WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.660 Welcome back to The Deep Dive. Today we are undertaking 00:00:02.660 --> 00:00:06.440 a really fascinating and complex journey into 00:00:06.440 --> 00:00:09.779 the life and career of James, Eugene, Jim Carrey. 00:00:09.800 --> 00:00:11.919 Jim Carrey. He's one of those figures in Hollywood 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:15.000 defined by, well, incredible success, but also 00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:17.640 these like extreme contradictions. Yeah. Almost 00:00:17.640 --> 00:00:19.739 polar opposites. Exactly. It's this balancing 00:00:19.739 --> 00:00:22.739 act he seems to have. Maybe not mastered, but 00:00:22.739 --> 00:00:25.079 certainly lived. You've got the king of slapstick, 00:00:25.160 --> 00:00:27.660 right? The rubber face, the sheer energy. The 00:00:27.660 --> 00:00:30.280 guy who basically reset the pay scale for comedy 00:00:30.280 --> 00:00:33.280 actors. Huge impact. Totally. But then on the 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:35.000 other hand, you've got this critically acclaimed 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:37.759 dramatic actor. And beyond that, an artist, a 00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:40.219 painter, and, you know, a very outspoken commentator 00:00:40.219 --> 00:00:43.159 on social, political stuff. It's a lot to unpack. 00:00:43.320 --> 00:00:45.280 It really is. So that's our mission today, to 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:47.740 kind of track that whole explosive path. We're 00:00:47.740 --> 00:00:50.719 starting from, you know, real financial hardship. 00:00:51.490 --> 00:00:53.929 actual failure in Toronto. Yeah, like rock bottom 00:00:53.929 --> 00:00:56.369 stuff. And following it all the way to him commanding 00:00:56.369 --> 00:00:59.689 that historic $20 million salary. Which was just 00:00:59.689 --> 00:01:02.630 unheard of for a comic actor before him. A massive 00:01:02.630 --> 00:01:05.230 benchmark. So we need to explore the hidden stuff, 00:01:05.349 --> 00:01:09.209 right? The psychology, maybe the spiritual searching 00:01:09.209 --> 00:01:11.590 behind that, you know, frantic persona we all 00:01:11.590 --> 00:01:13.989 know. We'll look at the big career shifts and 00:01:13.989 --> 00:01:16.989 the really personal, sometimes controversial 00:01:16.989 --> 00:01:19.549 parts of his life off screen too. You mean his 00:01:19.549 --> 00:01:23.890 art, his beliefs, the activism? It's all part 00:01:23.890 --> 00:01:26.230 of the picture. Absolutely. And we can't really 00:01:26.230 --> 00:01:29.950 talk about his career as this like bundle of 00:01:29.950 --> 00:01:32.310 contradictions without hitting that dramatic 00:01:32.310 --> 00:01:35.500 success. Almost immediately. It's kind of amazing. 00:01:35.739 --> 00:01:38.140 You mean the Golden Globes? Yeah, that's key. 00:01:38.239 --> 00:01:41.019 Think about it. Winning two back -to -back for 00:01:41.019 --> 00:01:43.439 completely different kinds of roles, that signals 00:01:43.439 --> 00:01:45.560 incredible range right from the start of that 00:01:45.560 --> 00:01:47.680 phase. Exactly. That's the perfect way in. He 00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:50.099 wins Best Actor in a motion picture drama for 00:01:50.099 --> 00:01:52.540 The Truman Show in 98, which was the serious, 00:01:52.620 --> 00:01:55.000 satirical role, and he actually took a big pay 00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:57.239 cut to do it. A gamble that paid off massively, 00:01:57.459 --> 00:01:59.500 critically speaking. Totally. Then, the very 00:01:59.500 --> 00:02:01.939 next year, boom. He wins Best Actor again, but 00:02:01.939 --> 00:02:04.299 this time for a musical or... comedy, for playing 00:02:04.299 --> 00:02:07.599 Anzi Kaufman in Man on the Moon. It just instantly 00:02:07.599 --> 00:02:09.780 showed everyone he could operate at the highest 00:02:09.780 --> 00:02:12.879 level in two totally different worlds of performance, 00:02:13.120 --> 00:02:16.979 drama and, well, intensely character -driven 00:02:16.979 --> 00:02:19.620 comedy. That ability, that switch between comedy 00:02:19.620 --> 00:02:22.159 and drama, sometimes even within the same film, 00:02:22.300 --> 00:02:24.659 that's the paradox, isn't it? It defines his 00:02:24.659 --> 00:02:26.949 whole career. Yeah. And to get where that comes 00:02:26.949 --> 00:02:29.370 from, that kind of restless need to perform, 00:02:29.569 --> 00:02:32.750 to succeed, maybe to escape, you got to go back, 00:02:32.830 --> 00:02:35.009 back to the beginning. Right. The foundation, 00:02:35.189 --> 00:02:38.310 the chaos, really, of his upbringing. We're heading 00:02:38.310 --> 00:02:41.050 back to Newmarket, Ontario, born 1962. And his 00:02:41.050 --> 00:02:42.810 family background, it's more mixed than people 00:02:42.810 --> 00:02:44.990 might realize. The original name was Carre, C 00:02:44.990 --> 00:02:47.389 -A -R -R -E. That's French Canadian ancestry. 