Jim Carrey is a Canadian and American actor and comedian who has appeared in various feature films, television films/series, along with one video game appearance. He is one of the top-50 highest-grossing actors of all time at the North American box office, with over $2.5 billion total gross and an average of $94.3 million per film.[1] He has been involved with thirteen films that grossed over $250 million at the worldwide box office; the highest-grossing film being Bruce Almighty.[2] Carrey gained his first lead role on the short-lived television series The Duck Factory in 1984, playing a young cartoonist. His first starring role in film was the 1985 comedy horror Once Bitten, with Lauren Hutton as a vampire countess and Carrey playing her victim. He landed supporting roles in films, such as Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), The Dead Pool (1988) and Earth Girls Are Easy (also 1988). In 1990, Carrey received his commercial breakthrough on Fox's In Living Color (1990–1994), where he displayed his character work.
In 1994, Carrey's breakthrough came when he landed the leading role in , in which he played a goof-ball detective specialized in crimes involving animals. The film would go on to earn over $72 million at the box office.[3] He went on to star in the sequel in 1995. In 1994, he starred in two commercial successes: The Mask with Cameron Diaz, and Dumb and Dumber with Jeff Daniels. The films ended up grossing $120 million and $127 million, respectively, and established Carrey as a star.[4] [5] Other 1990s films he starred in included Batman Forever (1995), The Cable Guy (1996) and Liar Liar (1997).
In 1998, he gained critical acclaim in the satirical comedy-drama film The Truman Show, in which he played Truman Burbank, a man whose life was, unbeknownst to him, a top-rating reality television show. The film was highly praised and led many to believe he would be nominated for an Oscar, but instead he picked up his first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama.[6] In 2000, he returned to comedy reteaming with the Farrelly brothers for Me, Myself & Irene, it received mixed reviews but enjoyed box office success.[7] [8] That same year, Carrey also appeared in How the Grinch Stole Christmas.[9]
Carrey starred opposite Jennifer Aniston and Morgan Freeman in Tom Shadyac's 2003 comedy Bruce Almighty, portraying a television newsman who unexpectedly receives God's omnipotent abilities. It remains his most financially successful film to date.[10] In 2004, he took a role in the critically lauded art-house film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michael Gondry.[11] He received his fourth Golden Globe Award nomination, and was also nominated for his first BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. In the 2010s and 2020s, he portrayed Sal Bertolinni / Colonel Stars and Stripes in the black comedy superhero film Kick-Ass 2 (2013), Lloyd Christmas in Dumb and Dumber To (2014), and the villain Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022), and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024).
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Bobby Todd | |||
| Host / Various roles | Direct-to-video; also co-screenwriter | |||
| All in Good Taste | Ralph Parker | |||
| 1984 | Finders Keepers | Lane Biddlecoff | ||
| 1985 | Once Bitten | Mark Kendall | ||
| 1986 | Peggy Sue Got Married | Walter Getz | ||
| 1988 | Johnny Squares | |||
| Earth Girls Are Easy | Wiploc | |||
| 1989 | Pink Cadillac | Lounge Entertainer | ||
| 1991 | High Strung | Death | Uncredited | |
| 1992 | Itsy Bitsy Spider | The Exterminator | Voice; short film | |
| 1994 | Ace Ventura | Also co-screenwriter | ||
| Stanley Ipkiss / The Mask | ||||
| Dumb and Dumber | Lloyd Christmas | |||
| 1995 | Batman Forever | Edward Nygma / The Riddler | ||
| Ace Ventura | ||||
| 1996 | Cable Guy / Ernie "Chip" Douglas | |||
| 1997 | Liar Liar | Fletcher Reede | [12] | |
| 1998 | Truman Burbank | |||
| Simon Birch | Adult Joe Wenteworth / Narrator | |||
