Unless you’ve watched this clip or something like then I’m betting that you haven’t come to fully understand just how grueling a process it was for Jim Carrey to go through the makeup routine for the Grinch. When you look at the movie you don’t get the idea that it was difficult for him to act the part, but that means that you’re looking past the makeup and the outfit that he had to endure for the entire movie and the fact that he had to put this stuff on for at least 100 times throughout the process of making the film. That’s right, he had to don this getup 100 times between start and finish, and since he’s in so much of the movie that had to have been something excruciating to go through.
He even admits to putting his leg through the wall at one point he was so frustrated in what he had to go through. The makeup took hours and once he was in it he would have to stay there for a good length of time in order to avoid having to go through the process over and over. The idea that he would have gone along with this at all is something that speaks to his willingness to do pretty much anything for the fan and to make sure that he’s not seen as someone that just up and quits when things get rough. But he did need just a little coaching along the way.
It’s said that a guy that was used in the past to teach CIA operatives how to resist torture was brought in to give Jim a few tips on how to endure the makeup process and get through it without having a complete breakdown. You might think that’s a little extreme but really if you think about it being forced to sit in a chair while people fit you with an outfit that itches and facial attachments that can make you feel claustrophobic it could come in handy.
Of course the things he was told to do might have seemed a bit unhealthy but they could have possibly worked to keep him going. Smoking a lot, hitting himself on the leg, having someone smack him in the back of the head, and just anything to break up the monotony of worrying over the costume doesn’t seem like it would be all that healthy. But the image of Jim sitting around in the Grinch costume with a long, tapered cigarette holder so the hair of his costume wouldn’t ignite is a mental picture that brings a smile to one’s face even if it means that he was a bit miserable. Imagining him humming the tune to the BeeGees Staying Alive only makes it better since you can just further cement the idea of what it had to be like for him while on set.
That’s a ton of dedication and a lot of suffering to go through for one man just to get one part down. But every Christmas those of us that watch say our thanks by laughing as hard as we can.
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