00:02:47.689 --> 00:02:49.990 Right. And then Irish and Scottish from his mother's 00:02:49.990 --> 00:02:52.930 side. His dad, Percy Carre, he was an accountant, 00:02:52.969 --> 00:02:55.259 but also a musician. That musical side seems 00:02:55.259 --> 00:02:57.879 pretty important, influencing Jim. Definitely. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:00.500 And his mom, Kathleen, was a homemaker. But the 00:03:00.500 --> 00:03:02.219 thing that really defined his teenage years, 00:03:02.419 --> 00:03:05.800 well, it's just profound instability, financial 00:03:05.800 --> 00:03:08.500 instability. Yeah, absolutely. This wasn't just, 00:03:08.620 --> 00:03:11.340 you know, times were tough. The family went through 00:03:11.340 --> 00:03:13.939 severe hardship. It led to them actually being 00:03:13.939 --> 00:03:16.439 homeless for periods. That's right. The sources 00:03:16.439 --> 00:03:18.840 are pretty clear. They lived, the whole family, 00:03:18.960 --> 00:03:22.180 inside a Volkswagen van for a time. Just imagine 00:03:22.180 --> 00:03:25.599 that. That kind of insecurity, it shapes you 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:29.620 deeply. Your drive, how you see the world. And 00:03:29.620 --> 00:03:31.860 it didn't stop there. The family kind of scattered 00:03:31.860 --> 00:03:34.199 for a bit. We know Jim and his brother actually 00:03:34.199 --> 00:03:37.819 spent months living in a tent in Charles Daly 00:03:37.819 --> 00:03:41.000 Park right by Lake Ontario. Relying on park bathrooms 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:42.479 and stuff. I mean, think about the psychological 00:03:42.479 --> 00:03:45.960 impact of that on a kid who already had this. 00:03:46.599 --> 00:03:49.000 like powerful urge to make people laugh, to make 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:51.000 things feel okay. It feels almost like a survival 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:53.479 mechanism, doesn't it? The comedy. Could be. 00:03:53.740 --> 00:03:56.860 And the need for money became urgent, which basically 00:03:56.860 --> 00:03:59.620 ended his formal schooling. His dad eventually 00:03:59.620 --> 00:04:02.000 got a job at the Titan Wheels tire factory in 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:04.159 Scarborough. And the family's housing was tied 00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:06.419 to that job, right? They lived across the street, 00:04:06.460 --> 00:04:08.699 but the catch was Jim and his older brother had 00:04:08.699 --> 00:04:11.389 to work there too. Night shift. Yeah, grueling 00:04:11.389 --> 00:04:14.310 work. As a teenager, he's working as a janitor, 00:04:14.389 --> 00:04:17.550 security guard, pulling eight -hour shifts, starting 00:04:17.550 --> 00:04:20.209 at 6 p .m., working into the morning. Just brutal. 00:04:20.350 --> 00:04:22.410 And to keep that schedule, to help the family 00:04:22.410 --> 00:04:25.689 financially, he made the call, dropped out of 00:04:25.689 --> 00:04:28.730 high school on his 16th birthday. So comedy, 00:04:28.870 --> 00:04:31.339 at that point... It wasn't just a dream. It felt 00:04:31.339 --> 00:04:33.399 like the only way out, you know, the only escape 00:04:33.399 --> 00:04:35.879 route he could see. That period, the factory 00:04:35.879 --> 00:04:37.959 work, the instability. You can almost feel it 00:04:37.959 --> 00:04:41.060 fueling the ambition later. That frantic energy 00:04:41.060 --> 00:04:43.199 in his performances, like he had to succeed right 00:04:43.199 --> 00:04:45.199 now or he'd be back there. Which brings us to 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:47.779 the Toronto stand -up scene. Rough start. His 00:04:47.779 --> 00:04:51.420 debut in 1977, he's only 15. Legendary for being 00:04:51.420 --> 00:04:54.819 a total disaster. Right. His dad, Percy, helped 00:04:54.819 --> 00:04:56.420 him put together an act, but it was all, like, 00:04:56.439 --> 00:04:58.759 standard celebrity impressions. And the outfit. 00:04:58.899 --> 00:05:01.420 His mom picked it out. A polyester leisure suit. 00:05:01.839 --> 00:05:03.779 Because, you know, that's what comedians wore 00:05:03.779 --> 00:05:06.100 on TV back then, like on D. Martin's show or 00:05:06.100 --> 00:05:08.860 something. A polyester suit at Yuck Yucks, which 00:05:08.860 --> 00:05:12.339 was this, like, edgy kind of punk rock comedy 00:05:12.339 --> 00:05:14.600 club in Toronto. It just crashed and burned. 