How the Grinch Stole Christmas is an iconic holiday movie, but for Jim Carrey, who plays the green creature, it’s, in short, a nightmare.
This discomfort stems from an attempt to bring authenticity to the character that Dr. Seuss created. For example, the lengthy make-up sessions, extensive prosthetics and heavy costumes.
“The suit was made of unnervingly itchy yak hair that drove me crazy all day,” says Jim Vulture. “I had fingers that were 10 inches long, so I couldn’t scratch myself, touch my face or do anything.”
In addition to the itchy costume and long fingers, the actor explains that his eyes and teeth were also affected.
“I had teeth that I had to talk around, and I had full contact lenses that covered the entire eyeball, and I could only see a little tunnel in front of me.”
It became too difficult for Jim, so he decided to quit and was even willing to pay back the $20 million check with interest, director Ron Howard recalled in the interview. But the filmmaker had an idea.
“Brian found a man who trained the military to endure captivity and torture,” he says, referring to producer Brian Grazer who brought in Richard Marcinko, the founder of the US Navy SEAL Team 6, to help the actor persevere.
The mask Star says he is “a gentleman who trained CIA officers and special operations people to tolerate torture.”
His advice, Jim recalls, was to use different ways to deal with the problems he was experiencing. “He gave me a litany of things to do when I was spiraling. Punch myself in the leg as hard as I can.”
“Have a friend I trust and punch him in the arm. Eat everything in sight. Changing patterns in the room. If there’s a TV on when you start turning it off, turn it off and turn on the radio,” the actor adds.
He continues, “Smoke as many cigarettes as possible. There are pictures of me as the Grinch, sitting in a director’s chair with a long cigarette holder. I had to have the holder because the yak hair would catch fire if it got too close.”
But in the end, the patience and hard work paid off when How the Stole Christmas became a cult classic.
As Jim adds, “Even though it’s been a struggle, it’s such an honor to have been that character. It’s just the most beautiful story in the world, how much we need people to open their hearts.”
“It will always get you. Many of us are walking around with a parched heart right now,” he concludes.
