Jim Carrey Wants to Return as the Grinch Despite the ‘Extremely Excruciating’ Prosthetics

Carrey could "hardly breathe" while in character on the set of the 2000 film, but would still love to make a sequel.

Out of all of Jim Carrey‘s iconic roles, the actor would might be most interested in reprising his titular “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” character.

When asked which of his past films he would want to return to, Carrey told ComicBook that the Grinch was among his favorite characters. However, his declaration of affection for Ron Howard’s 2000 film came with the caveat that the prosthetics required for the green, hairy Dr. Seuss villain were “excruciating” to endure.

“Oh, gosh, you know, if we could figure out the Grinch,” Carrey said about who he would like to play again. “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.”

Carrey, who is back for franchise installment “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” added that he stayed grounded during the production by reminding himself of the beloved Dr. Seuss audience.

“The children were in my mind all the time. ‘It’s for the kids. It’s for the kids. It’s for the kids,’” Carrey said. “And now, with motion capture and things like that, I could be free to do other things. Anything is possible in this world.”

Carrey previously teased his possible retirement in 2022 while promoting “Sonic the Hedgehog 2.”

“It depends, if the angels bring some sort of script that’s written in gold ink that says to me that it’s going to be really important for people to see, I might continue down the road,” Carrey said of continuing to act, “but I’m taking a break. I really like my quiet life and I really like putting paint on canvas and I really love my spiritual life and I feel like, and this is something you might never hear another celebrity say as long as time exists — I have enough. I’ve done enough. I am enough.”

He had taken a six-year hiatus from major roles in studio films following 2014’s “Dumb and Dumber To” prior to starring as the video game villain in the first “Sonic the Hedgehog.”

Carrey added in 2022, “Well, I’m retiring. Yeah, probably. I’m being fairly serious.”