00:05:14.779 --> 00:05:17.019 The owner, Mark Breslin, apparently called it 00:05:17.019 --> 00:05:19.519 Bad Rich Little. Ouch. Yeah, that's got to sting. 00:05:19.779 --> 00:05:22.680 And that failure hit him hard. He actually stepped 00:05:22.680 --> 00:05:25.459 away from the stage for two years, just processing 00:05:25.459 --> 00:05:28.019 it, doubting himself. But he came back. Couldn't 00:05:28.019 --> 00:05:31.300 stay away, I guess. Returned in 79, more polished. 00:05:31.699 --> 00:05:34.639 Finally had his first paid gig. Canned $20 for 00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:36.879 20 minutes. He found his footing back at Yuck 00:05:36.879 --> 00:05:38.939 Jucks, which had moved to a cooler spot by then. 00:05:39.019 --> 00:05:41.199 Started building a local name for himself, fast. 00:05:41.519 --> 00:05:44.560 And the first real breakthrough into mainstream 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:46.860 awareness happened pretty quickly after that. 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:50.279 1981, a review in the Toronto Star. And not just 00:05:50.279 --> 00:05:52.480 any review. Front page of the entertainment section. 00:05:52.699 --> 00:05:55.279 Huge placement. The writer basically said, a 00:05:55.279 --> 00:05:57.560 genuine star coming to life. That review just 00:05:57.560 --> 00:05:59.579 lit a fire. Suddenly there's national demand 00:05:59.579 --> 00:06:02.259 for his act, his impressions, all across Canada. 00:06:02.540 --> 00:06:05.120 And right around the same time, 81, he gets his 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:07.459 first acting role, playing a character named 00:06:07.459 --> 00:06:10.720 Tony Maroney. Who was, fittingly, a struggling 00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:13.430 impressionist. In a TV movie called Introducing, 00:06:13.470 --> 00:06:15.389 Janet... Which they later renamed Rubberface 00:06:15.389 --> 00:06:17.689 for the video release. So that physical style, 00:06:17.829 --> 00:06:19.870 it was already there, already his brand. This 00:06:19.870 --> 00:06:22.269 early Canadian buzz, that's what opened the door 00:06:22.269 --> 00:06:25.310 to the U .S. And the key connection was Rodney 00:06:25.310 --> 00:06:28.009 Dangerfield, the legend. Yeah, Dangerfield saw 00:06:28.009 --> 00:06:30.670 him, loved him, signed him up almost on the spot 00:06:30.670 --> 00:06:32.930 as an opening act for his tours. That must have 00:06:32.930 --> 00:06:36.449 been huge. Exposure, connections, everything 00:06:36.449 --> 00:06:39.310 you need to make that jump south to Hollywood. 00:06:39.569 --> 00:06:42.240 Okay, so the stage is set. Carrie gets to L .A. 00:06:42.259 --> 00:06:45.699 in 83. And he has this one single -minded goal, 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:48.920 almost an obsession. The Tonight Show. Johnny 00:06:48.920 --> 00:06:51.920 Carson. Had to happen. Absolutely. In that era, 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:54.060 that was it. The ultimate validation for a comedian. 00:06:54.259 --> 00:06:57.300 Getting on Carson meant you'd arrived. He finally 00:06:57.300 --> 00:06:59.639 gets his chance late that year. But it wasn't 00:06:59.639 --> 00:07:01.800 quite the dream debut, was it? It was tied to 00:07:01.800 --> 00:07:04.160 promoting the sitcom he'd landed. Right. The 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:06.560 Duck Factory on NBC. Short -lived show. So it 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:08.199 wasn't pure stand -up, more like a promotional 00:07:08.199 --> 00:07:10.699 spot. And the appearance itself, it's really 00:07:10.699 --> 00:07:12.819 telling about how the industry saw him initially. 00:07:12.899 --> 00:07:15.680 He does his big impressions, Elvis, Jack Nicholson, 00:07:15.819 --> 00:07:18.839 E .T., you know, that rapid fire energy. Carson 00:07:18.839 --> 00:07:23.000 gives him the OK sign. Standard. But here's the 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:26.180 crucial detail. Johnny does not wave him over 00:07:26.180 --> 00:07:29.540 to the couch for the chat afterwards. Subtle, 00:07:29.540 --> 00:07:32.360 but huge in showbiz terms back then. Getting 00:07:32.360 --> 00:07:34.920 waved over. That was the golden ticket. It launched 00:07:34.920 --> 00:07:37.480 careers overnight. Not getting the wave meant, 00:07:37.620 --> 00:07:40.019 OK, you're fine. You did the job. But Carson 00:07:40.019 --> 00:07:41.779 wasn't blown away. He wasn't seeing the next 00:07:41.779 --> 00:07:45.060 big superstar. Not