2024-03-01

Jim Carrey
s_bukley / shutterstock.com
  • Faith: Christian - Catholic
  • Career: Actor
  • Birthday:  January 17, 1962

Jim Carrey is a comedian and actor known for his energetic slapstick performances. After spending most of the 1980s honing his stand-up comedy act and mainly portraying supporting roles in movies, Carrey gained wide recognition in 1990 when he was cast in the sketch comedy TV series “In Living Color.” He broke out as a film star after starring in numerous box office hits with “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” “The Mask,” and “Dumb and Dumber,” which he followed up with “Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls” and “Batman Forever.”

The success of these movies led to Carrey being the first actor to receive a $20 million salary for performing in films, starting with “The Cable Guy.” He continued to have success as a leading actor in comedies like “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “Liar Liar,” “Bruce Almighty,” “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events,” and “Yes Man.” Starting in the 2010s, he started to appear in fewer films, with his notable roles since then including reprising the part of Lloyd Christmas in “Dumb and Dumber To” and playing Dr. Robotnik in “Sonic the Hedgehog” and its 2022 and 2024 sequels.

Though typecast mainly as a comedic actor, Carrey has had success in dramatic roles. His critically acclaimed performances include Truman Burbank in “The Truman Show” and Andy Kaufman in “Man on the Moon,” winning Golden Globe Awards for each film. Later, he starred in the psychological science fiction romantic drama movie “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” for which he was nominated for both a BAFTA Award and another Golden Globe Award. He also starred as Jeff Piccirillo in the Showtime series “Kidding,” for which he received his seventh Golden Globe nomination. Carrey was born in Ontario, Canada and has three older siblings.

When he was eight years old, Carrey started making faces in front of a mirror and found a talent for doing impressions. At 10, he wrote a letter to Carol Burnett of the “Carol Burnett Show” pointing out that he was already a master of impression and should be considered for a role on the show; he was ecstatic when he received a form letter reply. A fan of Monty Python, whose TV show “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” aired in the 1970s, in 2014, Carrey appeared on “Monty Python’s Best Bits (Mostly)” and recalled the effect on him of Ernest Scribbler, played by Michael Palin, laughing himself to death in “The Funniest Joke in the World” sketch.

Carrey spent his early years in Scarborough, Ontario, where he attended Blessed Trinity Catholic Elementary School. His family later moved to Burlington, Ontario, where they would spend eight years. Sometime later, his family became homeless and lived together in a Volkswagen van while teenage Jim and his brother spent months living in a tent in Charles Daley Park on the Lake Ontario shore in Lincoln, Ontario. However, their situation improved once his father found employment in the accounting department at the Titan Wheels tire factory in Scarborough.

What religion is Jim Carrey?

Jim Carrey was raised a Roman Catholic. As a child, Carrey said he promised to pray the rosary in exchange for a new bike. However, Carrey dabbled in Presbyterianism later in life. He’s also been connected with Kabbala, Scientology, Christianity, and Transcendentalism. Still, Carrey has been opaque about his religious beliefs.


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