Top 10 Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey will probably be remembered as one of the nineties and noughties' great physcial comedians, but there's much more to him than that. Set to play a gay inmate in I Love You, Philip Morris, we look back at other great 'serious' roles including Joel Barish in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind and Truman Burbank in The Truman Show, as well as the timeless comedy classics.

His Top 10 Films

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)

After years of ground-breaking TV comedy, the first proper Monty Python film saw Terry Gilliam step behind the camera, co-directing alongside fellow Python Terry Jones, with the whole team bringing their sketch-show-honed surrealism to the King Arthur mythology. Gilliam’s much-loved animated sequences also feature in this inspired, hilarious panto of a movie, which is slapstick but literate; satirical but not above raspberry-blowing for laughs.

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The Mask (1994)

Based on the Dark Horse comic book series, The Mask was originally intended to be much darker, until Carrey was brought on board. Having announced his trademark brand of loud, outlandish comedy and won over audiences with it, Carrey was given free rein by the producers and transformed the comic book into an Oscar-nominated comedy classic. It is rumoured he based this character on his father.

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Dumb & Dumber (1994)

1994 was a busy year for the Canadian actor, who teamed up with Jeff Daniels for some memorably slapstick tom-foolery. Written and directed by the Farrelly brothers, Dumb & Dumber drums up most of its laughs through gross-out and cringe-inducing comedy, and it’s not for the faint-hearted. Having chipped his tooth years before, Carrey had the cap removed to add to his character’s density.

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The Cable Guy (1996)

Directed by and starring fellow comedian Ben Stiller, The Cable Guy was originally written for Chris Farley, but his busy schedule paved the way for Carrey to take the lead instead. A much darker comedy, Stiller let Carrey riff on the script, resulting in the infamous Silence Of The Lambs spoof scene. It may be considered one of Carrey’s less successful films, but has garnered a cult following.

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The Truman Show(1998)

Having carved out a reputation as a garish and goofy comedian, Carrey stepped into his first serious role since becoming an A-lister. Director David Cronenberg is said to have turned down this project, instead passing it over to Peter Weir, and Weir’s exceptional comedy-drama was nominated for three Academy Awards. Carrey missed out on the Oscars, but his impressive turn did yield a deserved Golden Globe.

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Man on the Moon (1999)

A second Golden Globe followed a year later for his method acting efforts, which consisted of Carrey not breaking character off set, in Milos Forman’s Man on the Moon. Edward Norton was initially in the frame, but Carrey was seen as more bankable for this semi-autobiographical account of American entertainer Andy Kaufman. Carrey and Kaufman share the same birthday, by the way. Spooky.

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Bruce Almighty (2003)

In 2003, Carrey attempted to fill the Almighty’s rather sizeable shoes in Bruce Almighty, which co-starred Jennifer Aniston. The film was banned in Egypt and Malaysia for its representation of God as a regular man (played by Morgan Freeman), but proved very popular at the US box office: sailing past its budget of $81m in the opening weekend alone.

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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Michel Gondry’s psychological drama won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for the intelligent, mind-bending plot Gondry penned with Charlie Kaufman. Kate Winslet also received a nomination for her performance as Clementine Kruczynski (but lost out to Hilary Swank for Million Dollar Baby), and although Nicolas Cage was rumoured to have been up for the lead Joel Barish, Carrey made the final cut.

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Yes Man (2008)

Based on a memoir by British comedian Danny Wallace, Yes Man sees Carrey as a cynic who transforms his life with a newfound positive attitude – literally by saying yes to everything. Although receiving mixed reviews, the film netted a respectable $18.3m in the US on its opening weekend, and went straight to number one on UK soil. But no gain without pain – Carrey broke three ribs on set while filming his own stunts.

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I Love You Phillip Morris (2010)

Carrey stars with Ewan McGregor in this off the wall tale based on the true life story of Steven Jay Russell. Russell (Carrey) was a con artist who fell for fellow inmate Phillip Morris (McGregor), subsequently making numerous prison breaks in order to be reunited with his lover. Such a character seems made for Carrey, combining wit, intelligence and charm with an anarchic lust for life. Try to spot the cameo appearance from the real Phillip Morris in the final court scene.

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Jennifer Trevorrow

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