yet. So, yeah, good, but not 00:07:45.060 --> 00:07:48.540 great in Carson's eyes. And the sitcom The Duck 00:07:48.540 --> 00:07:51.360 Factory, it debuted April 84, but fizzled out 00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:53.399 pretty fast. Canceled. We put him right back 00:07:53.399 --> 00:07:55.819 on the road. grinding it out, chasing that big, 00:07:55.879 --> 00:07:58.139 big break. And the place he chased it hardest 00:07:58.139 --> 00:08:01.180 and failed most spectacularly was Saturday Night 00:08:01.180 --> 00:08:04.279 Live. Oh man, the SNL saga. It's brutal. It's 00:08:04.279 --> 00:08:06.220 almost hard to believe, given his talent, how 00:08:06.220 --> 00:08:08.480 many times he got rejected. Three times. High 00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:11.220 profile attempts. Why SNL though? Why is that 00:08:11.220 --> 00:08:13.199 the holy grail for him? Well, for his generation 00:08:13.199 --> 00:08:15.879 of comedians, SNL was the platform, the absolute 00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:18.579 peak. His first shot was way back in 1980, just 00:08:18.579 --> 00:08:20.560 as he was getting hot in Toronto. But they didn't 00:08:20.560 --> 00:08:22.199 pick him. The producer went with someone else. 00:08:22.339 --> 00:08:24.879 Yeah, chose Charles Rockett instead, who was 00:08:24.879 --> 00:08:28.360 older, 31, maybe seen as a safer, more conventional 00:08:28.360 --> 00:08:31.459 choice compared to this raw 18 -year -old Carrie. 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:35.080 Stability over, like, potential explosion. Okay, 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:38.500 bad luck maybe. But the second try, 1985, that 00:08:38.500 --> 00:08:41.399 one sounds even rougher. Lorne Michaels is back, 00:08:41.659 --> 00:08:43.860 rebuilding the cast. Carrie's desperate to get 00:08:43.860 --> 00:08:46.059 on. But the senior writers and producers, guys 00:08:46.059 --> 00:08:49.309 like Al Franken, Jim Downey. They basically blocked 00:08:49.309 --> 00:08:51.690 him from even auditioning properly for Lorne. 00:08:51.710 --> 00:08:54.070 What? Why? They didn't think his material fit. 00:08:54.149 --> 00:08:56.190 He wanted to do his post -nuclear Elvis' character, 00:08:56.470 --> 00:08:59.409 which is, you know, weird, physical, totally 00:08:59.409 --> 00:09:02.370 original, pushing way beyond just an impression. 00:09:02.669 --> 00:09:04.769 Too weird for SNL. Apparently too weird for them. 00:09:04.850 --> 00:09:07.389 They saw it as too chaotic, maybe unmanageable 00:09:07.389 --> 00:09:09.830 for the show's format. They essentially gatekept 00:09:09.830 --> 00:09:11.789 him, told him he wasn't right for the show before 00:09:11.789 --> 00:09:13.909 Lorne even saw him perform that material. Wow. 00:09:14.169 --> 00:09:15.870 That must have crushed him. But he still came 00:09:15.870 --> 00:09:19.169 back. He did. Third major attempt, 1986. This 00:09:19.169 --> 00:09:20.909 time he actually performs for Lorne Michaels 00:09:20.909 --> 00:09:23.169 himself. But here's the real twist of the knife. 00:09:23.330 --> 00:09:25.970 Oh. Dana Carvey and Phil Hartman. They were hired 00:09:25.970 --> 00:09:28.629 from that exact same audition group. You're kidding. 00:09:28.769 --> 00:09:31.730 He watches them get the dream job, the job he's 00:09:31.730 --> 00:09:35.409 obsessed over, failed to get twice before, while 00:09:35.409 --> 00:09:37.850 he gets rejected again. Imagine standing there. 00:09:38.420 --> 00:09:41.080 Seeing these guys who become absolute legends 00:09:41.080 --> 00:09:44.159 on the show get picked. What did Michael see 00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:47.139 in them that he didn't see or maybe wasn't ready 00:09:47.139 --> 00:09:49.860 for and carries energy? Was it just too much 00:09:49.860 --> 00:09:52.019 for an ensemble show at that point? Who knows? 00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:55.080 But OK, this string of failures, especially the 00:09:55.080 --> 00:09:58.059 SNL ones, it forced a massive change in direction 00:09:58.059 --> 00:10:00.379 for him, didn't it? A fundamental pivot. Absolutely 00:10:00.379 --> 00:10:04.330 fundamental. He had this realization. Just doing 00:10:04.330 --> 00:10:06.590 impressions, no matter how brilliant, was ultimately 00:10:06.590 --> 00:10:08.889 a career dead end. It was a box. He'd always 00:10:08.889 --> 00:10:10.950 just be the impressionist guy. Exactly. He knew 00:10:10.950 --> 00:10:14.049 he had to create, not just reflect. So he consciously 00:10:14.049 --> 00:10:16.269 starts developing a completely new live act. 00:10:16.669 --> 00:10:18.809 Riskier stuff. Moving away from the celebrity 00:10:18.809 --> 00:10:21.629 impressions people knew him for. Totally. Shifting 00:10:21.629 --> 00:10:23.970 into observational humor. original characters. 