Jim Carrey Trivia | 100 facts about the famous comedian

James Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian mostly known for his energetic slapstick performances.

Let’s find out more about him!

1. Wrote letters to Tupac Shakur when Tupac was in prison to help him laugh and smile. Tupac said that Carrey was his favorite actor.
2. As a child, he used to wear his tap shoes to bed just in case his parents needed cheering up in the middle of the night.
3. He has said that Joel, his painfully shy, lovelorn character in Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind (2004), is closer to what he’s like when he’s not “on,” and that making the film led him to reflect on his past relationships and why they didn’t work out.
4. Was a straight-A student until he dropped out.
5. According to Biography, Jim wrote himself a check for $10 million dollars in 1983, post-dated 10 years, hoping to be able to cash it by then. The episode also featured a clip from a 1999 interview where Jim stated he put the check in his father’s pocket after he passed away on September 13, 1994.
6. At one point he and his family all worked as janitors and security guards at a factory to make a living.
7. At one time, Carrey was slated to star as the lead in Meet the parents(2000) and even contributed jokes to the screenplay, such as the main character being named “Focker”.
8. He was originally cast as “Dr. Evil” in Austin Powers 1997), but he had to drop out of the role due to a scheduling conflict with Liar, liar (1997).
9. Nicole Kidman calls him her best male friend.
10. Jack Nicholson has called him the “Jack Nicholson of the next generation”.
11. Went through depression in the 1980s while struggling to make ends meet as a comedian.
12. Bought a Harley Davidson motorcycle and got a vanity license plate for it which read “NO TAG” as a joke. This resulted in Jim receiving numerous traffic tickets in the mail that were meant for other people.
13. As it turns out, when filling out a ticket, police officers write “no tag” in the license plate number slot on the ticket when the offending vehicle has no license plate. In some cases, this was interpreted as the actual license plate number, as it was in Jim’s case, which caused the tickets to be routed to him.
14. Dropped out of high school at 16.
15. Performed his first stand-up routine (with disastrous results) in a yellow suit and tails (made by his mother) similar to what he would later wear in The Mask (1994).
16. He had never heard of Dr. Who (1963) until being offered the role of the Eighth Doctor in Doctor Who (1996).
17. This was the key factor into turning down the role, as he felt he would cause outrage amongst Doctor Who fans if the role wasn’t played by a Doctor Who fan.
18. Owns his own $25-million plane.
19. As of 2001, his total of nine MTV movie awards is the most won by any person.
20. At age 10, he sent his resume to Carol Burnett.
21. Insisted the band, Cannibal Corpse, play in the movie Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994).
22. First actor to reach 20 million dollar salary mark in 1996. The first actress to do so was Juli a Roberts, four years later, who was paid the same amount for her role in Erin Brockovitch in 2000.
23. To deal with his depression, Carrey took Prozac, eventually deciding to get off medications. He has stated that he no longer takes medications or stimulants of any kind, not even coffee.
24. Performed “Rocket Man” on stage with Elton John at one of John’s concerts. (1998)
25. At one point his family lived out of their car/trailer.
26. Is a huge fan of the cartoons Dexter’s Laboratory (1996), Johnny Bravo (1997), Spongebob (1999) and Dave the Barbarian (2004).
27. Became a grandfather for the 1st time at age 48 when his daughter Jane Carrey gave birth to her son Jackson Riley Santana on February 26, 2010. Child’s father is singer Alex Santana.
28. Has played the two most well known fictional characters who hated Christmas, The Grinch and Ebenezer Scrooge.
29. He appeared at the 20th anniversary special for The Comedy Store wearing nothing but a sock on his penis.
30. Turned down the offer to induct Jerry Lawler into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2007, for he believed the people in the audience would have come to the ceremony to see him, not the legends being honored that night.
31. Relationship with Renée Zellweger ended while they were already engaged and had marriage plans. (2000)
32. Shares the same birthday with Andy Kaufman, who he played in Man of the Moon (1999).
33. October 2004 – Became a U.S. citizen.
34. Became a father for the 1st time at age 25 when his 1st ex-wife Melissa Carrey gave birth to their daughter Jane Carrey on September 6, 1987.
