The Grinch's defining characteristic is grumpiness – and it turns out playing the furry, Christmas-hating recluse didn’t have a very positive effect on Jim Carrey's mood either. The actor has revealed he needed torture endurance training to survive the "horrendous" filming.

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“The makeup took eight and a half hours. It was like being buried alive each day. On the first day I went back to my trailer, put my leg through the wall and told director Ron Howard I couldn’t do the movie,” Carrey tells Graham Norton on his BBC1 chat show tonight.

“So a guy that trained CIA operatives how to endure torture was brought in,” he continues. “That’s how I got through it.”

CIA training wasn't enough to get him through the shoot, though. Carrey also reveals he relied on the soothing tones of the Bee Gees to help him through the filming process.

“The only thing that worked to calm me through the makeup was everything they had ever done. I’ve no idea why, but the Bee Gees just made me happy.”

“There’d be no Grinch without them!”

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See Jim Carrey on The Graham Norton Show, tonight (Friday 12th December) at 10:35pm on BBC1

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Create an image depicting a festive scene with elements from the top Christmas songs, such as a snowy New York for 'Fairytale of New York', a cozy home setting for 'Last Christmas', and a glamorous Christmas party for 'All I Want for Christmas Is You'. Include musical notes and festive decorations to represent the spirit of these iconic Christmas songs.

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An image depicting a festive scene with iconic Christmas elements such as a beautifully decorated Christmas tree with twinkling lights, snow gently falling, and perhaps a cozy fireplace in the background. The image should capture the essence of popular Christmas songs, with musical notes and lyrics subtly included in the design, representing a playlist of classic Christmas tunes.

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Immediate’s iconic brands reach 21m people every month – that’s more than a third of the UK’s adults – through its world-class magazines, innovative digital products and exciting live eventsImmediate’s iconic brands reach 21m people every month – that’s more than a third of the UK’s adults – through its world-class magazines, innovative digital products and exciting live eventsImmediate’s iconic brands reach 21m people every month – that’s more than a third of the UK’s adults – through its world-class magazines, innovative digital products and exciting live events

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