00:10:24.129 --> 00:10:26.309 And this wasn't an easy switch. Sources say he 00:10:26.309 --> 00:10:28.450 was often improvising, struggling, sometimes 00:10:28.450 --> 00:10:30.429 in front of audiences who were annoyed. They'd 00:10:30.429 --> 00:10:32.730 paid to see the impressions. So he's actively 00:10:32.730 --> 00:10:35.230 fighting his own established image, pushing his 00:10:35.230 --> 00:10:36.990 audience, trying to find something more authentic. 00:10:37.269 --> 00:10:40.330 Yeah. And that drive to create original characters, 00:10:40.470 --> 00:10:43.309 the bizarre stuff like Fire Marshal Bill or the 00:10:43.309 --> 00:10:46.970 overly confident gay man character that finally 00:10:46.970 --> 00:10:49.889 found the perfect home. In living color. Exactly. 00:10:50.429 --> 00:10:52.509 Being a regular on that show starting in 1990, 00:10:52.789 --> 00:10:56.230 that was the launch pad. It showcased his originality, 00:10:56.289 --> 00:10:58.789 his physical genius in a way that finally made 00:10:58.789 --> 00:11:00.789 Hollywood sit up and go, OK, this guy is something 00:11:00.789 --> 00:11:02.990 different. And the jump from that ensemble TV 00:11:02.990 --> 00:11:07.240 success to movie megastar. It wasn't slow, was 00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:09.679 it? It was like a lightning strike. 1994, that 00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:11.659 year changed everything. Oh, explosion's the 00:11:11.659 --> 00:11:14.759 right word. Yeah. 1994 was seismic. Studios suddenly 00:11:14.759 --> 00:11:16.960 realized they had this, like, force of nature 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:18.980 on their hands. It kicks up in February with 00:11:18.980 --> 00:11:21.779 Ace Ventura, Pet Detective. Critics weren't too 00:11:21.779 --> 00:11:25.000 kind, but audiences loved it. Makes $72 million 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:28.639 domestically. Then, just five months later, July 00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:32.129 94, The Mask comes out. And that's not just a 00:11:32.129 --> 00:11:35.690 hit. It's a global phenomenon. Right. $351 million 00:11:35.690 --> 00:11:38.470 worldwide. Gets him his first Golden Globe nomination, 00:11:38.590 --> 00:11:41.769 too. Proves his crazy comedy style travels. And 00:11:41.769 --> 00:11:44.230 he wasn't done. Closes out the year, December 00:11:44.230 --> 00:11:48.769 94, with Dumb and Dumber. Over $270 million worldwide. 00:11:49.309 --> 00:11:52.970 Three massive, massive hits. In 10 months, all 00:11:52.970 --> 00:11:55.750 driven almost entirely by his energy, his physical 00:11:55.750 --> 00:11:58.009 comedy, his characters. It was just unprecedented 00:11:58.009 --> 00:12:00.269 for a comedy actor. The industry had to react. 00:12:00.450 --> 00:12:02.950 Those three hits, plus his roles the next year 00:12:02.950 --> 00:12:05.830 in Ace Ventura 2 and Batman Forever, his asking 00:12:05.830 --> 00:12:08.090 price just went vertical into the stratosphere. 00:12:08.309 --> 00:12:10.210 Which leads us to the big number, the one that 00:12:10.210 --> 00:12:12.129 literally changed the game for Hollywood salaries. 00:12:12.470 --> 00:12:14.809 Yep. For his next starring role, The Cable Guy, 00:12:14.909 --> 00:12:17.350 which came out in 96, he got paid $20 million. 00:12:18.329 --> 00:12:20.610 Just stop and think about that number. $20 million 00:12:20.610 --> 00:12:23.929 in the mid -90s for a comedy actor. It was completely 00:12:23.929 --> 00:12:26.090 historic. He was the first comic actor to ever 00:12:26.090 --> 00:12:28.809 hit that $20 million mark. Before him, that kind 00:12:28.809 --> 00:12:31.350 of money was strictly for the huge action stars, 00:12:31.529 --> 00:12:34.429 the dramatic megastars. You know, Harrison Ford's, 00:12:34.450 --> 00:12:37.669 Tom Cruise's, Mel Gibson's. Guys whose movies 00:12:37.669 --> 00:12:40.029 were seen as guaranteed global blockbusters. 00:12:40.210 --> 00:12:43.429 Right. What Carey proved... with that 1994 run, 00:12:43.590 --> 00:12:46.629 was that his kind of physical character -based 00:12:46.629 --> 00:12:49.610 comedy was now a globally bankable commodity. 00:12:50.049 --> 00:12:52.750 He forced the studios to recognize the sheer 00:12:52.750 --> 00:12:55.330 financial wheat he carried. He didn't just ask 00:12:55.330 --> 00:12:57.669 for $20 million. He'd shown he could deliver 00:12:57.669 --> 00:13:00.429 the audience to justify it. He basically reset 00:13:00.429 --> 00:13:02.730 the market for A -list comedy talent overnight. 