If you’re an actor portraying your favorite comedian, there is bound to be some excitement. Unfortunately, the direction of this excitement did not exactly go into a remarkably positive direction. As the story goes, Carry found himself a little too immersed in the life of the late famous anti-comedian.
During the filming period, Carrey stayed in character and even would even having trouble coming out of the Tony Clifton character; this was an alter ego that Kaufman himself created during his career. He would incorporate the cigar smoking and foul-mouthed character into his standup performances. Needless to say, all the method acting got a little too complex for Jim Carrey to juggle, who found himself almost stuck in the mind of the late actor.
A New Decade
The actor proved to have it all: major money-making status and a natural touch for the drama. By the 2000s, the "The Mask" actor nabbed more roles, continuing to diversify in his parts. In 2007, Carrey appeared in both the big-budget comedy "Bruce Almighty" as well as "The Number 23," an intense thriller directed by Joe Schumacher.
While his dramatic capabilities opened up doors, many die-hard comedy fans felt that he was best-suited to the more goofy and adorable roles, which he is most known for. It was also where the money was, alas even with all his acting prowess, Carrey was subject to the cast-type curse.
Landing on the Moon
What better to break the curse than to once again prove everyone wrong. After a string of mega-successful comedies, Carrey picked another film with a slightly different tone. There was no doubt that Carrey could do funny, he could do drama, and he could certainly do strange, so who better than him to portray the legendary comedian Andy Kaufman.
The legendary '70s comic was even famously dubbed "the anti-comic" and made a name for himself as one of the wackiest avant-garde comedians in history. More concerned with confusing his audience than actually making them laugh, Kaufman attracted quite a lot of controversy for his antics. It was a perfect match, and Carrey, who was, of course, a major fan.
Complaints on Set
The incidents on set even became the subject of a documentary called "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond." Many of these complaints can be seen in the footage. In fact, Paul Giamatti, in particular, found him very difficult. In an interview with E!, Giamatti revealed that acting alongside him was unusual, to say the least.
He said, “It was an extraordinary experience. It was one of the weirdest experiences I’ve had making a movie, to be honest with you. It was just wacky. Jim was wacky during it.” This was not all that Paul Giamatti had to say about Jim and his method.
"He Smelled Horrible"
Paul Giamatti described how bad Carrey smelled during performing, especially when he was playing the Tony Clifton character. Apparently, the comedian was eager to feel the full effect of the character, who was notoriously stinky. This is why he acted with slices of Limburger cheese in his pockets, and Giamatti could not stand it.
Giamatti continues saying, "And he’d constantly be hugging people, and he had it all over his hands and stuff. It was disgusting. He was touching people and making them shake his hands all the time. He smelled horrible, like really bad. It was just weird, and that’s the least of it."