Jim Carrey Once Shared That He Was Trained By a CIA Operative To Endure Torture While Playing The Grinch

Jim Carrey is known for his incredible versatility as an actor and has a talent for seamlessly transitioning from silly comedies to serious dramas. One of his more iconic roles came in 2000 when he portrayed the green sour creature known as the Grinch in Ron Howard's adaptation of Dr. Seuss's beloved story, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. What many people may not know is that Carrey's transformation into the Grinch involved a highly unconventional preparation process that included training by a CIA operative to help him endure torture.

When Carrey was cast as the Grinch, he knew he was taking on a big challenge. The character required a major physical transformation through prosthetics and that ended up being a huge challenge for the actor.

In a previous interview on The Graham Norton Show, Carrey talked about the makeup he had to wear and described it as being “buried alive.” It took eight and a half hours to get him in the makeup, and on the first day of getting the makeup put on he said he went back to his trailer and put his “leg through the wall.” He then said:

“I told Ron Howard I couldn’t do the movie. Then Brian Grazer came in, and being the fix it man, and came up with a brilliant idea, which was to hire a gentleman who was trained to teach CIA operatives how to endure torture. And so, that’s how I got through the The Grinch.”

He added, “It was quite hilarious. He said, ‘Eat everything you see, and if you’re freaking out and you start to spiral downward, turn the television on, change the pattern, have someone you know come up and smack you in the head, punch yourself in the leg, or smoke as much as you possibly can.”

It’s really funny to listen to the actor tell the story and you can watch him tell it in the video below!