00:13:03.129 --> 00:13:06.309 But interestingly, the movie he chose to make 00:13:06.309 --> 00:13:08.909 for that record salary wasn't a safe bet at all, 00:13:08.929 --> 00:13:12.139 was it? No way. The cable guy. Directed by Ben 00:13:12.139 --> 00:13:15.179 Stiller, it was dark, like really dark, a satirical 00:13:15.179 --> 00:13:17.340 black comedy. Almost like a deliberate curveball. 00:13:17.500 --> 00:13:20.860 He plays Chip Douglas, this creepy, lonely cable 00:13:20.860 --> 00:13:22.799 installer who gets dangerously obsessed with 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:24.620 Matthew Broderick's character. It was disturbing, 00:13:24.899 --> 00:13:27.679 a total U -turn from the goofy, hyper, kind of 00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:30.320 lovable losers he'd become famous for. It felt 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:32.519 like he was testing himself, maybe testing the 00:13:32.519 --> 00:13:34.919 audience too, like we will follow me here into 00:13:34.919 --> 00:13:37.600 this darker territory. And the reaction was... 00:13:38.430 --> 00:13:40.590 Mixed, right? Critics especially were thrown 00:13:40.590 --> 00:13:43.129 off. They weren't really prepared for the shift 00:13:43.129 --> 00:13:45.669 in tone, the satire. Yeah, they mostly reacted 00:13:45.669 --> 00:13:47.750 poorly. Yeah. But here's the thing that shows 00:13:47.750 --> 00:13:51.159 his incredible star power at that moment. Even 00:13:51.159 --> 00:13:53.399 with the critical backlash and the dark tone, 00:13:53.620 --> 00:13:57.960 the cable guy still grossed $102 million worldwide. 00:13:58.559 --> 00:14:00.840 That's amazing. Yeah. Even a quote unquote failure 00:14:00.840 --> 00:14:03.039 for him was still a massive financial success 00:14:03.039 --> 00:14:05.799 by any normal measure. Exactly. His name alone 00:14:05.799 --> 00:14:07.960 guaranteed eyeballs. Yeah. But he did kind of 00:14:07.960 --> 00:14:09.899 course correct pretty quickly after that. Right. 00:14:09.960 --> 00:14:11.980 Back to more familiar ground, but still pushing 00:14:11.980 --> 00:14:16.419 things. 1997, liar, liar. Big hit. Gets him his 00:14:16.419 --> 00:14:19.019 second Golden Globe nomination for comedy. And 00:14:19.019 --> 00:14:21.620 the reviews were great for him personally. Even 00:14:21.620 --> 00:14:24.139 if the concept was a bit high concept, critics 00:14:24.139 --> 00:14:26.240 acknowledged his genius. I remember a New York 00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:28.039 Times review saying something like he could take 00:14:28.039 --> 00:14:30.519 mundane material and just make it incredibly 00:14:30.519 --> 00:14:33.559 wilder and funnier than anyone else possibly 00:14:33.559 --> 00:14:36.379 could. So he was back on top commercially. But 00:14:36.379 --> 00:14:38.120 you get the sense that cable guy experience, 00:14:38.299 --> 00:14:40.559 that desire to push boundaries wasn't going away. 00:14:40.659 --> 00:14:43.580 The itch for something more was definitely there. 00:14:43.720 --> 00:14:47.679 Yeah, that itch for maybe legitimacy. Critical 00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:50.139 respect. It led him straight into making a very 00:14:50.139 --> 00:14:52.379 deliberate, very strategic move towards dramatic 00:14:52.379 --> 00:14:54.659 roles, even if it meant less money initially. 00:14:54.879 --> 00:14:57.039 Which is a statement in itself, right? Turning 00:14:57.039 --> 00:14:59.500 down huge comedy paychecks for something riskier. 00:14:59.600 --> 00:15:02.340 And it starts big with The Truman Show in 1998. 00:15:02.740 --> 00:15:06.399 Huge. A satirical sci -fi dramedy. He plays Truman 00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:08.600 Burbank, the guy whose whole life is a reality 00:15:08.600 --> 00:15:12.600 TV show. And yeah, he took a significant pay 00:15:12.600 --> 00:15:15.019 cut for it. And boy, did that gamble pay off, 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:17.669 critically, commercially. The film was massive. 00:15:18.070 --> 00:15:21.450 $264 million worldwide, his performance. Universally 00:15:21.450 --> 00:15:24.490 praised. It won him his first Golden Globe. Best 00:15:24.490 --> 00:15:27.009 actor in a motion picture drama. This was the 00:15:27.009 --> 00:15:28.830 role that definitively proved he was more than 00:15:28.830 --> 00:15:31.429 just the rubber face some critics had dismissively 00:15:31.429 --> 00:15:33.730 called him. It cemented his range. But then comes 00:15:33.730 --> 00:15:36.169 that weird Hollywood Awards thing. The paradox. 