35. He has been nominated for 5 Golden Globes.
36. Although more recognised for his comedic performances, the only two Globes he’s won were for dramatic performances.
37. He auditioned to be a castmember on Saturday Night Live (1975) in its 1980-81 season, but lost out to Charles Rocket.
38. He auditioned again for the 1985-1986 season, but Carrey saw a man on the ledge of the 30 Rock building threatening to kill himself and was afraid that working on SNL would drive him to suicide. Both seasons are considered among the worst in the show’s history.
39. Auditioned for the role of Farmer Ted in the film 16 candles(1984). Eventually, actor Anthony Michael Hall won the part.
40. Before Martin Scorsese’s Aviator (2004), he spent years trying to produce and star in a film of Howard Hughes’ life as Hughes himself.
41. Good friends with Jeff Daniels, Ewan McGregor, Steve Carell, and Steven Tyler.
42. Chosen by “People” magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. (1997)
43. His performance as “Ace Ventura” is ranked #97 on Premiere Magazine’s 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
44. In several films he has played an extraordinary character for whom television plays an vital role. In Batman forever (1995) he played The Riddler who devises a master plan to hypnotize and absorb knowledge from the population using television. In The Cable Guy (1996) he played a cable TV technician with a lifelong unhealthy obsession with television.
45. In The Truman Show (1998) he played a man who discovers that his entire life was a hugely successful reality TV show. In Man on the Moon (1999) he played the TV comedy star Andy Kaufman who pushed the boundaries of his medium. And in Bruce Almighty (2003) he played a TV reporter who was suddenly granted the powers of God.
46. As of 2017, Jim Carrey is the only actor (male or female) to date to win a Golden Globe for Best Actor in both the drama and comedy/musical categories without being nominated for an Academy Award.
47. He is of French-Canadian ancestry on his father’s side, and has French, Irish, and Scottish ancestry on his mother’s side. His family’s surname was originally “Carré”.
48. Along with his girlfriend Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg, he was among the guests at Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’s wedding.
49. While filming : Earth Girls Are Easy (1988), it took approximately two and a half hours for him and co-stars Jeff Goldblum and Damon Wayans to be suited up as the aliens.
50. Received U.S. citizenship in October 2004 and maintains a dual citizen of both the United States and his native Canada.
51. Many of his characters are ordinary men whose lives are changed by supernatural or otherwise unseen forces.
52. He was friends with the late comedic actor Chris Farley, and remains friends with Farley’s frequent collaborator David Spade.
53. He donated a signed head-shot to Rocky Stone to be auctioned off to raise money to buy more toys for less fortunate kids as part of the Toy Mountain Campaign 2004.
54. Lives in Los Angeles and Malibu, California.
55. Ranked #54 in Empire (UK) magazine’s “The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time” list. (October 1997)
56. Along with Jeff Goldblum and Damon Wayans, his voice was dubbed for certain scenes in Earth Girls Are Easy (1988).
57. Pictured on one of a set of five nondenominated Canadian commemorative postage stamps honoring Great Canadian Comedians, issued 29 August 2014.
58. A lifelong fan of the Pink Panther movie series, especially Inspector Clouseau’s house servant Cato (as played by Burt Kwouk).
59. Played a (fictional) man who is not (yet) aware he is on television on The Truman Show (1998) and a real-life man who believed he was always on television Man on the Moon (1999).
60. He is a third cousin of longtime Joepardy! host Alex Trebek, with whom he shared a set of great-great-grandparents, Nicolas Bélanger and Sophie Marie Charbonneau.
61. As of 2009, he is only one of six performers who won a Golden Globe Award as Best Lead Actor/Actress in a Motion Picture Drama without being nominated for an Oscar for that same role.
