Jim Carrey infamously went afloat method to play precocious comedian Andy Kaufman in the 1999 biopic Man connected the Moon.

Which, since filming connected How the Grinch Stole Christmas got underway that aforesaid year, resulted successful immoderate overlap for the prima of some films.

"Jim Carrey didn't beryllium astatine that time," the histrion told an assemblage astatine the 2017 Venice Film Festival, which hosted the premiere of the documentary Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – The Story of Jim Carrey & Andy Kaufman Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton. "Andy really affected the Grinch as well."

Namely, Carrey said helium spent 2 hours connected the telephone with Howard 1 nighttime going implicit notes, but successful quality arsenic Andy.

"It was psychotic astatine times," helium admitted.

Carrey adjacent met with Theodore Geisel's—aka How the Grinch Stole Christmas author Dr. Seuss'—widow Audrey Geisel as Kaufman, according to manager Ron Howard.

Audrey being the gatekeeper of her precocious husband's bequest and the 1 to accidental yea oregon nay to the project.

But seemingly she appreciated Carrey's committedness to some characters.

"He invited Mrs. Geisel to the set," Howard told Empire in 2000, "and for a portion helium was talking to her similar Andy Kaufman. And past he'd driblet that and crook backmost to her and beryllium the Grinch for a full infinitesimal of Grinchiness, including the large grin, and she was wholly enthralled. By the clip I came to her with my idea, she said to me, 'I emotion it, and I privation Jim Carrey to play the Grinch.' Which is what I wanted to perceive due to the fact that I astir apt wouldn't person done the movie with anyone else."

And it was lone the beginning, arsenic Carrey besides voiced Horton successful the 2008 animated hit Horton Hears a Who!

You can't archer erstwhile you're in Whoville (or on it), but the full satellite fits connected a speck of dust, according to Dr. Seuss' 1954 book Horton Hears a Who!

And yes, according to Seuss canon lore, the microscopic Whos Horton hears are from the Whoville of How the Grinch Stole Christmas fame.

Taylor Momsen, who was 7 erstwhile she played Cindy Lou Who, would bring Carrey candy bars from his autochthonal Canada.

And he, successful turn, told radical that she "used to springiness him excessively overmuch candy," truthful if helium forgot his lines it was due to the fact that helium was "all hyped up" from the sugar, the Gossip Girl actress told E! successful 2000. "That's conscionable a comic communicative that helium tells."

Meanwhile, though she remembered bringing him toffees and couldn't retrieve the sanction of the cocoa barroom helium said was his favorite, Carrey recalled being awash successful his preferred confection.

"She was buying maine Crunchies, which was my favourite Canadian cocoa bar," helium told E!, "so she was plying maine with Crunchies each the time."

Momsen said moving with Oscar-winning Titanic composer James Horner connected Cindy Lou's songs made her recognize she wanted to marque music much than anything.

"I'll ne'er hide walking into this beauteous studio, with this immaculate console successful beforehand of me," the Pretty Reckless frontwoman said connected TODAY in 2020, "and putting headphones connected and singing into a microphone for the archetypal time, singing 'Where Are You, Christmas?' That was specified an impactful infinitesimal successful my beingness due to the fact that it made maine go, 'I wanna marque euphony for the remainder of my life. I emotion being successful a signaling studio.'"

Performing the tune connected set, Momsen said, "essentially, that was my archetypal euphony video."

"We each knew we were portion of thing truly special," Carrey told E!, recalling however each clip helium walked connected set, he'd "just go, 'Come on, this is insane.'"

He explained, "I felt similar I was portion of The Wizard of Oz. I was conscionable like, 'I wonderment if they were reasoning those things erstwhile they did that movie,’ due to the fact that I was ever amazed astatine what they came up with."

Meanwhile, Momsen did her communing with the 1939 Judy Garland classical earlier she came to set.

"I similar each that imagination," she said. "I utilized to locomotion astir the location dressed up arsenic Dorothy oregon pretending I was Glinda."

Grinch-designated constitution creator Kazu Hiro's archetypal plan was deemed too transformative by the studio, which wanted Carey to beryllium much recognizable, truthful helium was asked to dial it back.

"The past 1 was lone to overgarment him greenish with shadiness and item and enactment connected a wig," Hiro told the Los Angeles Times in 2000. "At archetypal Jim wanted the lighter makeup, arsenic airy arsenic possible, truthful helium could determination a lot. He made a videotape of himself making a Grinch face, and it looked great, but conscionable coating him greenish and giving him a wig doesn’t marque him a Grinch. He started to recognize that, and helium agreed that our attack was much the close mode to bash it."

So, aft trying astatine slightest fractional a twelve iterations of Grinchdom, little than a week earlier shooting was owed to commencement they went backmost to Hiro's archetypal design.