00:15:36.490 --> 00:15:39.009 Ah, the Oscar snub. Right. Despite winning the 00:15:39.009 --> 00:15:40.690 Globe, despite the movie getting multiple Oscar 00:15:40.690 --> 00:15:43.450 nominations, Kerry himself, no Best Actor nomination 00:15:43.450 --> 00:15:46.039 from the Academy. Which everyone at the time 00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:48.820 called out as a huge snub. Like, was the Academy 00:15:48.820 --> 00:15:51.620 just not ready to accept that the Ace Ventura 00:15:51.620 --> 00:15:54.519 guy could be a serious dramatic contender? Seems 00:15:54.519 --> 00:15:58.120 likely. But he wasn't deterred. He doubled down 00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:00.539 on the dramatic path immediately. Next year, 00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:04.100 1999, he does Man on the Moon. Playing Andy Kaufman, 00:16:04.139 --> 00:16:06.679 talk about a complex role. Infinitely complex. 00:16:07.100 --> 00:16:09.960 And boundary pushing, just like Kaufman himself. 00:16:10.460 --> 00:16:12.600 That performance won him his second Golden Globe 00:16:12.600 --> 00:16:14.860 in a row, this time back in the musical or comedy 00:16:14.860 --> 00:16:17.639 category, plus his first Green Actors Guild nomination. 00:16:18.019 --> 00:16:21.679 And the process for making that movie, it became 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:24.080 legendary in its own right, didn't it? The method 00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:25.980 acting. Oh, completely legendary and intense. 00:16:26.139 --> 00:16:28.759 He decided he wasn't just going to play Kaufman, 00:16:28.860 --> 00:16:31.279 or Kaufman's obnoxious alter ego, Tony Clifton. 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:34.120 He was going to be them for the entire shoot. 00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:37.399 Never breaking character. Never. On set, off 00:16:37.399 --> 00:16:40.509 set sometimes. He was Andy or he was Tony. Which, 00:16:40.590 --> 00:16:42.570 as you can imagine, created a challenging atmosphere 00:16:42.570 --> 00:16:44.409 on set. Yeah, but there was that documentary 00:16:44.409 --> 00:16:46.450 later, right? Jim and Andy. The Great Beyond. 00:16:46.610 --> 00:16:49.549 Using footage the studio originally buried. Exactly. 00:16:49.789 --> 00:16:51.909 Universal Pictures apparently shelved the behind 00:16:51.909 --> 00:16:53.350 -the -scenes footage because they thought it 00:16:53.350 --> 00:16:55.750 was too damaging. It showed him antagonizing 00:16:55.750 --> 00:16:58.370 the crew as Tony Clifton, refusing to answer 00:16:58.370 --> 00:17:01.289 to Jim. The sheer psychological toll it took 00:17:01.289 --> 00:17:03.610 on everyone involved. That's chaos. But maybe 00:17:03.610 --> 00:17:05.490 necessary chaos for that kind of performance? 00:17:05.690 --> 00:17:08.150 Arguably, yeah. It produced something unforgettable. 00:17:08.730 --> 00:17:10.970 But even with these intense dramatic detours, 00:17:11.049 --> 00:17:13.930 he didn't abandon the blockbusters. He still 00:17:13.930 --> 00:17:16.390 knew how to deliver huge commercial hits. Right. 00:17:16.789 --> 00:17:19.490 2000, he does How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 00:17:19.710 --> 00:17:21.990 still one of the highest grossing Christmas movies 00:17:21.990 --> 00:17:26.009 ever. Then 2003, Bruce Almighty, just a global 00:17:26.009 --> 00:17:29.910 monster hit, over $484 million worldwide. That 00:17:29.910 --> 00:17:32.210 kind of financial success probably gave him the 00:17:32.210 --> 00:17:34.150 freedom, the cushion, to keep taking artistic 00:17:34.150 --> 00:17:36.740 risks. Absolutely. Which leads directly to what 00:17:36.740 --> 00:17:39.059 many people, myself included, still think is 00:17:39.059 --> 00:17:41.400 maybe his best performance ever. Eternal Sunshine 00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:44.140 of the Spotless Mind in 2004. Playing Joel Barish. 00:17:44.339 --> 00:17:47.440 Such a different role. Quiet, heartbroken, passive. 00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:50.160 He dials the physical comedy way, way down. Almost 00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:54.079 completely gone. And the critics went wild. The 00:17:54.079 --> 00:17:56.880 consensus was basically this is his most mature, 00:17:57.160 --> 00:18:00.660 sharply focused work. He showed he could channel 00:18:00.660 --> 00:18:03.240 that same intensity he used for Kaufman, but 00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:06.619 into something subtle, deep. Genuinely dramatic. 