How Bill Murray inspired the career of Jim Carrey
There are few faces quite as recognisable or respected in the world of comedy as Jim Carrey. He’s mastered the whole spectrum from the silly to the sincere. But when it comes to funny performances that still get you right in the heart, he looks up to actor Bill Murray as the best of the best.
Jim Carrey has had a vast and varied career. He broke in a typical comedic fashion when he bagged a role in a sketch comedy TV show. Quickly becoming one to watch when it came to cheap laughs, the way he used his face and body in gags caught casting directors’ attention. In 1994, he had the breakout year to end all breakout years as he starred in Ace Ventura, The Mask and Dumb and Dumber all in the same 12 months, cementing his star status and laying out a career.
His expansive resume features iconic character after iconic character. It’s hard to pinpoint what he might be best known for as he portrayed the Grinch, Lemony Snickett’s Count Olaf, Bruce Almighty and so on.
Sure, Jim Carrey continued doing comedy roles, but much like his idol, Bill Murray, he refused to be trapped in his typecast. In films like The Truman Show, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind and Man On The Moon, he more than proves his worth as an incredible drama actor, putting in some moving performances without having to be funny all the time.
Bill Murray’s career feels like a blueprint for Carrey. He, too, started in out-and-out comedy projects such as Ghostbusters, Stripes and Groundhog Day. He’s one of America’s most beloved funny guys but has never let that limit him. His roles in Lost In Translation, as well as his long-term collaboration with Wes Anderson in films like Life Aquatic and The Royal Tenenbaums, offer a more serious and sincere side.
To both actors, it seems like comedy and drama feed into one another. It all seems to be in the intention of treating both genres with just as much feeling. The difference between them is something Carrey credits Murray for teaching him.
“I think comedy you have to come at with a smile. You have to come at it with some kind of – it’s like the seed of a joygasm,” Carrey told The Majestic. “There is something going on behind the person’s eyes.”
He considered Murray’s ability to differentiate between his dramatic and comedic roles as he continued, “That’s why I love Bill Murray, because there’s just something behind his eyes that tells the audience, ‘I am not serious in any way.’”
The spark behind the eyes is something found in both actors, who are able to bring it out when they want a laugh and then fade it down in more serious roles. A true testament to their talent, it’s a tough task to do both.