62. Was almost in place to play Zaphod Beeblebrox in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005) at the time of author Douglas Adams’ death in 2001. It would take another four years to get the project made, with a new script, a new director, and ultimately a new cast. The role of Zaphod Beeblebrox went to Sam Rockwell.
63. Was attached to play the lead in Elf (2003) when the screenplay first emerged in 1993.
64. There is some sort of a bathroom scene and car scene in almost every one of his movies.
65. His ex-girlfriend, Cathriona White, died from a suspected drug overdose on September 28, 2015 in Los Angeles.
66. On September 13th, 2006, Carrey fired his agent of 15 years, Nick Stevens.
67. While learning to twirl a cane for his role as the Riddler in Batman Forever he broke a dozen canes and most of the furniture in his trailer.
68. Has a pet Iguana Lizard.
69. Often his protagonist (or antagonist) roles are associated with the color green.
70. Appeared on the final episode of Late Show with David Letterman (1993), wearing a personally made shirt saying “Spank You Kindly David Letterman”.
71. Has said that his least favorite movie is The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969).
72. As a kid, he was a member of the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets.
73. He, Michael J. Fox and the late Raymond Burr head list of top Canadians in U.S. television compiled by Banff Television Festival, June 2002.
74. Jim and his girlfriend, Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg, ended their five-year romance on April 201.
75. Turned down the role of Darrin in Bewitched (2005) because of prior commitments. The role went to Will Ferrell.
76. Manager is Jimmy Miller, who is the younger brother of actor-comedian Dennis Miller.
77. He has worked with five directors who have won a Best Director Oscar.
78. Started as a stand up comedian in Canadian clubs when 15.
79. Has worked with two actresses from the TV show Friends (1994): Courteney Cox, and Jennifer Aniston.
80. Ranked #5 in Star TV’s Top 10 Box Office Stars of the 1990s (2003).
81. Was considered for the role of Cry-Baby in Cry-Baby (1990). The role went to Johnny Depp.
82. December, 2001: Announces his intention to become a United States citizen.
83. Attended Agincourt Collegiate Institute (High School), in Scarborough.
84. Was considered to voice the role of Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story (1995), but couldn’t due to Pixar’s low budget. The role went to Tim Allen.
85. Was in 2 Clint Eastwood movies in the late 80s pink Cadillac and the fifth dirty harry movie the dead pool.
86. While getting his start in Los Angeles, one of his frequent stops was at the Comedy Store.
87. Hosted “YTV Awards Show” in the mid-1980s with Laurie Gelman, from Fox After Breakfast (1996). YTV is Canada’s Youth Television station.
88. Was originally offered the role of Harry Dunne in Dumb and Dumber (1994), but decided he rather play the role of Lloyd Christmas because he felt the character had better jokes. The role of Harry Dunne was eventually given to Jeff Daniels.
89. Was offered the chances to do The Majestic (2001) or Joe Somebody (2001). He chose The Majestic (2001).
90. His father’s family changed their surname away from the original, Carré, to Carrey; this is a sort of opposite with British author John le Carré, who was born David John Moore Cornwell, and changed his name to John le Carré.
91. Was considered for the role of Rick Gassko in Bachelor Party (1984). The role went to Tom Hanks.
92. Was considered for the role of Charlie Chaplin in Chaplin (1992). The role went to Robert Downey Jr.
93. Was one of the Farrelly Brothers’ early choices to play a role in Kingpin (1996).
94. Was attached to play Shaggy in Scooby-Doo (2002) when the movie was in development since 1996.
95. Believes the MMR vaccine causes autism. In 2009, Carrey wrote an article questioning the merits of vaccination and vaccine research for The Huffington Post.
96. Was cast as RJ in Over the Hedge (2006), but had to drop out at the last minute. The role went to Bruce Willis.
97. Studies acting with legendary coach Larry Moss.
98. His zodiac sign is Capricorn.
99. Was the first actor to have 3 number one movies at the boxoffice in the same year ace ventura the mask and dumb and dumber in 1994.
100. Turned down the role of Jon Arbuckle in Garfield: The Movie (2004). The role went to Breckin Meyer.