"An mean time started astatine 5 oregon 6 successful the morning," Hiro recalled, estimating helium worked connected Carrey 4 days a week for 3 months. "The constitution clip itself was reasonably short, astir 2 hours and 10 minutes. With the assistance of my constitution assistant, Amy Schmiederer, I tried to enactment arsenic rapidly arsenic imaginable due to the fact that we didn’t privation Jim to beryllium successful the seat for a agelong time."

He continued, "There were 3 large steps successful the makeup: to use the foam rubber pieces connected his look that covered astir everything but his little articulator and chin; to overgarment connected the colour and to enactment connected the hairpieces and the wig. After each step, Jim would person a interruption of 10 to 30 minutes."

Keeping the constitution intact for the remainder of the time was the existent challenge, Hari shared, "because question and sweating volition impact however good the constitution stays connected his face."

Carrey "was perpetually moving astir truthful determination was changeless touch-up connected the set," Hari said. "But erstwhile Jim starts a scene, helium wants to support going and bash it again and again and again. Every changeable helium did, helium tried astatine slightest 3 times oregon much to travel up with thing better, and during that clip helium didn’t privation to beryllium touched up."

The creator wore a instrumentality loop packed with supplies—makeup decorator and supervisor Rick Baker estimated it weighed 100 pounds—so helium could support up with the star.

Baker and cardinal hairstylist Gail Rowell-Ryan ended up winning the Oscar successful 2001 for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Time did not marque Carrey's bosom turn fonder for the Grinch costume.

Getting into afloat constitution connected time 1 took 8 and a fractional hours, helium recalled connected The Graham Norton Show successful 2014, comparing it to "being buried alive."

So, helium continued, "I went backmost to my trailer and enactment my limb done the wall, and I told Ron Howard I couldn't bash the movie. Then [producer] Brian Grazer came successful and, being the fix-it man, came up with a superb idea, which was to prosecute a man who is trained to thatch CIA operatives however to bash endure torture."

The advice, Carrey recalled, was to "eat everything you spot and if you're freaking retired and you commencement to spiral downward, crook the tv on, alteration a pattern, person idiosyncratic you cognize travel up and smack you successful the head. Punch yourself successful the limb oregon smoke—smoke arsenic overmuch arsenic you perchance can."

Asked however agelong this went connected for, Carrey said helium was successful constitution 100 times.

"And you cognize what got maine done it?" helium added. "The Bee Gees."

Carrey wasn't joking astir that.

"While I was doing the makeup, helium would beryllium watching a DVD oregon listening to music," Hiro told the LA Times. "Almost mundane helium was playing a CD of 'Bee Gees Live.'" (Possibly 1977's Here astatine Last...Bee Gees...Live.)

"After a portion I was doing the constitution successful clip with the album, and I could archer if I was a small spot precocious oregon a small spot accelerated by the music!" the creator said. "Then 1 Friday, Jim said, 'I privation to instrumentality this medium location today,' truthful we took it retired of the CD subordinate and gave it to him. But connected Saturday, I was thinking: 'Maybe he’ll hide to bring it back, and that volition messiness up my bushed with the makeup.' I went retired and bought the aforesaid CD and brought it into the constitution trailer the adjacent week."

Which was bully thinking, helium said, due to the fact that Carrey did forget to bring the CD back.

Carrey aboriginal autographed Hiro's copy.

On the time Carrey recalled putting his limb done the wall, Hiro felt the hostility successful the air.

"Every archetypal time has immoderate benignant of occupation that you person to woody with, but this was really the archetypal clip we tried the last plan connected Jim, and we were not definite if helium would similar it oregon not," helium told the LA Times. "I was nervous, and Jim was nervous, too. As it turned out, helium didn’t similar the mode his cervix was covered with the hair, which was portion of the wig, truthful we had to hole it close connected the set, which meant we couldn’t commencement the shooting close away."

And, helium added, "Jim is simply a perfectionist, and each clip determination was a change, helium said something."

"The biggest occupation with the constitution for Jim was the interaction lenses," Hiro said. "They were utilizing fake snowfall connected the set, which was really dried, smashed insubstantial pulp, and connected the acceptable determination were ever tiny particles flying astir successful the air. The particulate really went betwixt the lenses and his eyes, truthful helium had a achy time."

Howard said Carrey was a feline who truly couldn't deterioration contacts.

"But helium had to, due to the fact that helium knew it was close for the character," the manager told Empire. "But determination were days erstwhile we had an optometrist lasting by each the clip with a ace magnifying solid due to the fact that helium ever got worldly successful his eyes, and past we were told helium couldn't film."

While Carrey's bare brownish eyes truly were aching to beryllium uncovered, an editing oversight that went viral successful 2022 near 1 framework successful which the Grinch is uncovering retired that Whoville is inactive awash successful Christmas tone contempt his champion efforts—and the actor's contact-less eyes are showing.

Carrey would discarded nary clip getting de-Grinched aft filming wrapped for the day.

"The lens technician, the suit technician and I would tally implicit to him and commencement to region everything we could connected the set," Hari recalled to the LA Times. "All that would beryllium near connected him was the Grinch look without the hairsbreadth and the achromatic spandex suit helium wore underneath the furry costume. Then helium would spell backmost to his trailer for a break, during which helium would commencement peeling the constitution pieces disconnected himself."

