold, “It’s a very different type of role that Jim had. He’s a real perfectionist. It was, ‘How do we destabilise it so he can’t prepare, so he can’t do the Jim Carrey thing?’ Part of the camera set-up stuff was designed to do that.”
Though the disorienting work environment helped inform Crrey’s performance, Bergman would say just how strenuous it was on him, explaining, “Jim…he hated it. We knew he was going to hate it. He’s the biggest star in the world, in control of every set, and here we were, pulling that part away. He would, like, storm out and scream at me. He called me all sorts of things, and I would just be there to absorb it. He’s like, ‘This is like the worst set I’ve ever been on, I don’t know what the fuck is going on!’ And we’re like, ‘No, no, no, it’s all good. This is why we’re getting great stuff.”
While the road to getting the film made was a nightmare for Carrey, that tension was translated to the screen in the final product. While not capturing any arguments with the cast and crew, Carrey’s fragile mind was perfect for the character, making him feel at his wit’s end throughout most of the movie.
Carrey would later feel insecure about his work on the film, he would go on to call Eternal Sunshine one of the best movies he has ever worked on. Although Carrey could have easily walked off the set after already being one of the biggest movie stars in the world, his contributions to the film would go on to redefine his persona in the public eye, having the ability to play beaten-down characters as well as his standard operatic comedic roles.
