"Anything is possible in this world" — Jim Carrey wants to return for How The Grinch Stole Christmas 2 using motion capture

In an interview with ComicBook.com published on December 11, 2024, Jim Carrey expressed his interest in returning to How The Grinch Stole Christmas 2, but with one modification. He played the character Grinch, who was originally created by Dr. Seuss, in How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000).

In the 2000 movie, Carrey wore a full-body prosthetic green suit and makeup. In the latest interview, the change he referred to was the usage of CGI and motion capture instead of conventional makeup. The conversation came up when Jim Carrey was asked if he would want to play a role in the movie again. The actor said:

"Oh, gosh, you know, if we could figure out the Grinch. 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. The children were in my mind all the time. '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.”

Carrey highlighted the issues he had to face due to the heavy makeup and prosthetics back in the day, which was required to make him look like Grinch.

The interview took place while the actor was promoting his upcoming movie Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which is set to release in the US on December 20, 2024. In the film, Jim Carrey plays the role of Dr. Ivo Robotnik for the third time.

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The entire process of curating Jim Carrey's look as Grinch was apparently quite exhausting

The makeup done on Jim to achieve Grinch's look was designed by Rick Baker, a now-retired special effects makeup artist. According to an article by Dazed Digital, which was published in January 2020, the look involved heavy facial prosthetics and being covered with green yak fur from head to toe.

According to the same article, both Baker and Jim recalled that it took hours to achieve the final look. Makeup artist Kazuhiro Tsuji, who was then working under Baker, revealed that the process seemed so exhausting that Jim often acted mean to the rest of the crew. In a 2017 interview with Vulture, Tsuji said:

"After two weeks we only could finish three days’ worth of shooting schedule, because suddenly he would just disappear and when he came back, everything was ripped apart. We couldn’t shoot anything."

The Dazed Digital article further mentioned that an expert was called in who trained Jim Carrey to help him deal with the stress that he felt while shooting for the movie. In a 2015 interview with British chat show host Graham Norton, Carrey revealed some techniques that he was being suggested to deal with the distress.

He revealed that producer Brian Grazer brought in an expert who had trained CIA operatives to endure torture to help him manage the discomfort of the makeup. Carrey further added what the expert had advised him. This included different tactics, from simply turning the TV on and smoking as much as he could or asking someone to smack him in the head.

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While Jim Carrey spoke about modifications in a sequel to the 2000 film, no official confirmation has been made as of now.