The iconic Jim Carrey role almost played by Alan Rickman
Known for his elastic-looking facial expressions and exaggerated slapstick style, Jim Carrey has baffled audiences with his ability to blur the language of drama and comedy. He has brought weight to films such as The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind while also maintaining his trademark goofy charm.
After his breakout role in the 1990s sitcom Living Colour, Carrey defined a decade of comedies with his performances in The Mask, Dumb and Dumber, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. While he seems like the obvious choice for all of those roles, there was one project in which he was last on the casting wish list, with a whole host of other actors being floated around before he was even considered.
Ace Ventura, released in 1994, follows a detective on his quest to find the Miami Dolphins’ missing mascot and quarterback player. If I’m completely honest, the film has not aged well, but it’s the kind of thing you’d watch as a kid and be completely unphased by, blissfully unaware of the adult undertone to the jokes until you rewatch it many years later and realise how much went over your head.
However, it became a bit of a cultural classic from the ’90s, with countless quotable moments and that distinct manic surrealism that pervades much of Carrey’s work. While Carrey is undeniably the correct casting choice for this film, the team behind the film struggled to find anyone to fill this role for a long time, even considering changing the name to ‘Alice Ventura’ and casting a woman instead, with Whoopi Goldberg being their first choice if this change was implemented.
Initially, Rick Moranis was asked to play the role, but he declined the part in order to make The Flintstones movie. Judd Nelson was then approached, who also declined. The same goes for Rob Schneider. However, in perhaps the most surprising of choices, legendary British actor Alan Rickman was also approached for the part.
Rickman is known for his stoic and assured persona, famous for his role in the Harry Potter series, Die Hard and The Barchester Chronicles, as well as his stage work, winning the coveted Tony Award for his performance in Les Liaisons Dangereuses in 1985. Despite his versatility and undeniable screen presence, the idea of Rickman as Ace Ventura isn’t the most intuitive choice.
However, just as the team were at their wit’s end, the casting directors became aware of Carrey through his role in Living Colours, acting in a number of different sketches throughout his five years on the show. The team then approached Carrey with the part, and thus, we have the Ace Ventura that we know today. The film was successful enough for a sequel to be made, with the writers announcing that they were developing a third instalment of the series in 2019. Jim Carrey revealed that he would retire from acting after the last Sonic the Hedgehog movie, but it seems as though he isn’t quite done with the world of filmmaking quite yet.
