Jim Carrey Wants to Make Another Grinch Movie

Jim Carey wants to return to Whoville. More than two decades after first stepping into the role of the green, furry, pot-bellied Grinch, the actor revealed he’d love to reprise his role as the Dr. Seuss-created character in How the Grinch Stole Christmas 2 – under one major condition.

“Oh, gosh, you know, if we could figure out the Grinch,” Carrey told ComicBook.com when asked what character from his long list of credits he’d like to play again. “The thing about it is, on the day, I do that with a ton of makeup and can hardly breathe. It was an extremely excruciating process.”

He continued, “The children were in my mind all the time. ‘It’s for the kids. It’s for the kids. It’s for the kids.’ And now, with motion capture and things like that, I could be free to do other things. Anything is possible in this world.”

Transforming into the Grinch was no easy feat. Released in 2000, the film used traditional makeup and prosthetics to achieve the look of the iconic character, with Carrey likening the process of getting into the costume and makeup to “being buried alive” during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show years ago. The actor, one of several big-name stars name dropped by the late Dr. Seuss’ widow, Audrey Geisel, in a letter outlining the Seuss estate’s requirements for the movie, said the first day of makeup took over eight hours, and the process was so grueling that he went to director Ron Howard and told him, “I couldn’t do the movie.”

Carrey ultimately stuck around, with a little help from someone “trained to teach CIA operatives how to endure torture,” and went on to star in what is now considered to be one of his most beloved roles. The hours-long process of turning Carrey into the Grinch also didn’t go unnoticed, the film winning the Oscar for Best Makeup. The movie was also nominated for the Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design Oscars.

Based on the 1957 Dr. Seuss book of the same name, and marking the first live-action, feature-length adaptation of a Seuss story, How the Grinch Stole Christmas centers around the reclusive green Grinch amid his attempt to ruin Christmas for the cheery citizens of Whoville. When he encounters the endearing Cindy Lou Who, however, his plans are upended. Along with Carrey, the film starred Taylor Momsen, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, Bill Irwin and Molly Shannon.

Currently, there is no How the Grinch Stole Christmas sequel in the works. The 2000 film is a beloved holiday classic that is a staple of Christmas movie marathons, but it unfortunately is not available to stream in 2024. The movie is, however, available to rent for $3.99 or buy for $14.99 on Apple TV, Google Play Movies & TV, Fandango at Home and Amazon Prime Video.