1983–1994: Move to Hollywood

In early 1983, Carrey decided to permanently move to Hollywood where he began regularly
performing at The Comedy Store. Getting on The Tonight Show became his immediate career
goal, and, by spring 1983, he appeared to have achieved it after getting booked for a stand-up
set on the highly-rated late night show.[36] However, a lukewarm club set at The Improv got him
unbooked.[36] Though struggling to replicate his success in Los Angeles, Carrey continued being a
big hit in his hometown Toronto where he returned during late April 1983 to perform at the short-
lived B.B. Magoon's theatrical venue on Bloor Street on three consecutive nights. While in
town, CTV's flagship newsmagazine program W5 did a feature on Carrey that aired nationally in
Canada. Back in L.A., within months, he landed the main role on The Duck Factory, a sitcom
being developed for NBC, and, in late November 1983, still got to debut his impressionist act
on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson via a promotional appearance for the sitcom about
to start airing nationally in the United States on the same network. [36] In the meantime, he was
cast for a supporting role in the US$7 million Warner Bros. comedy production Finders Keepers,
shot in the Canadian province of Alberta during late summer 1983. For his Tonight
Show appearance that aired on American Thanksgiving, 21-year-old Carrey went through his
most popular impressions—Elvis Presley, Leonid Brezhnev, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, Clint
Eastwood, Charles Bronson, Michael Landon, James Dean, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Charles
Nelson Reilly, characters from My Three Sons, and Kermit the Frog & Miss Piggy—in rapid
succession.[37] After completing his set, though getting the OK gesture from Carson, the
impressionist comic was notably not waved over by the host to join him on the couch—a usual
indication that while sufficiently pleased, the powerful host was probably not ecstatic about the
performance.[38] The end of 1983 saw Carrey go back home to Toronto once more for a publicized
New Years' Eve performance at the Royal York Hotel's Imperial Room.
Originally scheduled to start airing in January 1984, The Duck Factory sitcom debut in April,
airing Thursdays at 9:30pm between Cheers and Hill Street Blues.[39][40] The same month, Carrey
took a job hosting the 1984 U-Know Awards ceremony held in Toronto at the Royal York Hotel's
Ballroom.[41] By the time he made his debut appearance on NBC's Late Night with David
Letterman in late July 1984, the network had already cancelled The Duck Factory; Carrey went
back to touring with his impressionist act, including often opening for Rodney Dangerfield.
After being noticed doing stand-up by producer Samuel Goldwyn Jr. and contacted to audition for
a teen horror sex comedy being developed by The Samuel Goldwyn Company, Carrey landed a
starring role in Once Bitten shot in early 1985.[42] The young impressionist comic would continue
getting film roles; throughout late summer and early fall 1985, he shot a supporting part
in Francis Ford Coppola's Peggy Sue Got Married which then went into a long post-production
process.[42] In parallel, he decided to try out for Saturday Night Live again, this time ahead of the
show's 1985-86 season being prepared by returning executive producer Lorne Michaels who
was looking to hire an all-new cast. Five years removed from his previous SNL audition, twenty-
three-year-old Carrey got rejected again, reportedly never even getting the chance to audition his
material—'post-nuclear Elvis' hybrid impression and impersonation of Henry Fonda from On
Golden Pond—in front of executive producer Michaels due to the show's producers and senior
writers Al Franken, Tom Davis, and Jim Downey deciding that Michaels wouldn't like it.[43] Unlike
his previous SNL rejection, Carrey now had a bit of a movie career to fall back on in addition to
his impressionist stand-up act; Once Bitten was released in mid November 1985 and turned out
to be a modest box-office hit despite drawing poor reviews.
Back on the comedy club circuit with impressions, in fall 1986, Carrey auditioned
for SNL's upcoming season, his third attempt at getting on the ensemble sketch comedy show.
Finally managing to perform for the show's executive producer Lorne Michaels at
a Burbank studio, with returning cast members Dennis Miller, Jon Lovitz, and Nora Dunn also
watching the audition, Carrey was rejected again. [43] Among the group of hopefuls auditioning
alongside Carrey on this occasion were Dana Carvey and Phil Hartman, both of whom got hired.
[43]

Sensing that doing only impressions was turning into a career dead-end, Carrey set out to
develop a new live comedy act.[44] Much to the dismay of comedy club owners booking him, he
began abandoning trademark spastic celebrity impressions, opting instead to try
adding observational and character humour to his comedic repertoire, a process that often
involved forcing himself to improvise and scramble in front of dissatisfied live audiences that
came to see him do impressions.[44]
From 1990 to 1994, Carrey was a regular cast member of the ensemble comedy television
series In Living Color.[45] While short-lived, the popularity of this series helped him to land his first
few major film roles.

1994–1998: Rise to fame

Carrey played the lead role in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective which was released in February 1994
and went on to gross $72 million in the United States and Canada. [46] Following its success and
before the release of his next film, The Mask, which was anticipated to be another hit, Morgan
Creek Productions paid him $5 million to reprise his role as Ace Ventura and New Line
Cinema offered him $7 million to make a sequel to The Mask and paid him $7 million to appear
in Dumb and Dumber.[47] The Mask, released in July 1994, grossed $351 million worldwide, [48]
[49]
 and Dumb and Dumber, released in December 1994, was another commercial success,
grossing over $270 million worldwide.[50] Carrey received his first Golden Globe Award nomination
for Best Actor for his work in The Mask and was voted second on Quigley's Top Ten Money
Making Stars Poll, behind Tom Hanks.[51]

