Jim Carrey puts in a star performance in "The Mask" by essentially playing two characters. The first is Stanley, a down-on-his-luck sad-sack who has absolutely no confidence in himself, but with passion and rage just below the surface. The other is Stanley's id brought to life as the fast-talking, green-faced man he becomes when he puts on the mask.
Previously appearing in the sketch show "In Living Color," as well as the feature films "Peggy Sue Got Married," "The Dead Pool," and "Earth Girls Are Easy," Jim Carrey became a household name after appearing in "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective," "The Mask," and "Dumb and Dumber" all within the same year. He quickly followed that up in 1995 with an "Ace Ventura" sequel and a villainous performance as The Riddler in "Batman Forever." His career would thrive for the next two and a half decades, with successes such as "Liar Liar," "The Truman Show," the Andy Kaufman biopic "Man on the Moon," "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," and his television reunion with Michel Gondry, 2019's "Kidding."
From box-office smashing comedies like "Bruce Almighty" to indie fare such as "I Love You Phillip Morris," Jim Carrey has done a little bit of everything (and almost all of it successfully). Most recently, he played the video game villain Dr. Robotnik in 2020's "Sonic the Hedgehog" and its 2022 sequel before announcing his retirement from acting.
