Across cinema history, there have been periods when actors have had an extended hot streak. You could argue that Leonardo DiCaprio is on one right now, jumping from Tarantino to Scorsese and picking and choosing other directors while rarely missing. In the early to mid-1990s, Tom Hanks had a generational run that included Sleepless in Seattle, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, and Apollo 13. Tom Cruise had one in the 1980s, too. You might talk, too, about John Cazale’s five films over six years – The Godfather Part I and II, The Conversation, The Deer Hunter, and Dog Day Afternoon – surely a condensed acting legacy that will never be repeated.
Yet, while there are certainly more critically-acclaimed acting ‘streaks,’ you might argue that none matched the meteoric rise of Jim Carrey from 1994-1995. Five movies, five box-office smashes. Carrey started the year 1994 with an acting fee of $350,000 after coming off some television success and comedy circuit appearances. He ended 1995 as a $20-million-per-movie star and one of the most famous faces in Hollywood.
Prior to 1994, Carrey had popped up here and there with (very) small roles in comedies like Earth Girls Are Easy and Peggy Sue Got Married, but there were certainly no mainstream starring roles. His previous role before Ace Ventura: Pet Detective was two years beforehand, voicing The Exterminator in an animated short called Itsy-Bitsy Spider.
Ace Ventura put Carrey on the map
In 1994, Ace Ventura changed everything. Carrey did not create the character, and it had also been offered to Rick Moranis, while Alan Rickman (really) was also considered, but Carrey rewrote some of the original script, putting his own stamp on things. The movie made $107 million at the box office on a $15 million budget, but it was all about its star.
Thirty years later, Ace Ventura is looked back upon fondly today, though it lacks relevance to today’s movie-making. There is evidence of its longevity, such as Ace Ventura-branded online slot games on McLuck, yet you can argue that the movie’s placement on the cultural pantheon is more about the fact that it launched Carrey into the stratosphere than anything else.
Carrey followed up Ace Ventura with The Mask, and the gloves came off. The movie was the perfect vehicle for the rubber-faced antics of its star, while also giving glimpses of Carrey’s ability as a serious actor when he was unmasked as Stanley Ipkiss. As is well known, The Mask was also the first mainstream movie for Cameron Diaz. The Mask took more than $300 million at the box office – three times as much as Ace Ventura.
Carrey finished 1994 with Dumb and Dumber, which was released just before Christmas. Critics were split on the obscenely silly antics of Lloyd Christmas (Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels playing against type), but the box office was strong, coming in over $200 million. Reportedly, the Farrelly Brothers did not know who Carrey was, but they saw a screening of Ace Ventura and decided to give him the role. Carrey was now in demand enough to earn a $7 million fee for the movie.
The first traditional blockbuster
Batman Forever came next. Again, Carrey was not the first choice: Robin Williams was in serious talks about the role (probably would have worked), and in an example of Hollywood lore that nobody agrees on the veracity of, Michael Jackson apparently lobbied to get the role. It went to Carrey, of course, and he was probably the best thing in it. It was another commercial success, at the time taking in the biggest opening weekend for any superhero movie.
To close out 1995, Carrey came full circle to reprise the Ace Ventura role. Less than two years previously, he had accepted a cheque for $350,000 to play Ace; now he was taking a record-breaking $20 million to reprise the role. It was, once again, a huge hit, taking in over $200 million, despite being critically panned. It did not matter to audiences, as the plot was inconsequential: it was a Jim Carrey movie.
When looking back 30 years later, it’s difficult to separate these movies from their star. With all due respect, it is Carrey who makes them memorable. He went on to make better films, both better screwball comedies and critically acclaimed dramas, but it’s hard to think of an early career run that put an actor on the map so quickly.