Carrey in Madrid, Spain, on December 13, 2008

Carrey portrayed the Batman villain The Riddler in the Joel Schumacher-directed superhero

film Batman Forever (1995). The film received mixed reviews, but was a box office success. He
reprised his role as Ace Ventura in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls which was also released in
1995. Like the original film, it was well received by the public, but poorly received by critics. It
was a huge box-office success, earning $212 million worldwide in addition to breaking records,
with a $40 million opening weekend.[52]
Carrey became the first actor to be paid $20 million for his next film, The Cable Guy (1996).
[53]
 Directed by Ben Stiller, the film was a satirical black comedy, in which Carrey played a lonely,
menacing cable TV installer who infiltrates the life of one of his customers (played by Matthew
Broderick). The role was a departure from the "hapless, hyper, overconfident" characters he had
been known for. However, it did not fare well with most critics, many reacting to Carrey's change
of tone from previous films.[54] Carrey also starred in the music video of the film's closing song,
"Leave Me Alone" by Jerry Cantrell.[55] Despite the reviews, The Cable Guy grossed $102 million
worldwide.[56]
He soon bounced back with the critically acclaimed comedy Liar Liar (1997), playing Fletcher
Reede, an unethical lawyer rendered unable to lie by his young son's birthday wish. Carrey was
praised for his performance, earning a second Golden Globe Award nomination for Best
Actor. Janet Maslin of The New York Times said: "Well into his tumultuous career, Mr. Carrey
finally turns up in a straightforward comic vehicle, and the results are much wilder and funnier
than this mundane material should have allowed." [57]

1998–2007: Critical acclaim

The following year he decided to take a pay cut to play the serious role of Truman Burbank in the
satirical comedy-drama film The Truman Show (1998).[58] The film was highly praised and brought
Carrey further international acclaim, leading many to believe he would be nominated for
an Oscar.[59] For The Truman Show, he was nominated Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a
Motion Picture Drama. The Truman Show was a commercial success, earning $264 million
worldwide against a budget of $60 million.[60][61] A Film4 critic stated that the film "allows Carrey to
edge away from broad comedy," adding that it was "a hilarious and breathtakingly conceived
satire."[62]
That same year, Carrey appeared as a fictionalized version of himself on the final episode
of Garry Shandling's The Larry Sanders Show, in which he deliberately ripped into Shandling's
character. In 1999, Carrey had the lead role in Man on the Moon. He portrayed comedian Andy
Kaufman to critical acclaim and received his second Golden Globe in a row. In addition, he
received his first Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Best Actor.[63]
In 2000, Carrey reteamed with the Farrelly brothers, who had previously directed him in Dumb
and Dumber, for the black comedy film Me, Myself & Irene, a film that received mixed
reviews[64] but enjoyed box office success. Carrey played the role of state trooper Charlie
Baileygates, who has multiple personalities and romances a woman portrayed by Renée
Zellweger. That same year, Carrey starred in the second highest-grossing Christmas film of all
time, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, playing the title character, for which he received both
praise and criticism from critics alongside a Golden Globe nomination. [65]
For his next feature film, Carrey starred opposite Jennifer Aniston and Morgan Freeman in Tom
Shadyac's international hit comedy Bruce Almighty (2003). Carrey played a TV newsman who
unexpectedly receives God's omnipotent abilities when the deity decides to take a vacation. The
film received mixed reviews upon release [66] but despite this still became a financial success,
earning over $484 million worldwide, and going on to become the seventeenth highest-grossing
live action comedy of all time.[67][68]
In 2004, Carrey starred in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The film received
overwhelming acclaim upon release. Critics highly praised Carrey's portrayal of Joel Barish, in
addition to the performance of his co-star Kate Winslet, who received an Oscar nomination.
According to CNN's reviewer Paul Clinton, Carrey's performance was the actor's "best, most
mature and sharply focused performance ever."[69] Carrey received another Golden Globe
nomination and his first BAFTA Award nomination for Best Actor.

Carrey at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival

Carrey's next appearance was in the 2004 black comedy fantasy film Lemony Snicket's A Series
of Unfortunate Events, which was based on the popular children's novels of the same name. The
film was positively received; Desson Thomson from The Washington Post said of Carrey's
approach to the character of Count Olaf,
Olaf is a humorless villain in the book. He's not amusing like Carrey at all. To which I would
counter: If you can't let Carrey be Carrey, put someone boring and less expensive in the role. In
his various disguises he's rubbery, inventive and improvisationally inspired. I particularly liked his
passing imitation of a dinosaur.[70][71]
That same year, Carrey was inducted into the Canadian Walk of Fame.[72] In 2005, Carrey starred
in the remake of Fun with Dick and Jane with Tea Leoni, which grossed $200 million with a profit
of $100 million. This film continued his brand of physical humor which propelled him to stardom
in the 1990s.

2007–2018: Change in pace

Carrey reunited with Joel Schumacher, director of Batman Forever, for The Number 23 (2007), a
psychological thriller co-starring Virginia Madsen and Danny Huston. In the film, Carrey plays a
man who becomes obsessed with the number 23, after finding a book about a man with the
same obsession. The film was panned by critics. The following year Carrey provided his voice
for Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! (2008). Carrey voiced the beloved elephant for the CGI-
animated feature, which received overwhelmingly positive reviews and delivered family crowds
en masse. The film was also a box office success, raking in over $290 million worldwide.[73]
Carrey returned to live-action comedy, starring opposite Zooey Deschanel and Bradley
Cooper in Yes Man (also 2008). Carrey played a man who signs up for a self-help program that
teaches him to say yes to everything. Despite reviews being mixed, Rene Rodriquez of The
Miami Herald stated, "Yes Man is fine as far as Jim Carrey comedies go, but it's even better as a
love story that just happens to make you laugh." [74] The film had a decent performance at the box
office, earning $225 million worldwide.[75]