I Love You Phillip Morris

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Actor

Jim Carrey

Bio

Jim Carrey recently wrapped "I Love You Phillip Morris," a dark comedy that was written and will mark the directing debut of Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, the writing team behind "Bad Santa." Based on a book by Houston Chronicle crime reporter Steve McVicker, the fact-based film casts Carrey as Steven Russell, a family man whose exploits in white-collar crime land him in the Texas criminal justice system. In prison he falls in love with his cellmate (Ewan McGregor), who eventually is set free, leading Russell to escape from Texas prisons four times.

Carrey can currently be seen in the hit Warner Bros. comedy “Yes Man,” directed by Peyton Reed. In the film, based on a memoir by British author Danny Wallace, Carrey stars as a man who decides to change his life by saying yes to absolutely everything that comes his way. The film co-stars Zooey Deschanel and Bradley Cooper.

Carrey also recently wrapped production on “A Christmas Carol”, an adaptation of the Charles Dickens tale that Robert Zemeckis wrote and is directing for Walt Disney Pictures. In the film Carrey plays Ebenezer Scrooge and the three ghosts that haunt him. Zemeckis shot the film using "performance capture/Disney digital 3-D" animation and it is scheduled for release in November 2009.

Carrey was recently heard as the voice of Horton the Elephant in the blockbuster hit “Horton Hears A Who!” 20th Century Fox’s CG animated feature film version of Dr. Seuss’ classic book. The film, which reunites Carrey with his “Bruce Almighty” co-star Steve Carrell, was released on March 14, 2008.

In 2007 Carrey starred opposite Virginia Madsen in the New Line psychological thriller “The Number 23”, directed by Joel Schumacher. In 2005 he starred opposite Tea Leoni in the highly successful Columbia Pictures/Sony comedy “Fun With Dick And Jane.” The film was directed by Dean Parisot (“Galaxy Quest”) and produced by Brian Grazer. In 2004 he starred in the Paramount Pictures’ film “Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events” based on the children’s book series by Daniel Handler, as well as the critically acclaimed Focus Features’ drama “Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind.”

In 2003, he starred in the hugely successful Universal Pictures’ comedy “Bruce Almighty.” The film, which has made over $470 million dollars worldwide, was one of the highest grossing films of the year. “Bruce Almighty” also reunited Carrey with director Tom Shadyac (“Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” & “Liar, Liar”) and writer Steve Oedekerk (“Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls”).

In 2001, Carrey starred in the Castle Rock feature “The Majestic,” directed by Frank Darabont, and in 2000 he had the distinction of appearing in the year’s highest grossing film; the Universal Pictures’ release “How The Grinch Stole Christmas.” He was nominated for a Golden Globe in the category of Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for his portrayal of the Grinch, as well as a People’s Choice Award in the category of Favorite Motion Picture Star in a Comedy.

In the summer of 2000, Carrey reunited with directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly for the 20th Century Fox comedy “Me, Myself And Irene,” for which he received an MTV Movie Award nomination in the category of Best Comedic Performance for his portrayal of a split personality in the film. He also won the Golden Globe in 2000 for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for his portrayal of Andy Kaufman in the 1999 film “Man On The Moon.” He had won a Golden Globe Award the previous year for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama for his role in the critically acclaimed film “The Truman Show.” The 1999 Golden Globe win marked Carrey’s first award for a dramatic role. He also received a Golden Globe nomination in 1997 for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for “Liar, Liar,” the same category in which he was nominated in 1995 for “The Mask.” In 2000, he was named Male Star of the Year at ShoWest.

Born January 17, 1962 in Newmarket, Ontario, Jim Carrey knew by age three that show business was in his blood. At age 15, Carrey took off for Toronto to perform at Yuk Yuks, the famous comedy club. Following the performance, Carrey’s career took off and for the next few years he worked in comedy clubs all over Canada. In 1981, at age 19, he packed his belongings and moved to Los Angeles. Carrey immediately became a regular at Mitzi Shore’s Comedy Store, attracting the attention of comedy legend Rodney Dangerfield. Dangerfield was so impressed with the young comic that they began touring together. It was then that things began to happen for Jim Carrey.

1982 proved to be a magical year for Carrey when MTM cast him as the star of their NBC series “Duck Factory.” Although the series only lasted 13 weeks, Carrey’s work left a lasting impression in Hollywood. The next year he landed the lead role in the feature film “Once Bitten,” starring Lauren Hutton. He followed that film with roles in Francis Ford Coppola’s “Peggy Sue Got Married,” and the Geena Davis comedy “Earth Girls Are Easy.” In 1988, Carrey made a brief, but memorable, appearance as Johnny Squares, the selfdestructive rock star in the Clint Eastwood film “The Dead Pool.”

In 1990, Carrey joined the cast of Fox Television’s ensemble comedy hit “In Living Color.” In November of the following year, his first Showtime Special, entitled “Jim Carrey’s Unnatural Act,” premiered to rave reviews. He followed the special’s success with a starring role as an alcoholic trying to cope with life in Fox’s Emmy nominated movie of the week “Doing Time on Maple Drive.”

In 1994, after several successful seasons on “In Living Color,” Carrey once again branched out into feature films by accepting the lead role in the Warner Bros. comedy “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.” Carrey’s no-holds-barred portrayal of “Ace Ventura” made him an instant sensation and made the film a hit. Carrey followed that success in the summer of 1994 by starring in the title role of the action-fantasy “The Mask,” based on the best -selling Dark Horse comic book series of the same name. “The Mask” went on to gross in excess of $100 million domestically, winning spectacular reviews for Carrey. That same year he starred opposite Jeff Daniels in the Farrelly brothers’ film “Dumb and Dumber.” Carrey starred as the Riddler/Edward Nygma in the 1995 blockbuster sequel “Batman Forever.” The following year he went on to star in “Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls,” continuing the misadventures of the world’s favorite pet detective, and then starred in Columbia Pictures’ “The Cable Guy.” Universal Pictures hit “Liar, Liar,” which opened to record breaking numbers in 1997 earning over $100 million in ticket grosses. His triumphant triple play earned him the honor of NATO/ShoWest Comedy Star of the Year.

Appearing as:

Steven Russell