Carrey preserved pieces of the foam rubber helium pulled disconnected his look successful a integrative container with the day's telephone expanse and gave them to radical connected acceptable to support arsenic souvenirs.

At the time, Hiro said each was good that ended well.

"About 2 months aft the filming was completed, Jim and I talked again," helium told the Times. "He said helium admired me, and told maine I did a large occupation and said thanks. I thanked him too, due to the fact that helium went done that full thing. I deliberation How the Grinch Stole Christmas was the hardest movie I've ever worked on. It is simply a bully memory, but if we had to bash that again...we won’t bash it!”

As it turned out, Hiro—who's won 2 Oscars since, for 2017's Darkest Hour and 2019's Bombshell—started therapy aft his acquisition on HTGSC.

It got atrocious enough, Hiro told Vulture successful 2018, that a shaper suggested helium permission to amusement Carrey however indispensable helium was to the production. (The film's constitution section was huge, but among the credits Hiro is the lone 1 dedicated to the Grinch.)

He didn't reply erstwhile Carrey called aft a week, Hiro said, but Howard assured him the histrion had sworn to alteration his ways.

While his friends encouraged him to inquire for a large raise, the Kyoto-born creator continued, helium decided he'd inquire the workplace for assistance getting a greenish paper instead. 

It worked, and he's since go an American citizen. (And therapy helped him recognize that helium was "really an introvert.")

Frankenstein star Boris Karloff was the narrator and voiced the rubric quality successful the 1966 animated TV peculiar How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, and galore assumed helium besides sang the iconic "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch."

He did not. Rather, the long-uncredited vocalist was Thurl Ravencroft, who besides provided the dependable for Frosted Flakes mascot Tony the Tiger for decades.

For the 2000 film, sans exclamation point, Carrey did his ain vocal connected the classical tune.

Howard admitted it was a "very unorthodox" production, due to the fact that the acceptable and costume designers—who astatine slightest had the model of the children's publication to spell by—were waiting connected the writers to decorativeness the script.

Carrey's encephalon waited for nary writer, however, and helium improvised lines specified arsenic "6:30 p.m. Dinner with me. I can't cancel that again."

Howard has enactment his quality histrion member Clint Howard in 17 of his films, from 1977's Grand Theft Auto to 2018's Solo: A Star Wars Story.

And that's Clint playing Mayor Augustus May Who sycophantic adjunct Bris Who in The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.

Moreover, it was Clint who suggested his large member don the Grinch constitution for a time arsenic a morale booster.

"He said to me, 'You know, everybody's getting a small down. If there's possibly immoderate benignant of stunt you could pull, deterioration the make-up, fto radical cognize that you cognize it's tough,'" Howard told Empire. So, 1 day, "I slipped into the make-up seat astatine astir 3:30 a.m. successful the greeting and donned the costume, and shocked Jim, and got a existent inexpensive laughter retired of the crew, and I deliberation radical appreciated that I was consenting to endure astatine slightest 1 day." 

But helium did not endure the contacts. One, due to the fact that it wasn't worthy the disbursal to person a brace custom-made for 1 day, Howard said, but also, "frankly, I didn't privation to deterioration the damn things."

Carrey was "having panic attacks" and "breathing into a insubstantial bag" owed to the claustrophobia helium felt successful the suit, Howard recalled, truthful the manager was often trying to cheer the prima up. (Before helium was capable to amusement Carrey the $350 cardinal successful worldwide container bureau receipts.)

Knowing the histrion was a immense instrumentality of Don Knotts, who played Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show, Howard—who got his commencement arsenic a kid histrion connected the 1950s-era sitcom—had his erstwhile costar sojourn the set.

"I privation I'd had the camera rolling," Howard said on In Depth With Graham Bensinger in 2023, to seizure "genius impressionist" Carrey doing "a cleanable Don Knotts, successful the Grinch costume."

Overall, Howard "understood the benignant of agony [Carrey] was going through," helium said. But, "you know, immoderate helium had to bash helium had to do."

And, er, wherefore was Carrey doing this again?

He cited a longtime affinity for the Grinch for what drew him to the laborious task successful the archetypal place.

"The communicative of his alteration of bosom has ever been truly important to me, that anybody’s reachable," helium explained to E! successful 2000. "Most radical conscionable privation to beryllium portion of the enactment and portion of the club, and if you springiness them the opportunity, they volition be."

And helium besides wanted to telephone foul connected the avarice.

"Just look astatine the publication and look astatine what Dr. Seuss’s archetypal intent was," Carrey continued. "I deliberation helium intended to amusement radical what Christmas was each about, to amusement america ourselves astatine Christmas time...At the bosom of Christmas, nary substance however commercialized it gets, it volition get you due to the fact that it means something. It’s astir household and emotion and acceptance. It’s the happening that makes radical recognize we're each portion of a family."