The Best Time Jim Carrey Ever Broke Character In The Grinch
Jim Carrey's star was on the rise in the 1990s, and he worked hard for every ounce of good fortune he received. Thanks to his wholly unique method of acting — typically involving wild facial expressions and head-scratching feats of body contortion — the energetic actor became a household name through projects like "The Mask," "Dumb and Dumber," "The Cable Guy," and more. Even as the new millennium dawned, Carrey kept his momentum going with what would become known as one of the most iconic performances of his illustrious career: the Grinch from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."
To put it mildly, director Ron Howard's take on the classic Dr. Seuss story is an acquired taste. Its dark, cynical approach to the source material didn't outwardly cater to children, yet its premise finding root in a kids book didn't entice many adults either. Nevertheless, there's no denying that Jim Carrey's rendition of the titular green, Christmas-hating monster was the undisputed highlight of it all. Despite the extensive makeup routine that never failed to sour his mood, Carrey's transformation into the Grinch character was startlingly entertaining, thus redefining its pop-culture perception.
It's evident that Jim Carrey gave "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" his all and truly understood what made the Grinch tick. This led him to brilliantly break character for one hilarious and now-famous scene.
Jim Carrey's improv skills sold the Grinch's cluttered lifestyle
The scene in question takes place when the Grinch is going over his itinerary for the day and discovers an opening. With some free time on his schedule, what better to do than dress up and head out? He starts searching his home for wearable articles of clothing and eventually stumbles upon a tablecloth, which, naturally, is sitting on a table beneath various items. Instead of removing the clutter piece by piece, he instead grabs the tablecloth and snatches it out from under it all — miraculously not dropping a single thing.
Mere moments after this happens, the Grinch rushes back into the room, hastily knocks everything off of the table, and tips the piece of furniture over for good measure. As Screen Rant recalls, the way this scene was supposed to go down saw everything on the table hit the floor upon the tablecloth's removal, accentuating the Grinch's lack of care for cleanliness. Jim Carrey's ability to remove the tablecloth without taking the items with it, though impressive, was a total accident. That's why he wasted little time storming back into frame to making the mess he intended to.
Without knowing that the way this scene played out wasn't planned, it comes across as the Grinch just being his chaotic and messy self. However, that all changes when taking into consideration the fact that Jim Carrey broke character to rectify his unintentional flub. It serves as a testament to the actor's strong improv skills as well as his understanding of Dr. Seuss's beloved creation, further cementing his rendition of the Grinch all the more unforgettable.