Jim Carrey’s behavior on sets was captured during his performance for Man On The Moon and later released in the Netflix documentary Jim And Andy. He apparently pushed himself to “psychotic” places and led to some hilarious reactions from the crew.
But according to Oscar-nominated makeup artist Kazuhiro Tsuji, Carrey’s behavior on the set of How The Grinch Stole Christmas back in 2000 actually led him to therapy to discuss the experience. He called out Carrey’s “combative” demeanor in an interview with Vulture:
Production on How the Grinch Stole Christmas was not easy for Jim Carrey. He was encased head-to-toe in green fur, in a design that kept changing, and the fake snow on set kept getting into the gigantic contacts he was forced to wear. The way Tsuji tells it, he took these frustrations out on the crew. “Once we were on set, he was really mean to everybody and at the beginning of the production they couldn’t finish,” he said. “After two weeks we only could finish three days’ worth of shooting schedule, because suddenly he would just disappear and when he came back, everything was ripped apart. We couldn’t shoot anything.”
Tsuji then goes on to discuss the moment that forced him off the set in an attempt to change Carrey’s behavior towards him:
“In the makeup trailer he just suddenly stands up and looks in the mirror, and pointing on his chin, he goes, ‘This color is different from what you did yesterday.’ I was using the same color I used yesterday. He says, ‘Fix it.’ And okay, you know, I ‘fixed’ it. Every day was like that.” Mentally exhausted, Tsuji met with Baker and one of the producers, who were also unhappy with the slow pace. They came up with a solution: He would go away for a while, which would make Carrey see how valuable he was. After a week of hiding, Carrey called. Tsuji didn’t answer, and he didn’t call back. Then director Ron Howard called. He left a message saying Carrey had sworn to change.
“I went back under one condition,” Tsuji said. “I was talking with my friends, and they all told me, ‘You should ask for a raise before you go back.’ I didn’t want to do that — kind of nasty. Then I got the idea: How about I ask them to help me to get a green card?” He returned, and Carrey kept his temper in check the rest of the shoot.
It’s then that he decided to go see a therapist and ended realize how “unhappy” being on set made him. He stayed in the film industry a little longer, working on Looper and Planet Of The Apes. He ended up retiring in 2011, but was coaxed back by Gary Oldman to work on Darkest Hour and earned an Oscar nomination in the process.
What do you think? Discuss this story with fellow Project Casting fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @projectcasting.