| 1999 | Man on the Moon | Andy Kaufman | ||
| 2000 | Me, Myself & Irene | Charlie Baileygates / Hank Evans | ||
| How the Grinch Stole Christmas | The Grinch | |||
| 2001 | Peter Appleton | |||
| 2003 | Bruce Almighty | Bruce Nolan | Also producer | |
| Pecan Pie | The Driver | Short film | ||
| 2004 | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | Joel Barish | ||
| Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events | Count Olaf | |||
| 2005 | Fun with Dick and Jane | Richard "Dick" Harper | Also producer | |
| 2007 | Walter Sparrow / Detective Fingerling | |||
| 2008 | Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! | Horton the Elephant | Voice | |
| Yes Man | Carl Allen | |||
| 2009 | I Love You Phillip Morris | Steven Jay Russell | ||
| Ebenezer Scrooge / Ghosts of Christmas: Past, Present, Yet to Come | Voice and motion-capture | |||
| 2011 | Mr. Popper's Penguins | Thomas "Tom" Popper Jr. | ||
| 2013 | Steve Gray | |||
| Kick-Ass 2 | Sal Bertolinni / Colonel Stars and Stripes | |||
| Scott Riles | Uncredited cameo | [13] | ||
| 2014 | Dumb and Dumber To | Lloyd Christmas | [14] | |
| 2016 | The Hermit | |||
| Dark Crimes | Tadek | |||
| 2020 | Sonic the Hedgehog | Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik | ||
| 2022 | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | |||
| 2024 | Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | Post-production |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Additional voices | ||||
| 1981 | Rubberface | Tony Moroni | Television film | ||
| 1983 | Copper Mountain | Bobby Todd | Television film | ||
| 1984 | Buffalo Bill | Jerry Lewis Impersonator | Episode: "Jerry Lewis Week" | ||
| 1984 | Skip Tarkenton | 13 episodes | |||
| 1989 | Brad Peters | Television film | |||
| 1990–1994 | In Living Color | Fire Marshall Bill, various roles | 125 episodes; credited as James Carrey | ||
| 1991 | Jim Carrey: The Un-Natural Act | Himself | Stand-up special; also producer and writer | ||
| 1992 | Doing Time on Maple Drive | Tim Carter | Television film | ||
| 1992 | Sesame Street | Himself | Episode: "3023" | ||
| 1996, 2011, 2014 | Saturday Night Live | Himself | Host; 3 episodes | ||
| 1998 | Himself | Episode: "Flip" | |||
| 2011 | The FingerLakes Guy | Episode: "Search Committee" | |||
| 2012 | 30 Rock | Dave Williams | Episode: "Leap Day" | ||
| 2015 | Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special | Himself / Matthew McConaughey | |||
| 2017–2018 | I'm Dying Up Here | Executive producer only | |||
| 2018–2020 | Kidding | Jeff Piccirillo / Jeff Pickles | 20 episodes; also executive producer | ||
| 2020 | Saturday Night Live | Joe Biden | 6 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects | Himself | ||
| 1995 | Himself | |||
| 1995 | Jim Carrey Spotlight | Himself | ||
| 1998 | Junket Whore | Himself | ||
| 1998 | In My Life | Himself | ||
| 1999 | Pesel Ha'Zahav | Himself | ||
| 1999 | AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars America's Greatest Screen Legends | Himself | ||
| 2000 | Jim Carrey Uncensored | Himself | ||
| 2001 | Himself | |||
| 2001 | Himself | |||
| 2009 | Under the Sea 3D | Narrator | ||
| 2011 | Conan O'Brien Can't Stop | Narrator | ||
| 2011 | Narrator | |||
| 2015 | Rubble Kings | Producer only | ||
| 2017 | Himself | |||
| 2018 | Himself |
| Year | Artist | Song | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Tone Loc | "Ace Is In The House" | Appears in scenes of the movie | ||
| 1994 | Jim Carrey | "Cuban Pete (C&C Pop Radio Edit)" | Appears in scenes of the movie The Mask | ||
| 1995 | Seal | "Kiss from a Rose" | Appears in scenes of the movie Batman Forever | ||
| 1999 | R.E.M. | "The Great Beyond" | Appears in scenes of the movie Man on the Moon | ||
| 2000 | Foo Fighters | "Breakout" | Appears in scenes of the movie Me, Myself & Irene | ||
| 2022 | Kid Cudi | "Stars in the Sky" | Appears in scenes of the movie Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | ||
| 2022 | The Weeknd | "Out of Time" | [15] |