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:09.680 Got him a BAFTA nomination, another Golden Globe 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:12.700 nomination. It proved he could truly excel across 00:18:12.700 --> 00:18:15.500 the whole spectrum. So he's established his incredible 00:18:15.500 --> 00:18:18.759 range. But if we jump forward a bit into the 00:18:18.759 --> 00:18:22.000 2010s, things get a little more uneven, maybe. 00:18:22.099 --> 00:18:24.480 Yeah, there were some bumps. His 2013 comedy, 00:18:24.740 --> 00:18:27.000 The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, that didn't 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:29.180 do well at all. Kind of a flop. Maybe a sign 00:18:29.180 --> 00:18:30.859 that just putting his name on a standard comedy 00:18:30.859 --> 00:18:33.450 wasn't a guaranteed hit anymore? Possibly. But 00:18:33.450 --> 00:18:36.089 the really big shift that year, 2013, wasn't 00:18:36.089 --> 00:18:38.109 about box office. It was about a moral stand 00:18:38.109 --> 00:18:40.670 he took. Ah, the kick -ass 2 situation. He'd 00:18:40.670 --> 00:18:42.009 already filmed his part playing Colonel Stars 00:18:42.009 --> 00:18:44.490 and Stripes. Yep. But then just two months before 00:18:44.490 --> 00:18:47.049 the movie's release, he goes on Twitter and says 00:18:47.049 --> 00:18:49.829 he can no longer support the film. Publicly withdraws 00:18:49.829 --> 00:18:52.250 his support. Why? What was the reason? He pointed 00:18:52.250 --> 00:18:54.450 to the level of violence in the film, specifically 00:18:54.450 --> 00:18:56.769 in the context of this Sandy Hook Elementary 00:18:56.769 --> 00:18:58.789 School shooting, which had happened relatively 00:18:58.789 --> 00:19:02.079 recently. He said basically, In good conscience, 00:19:02.279 --> 00:19:04.700 I can't promote this level of violence now. Wow. 00:19:05.460 --> 00:19:08.599 That's... It's highly unusual for a star to do 00:19:08.599 --> 00:19:10.460 that to their own movie right before release. 00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:13.779 Huge wave. Totally unprecedented, almost. Sacrificing 00:19:13.779 --> 00:19:15.480 the expected promotional duties, potentially 00:19:15.480 --> 00:19:17.819 hurting the film's success because of a personal 00:19:17.819 --> 00:19:20.140 conviction. It really signaled a change in his 00:19:20.140 --> 00:19:22.519 priorities, putting his social concerns front 00:19:22.519 --> 00:19:24.519 and center. And that theme kind of carries into 00:19:24.519 --> 00:19:27.019 his later TV work, too, doesn't it? Seeking out 00:19:27.019 --> 00:19:29.599 projects with more personal resonance. Yeah, 00:19:29.619 --> 00:19:32.579 like in 2017, he executive produced I'm Dying 00:19:32.579 --> 00:19:35.599 Up Here, that Showtime dramedy about the brutal 00:19:35.599 --> 00:19:38.259 L .A. stand -up scene in the 70s. You could feel 00:19:38.259 --> 00:19:40.299 echoes of his own early struggles in Toronto, 00:19:40.440 --> 00:19:42.680 that pressure cooker environment. And then Kidding, 00:19:42.680 --> 00:19:45.200 starting in 2018, reuniting him with Michelle 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:48.039 Gondry, the Eternal Sunshine director. That show 00:19:48.039 --> 00:19:50.559 was critically acclaimed, right? Very much so. 00:19:50.680 --> 00:19:53.660 A tragic comedy. It felt like the perfect vehicle 00:19:53.660 --> 00:19:56.559 for his mature talent, blending humor and pathos. 00:19:56.619 --> 00:19:58.599 Got him his seventh Golden Globe nomination. 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:02.099 Showed he still had that deep, nuanced, vulnerable 00:20:02.099 --> 00:20:05.119 performance capability. Okay, so beyond the screen, 00:20:05.259 --> 00:20:07.799 beyond the performances, let's try and understand 00:20:07.799 --> 00:20:10.339 the man himself, the personal life, the beliefs, 00:20:10.539 --> 00:20:13.059 the art. It's just as complex, isn't it? If not 00:20:13.059 --> 00:20:16.279 more so, he's been incredibly open, maybe surprisingly 00:20:16.279 --> 00:20:18.900 so, about his struggles with mental health. He 00:20:18.900 --> 00:20:20.880 talked about suffering from depression for years, 00:20:20.920 --> 00:20:23.960 being on Prozac. Right. But then, in classic 00:20:23.960 --> 00:20:26.339 Kerry fashion, he pivots hard. He eventually 00:20:26.339 --> 00:20:28.619 stopped taking all medications and later cut 00:20:28.619 --> 00:20:31.480 out alcohol, even coffee. Embraced this really 00:20:31.480 --> 00:20:35.200 clean lifestyle, focused on inner peace. Yeah, 00:20:35.220 --> 00:20:37.119 searching for clarity. And he became a really 00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:39.940 big proponent of the law of attraction, the idea 00:20:39.940 --> 00:20:42.549 that your thoughts... directly shape your reality. 00:20:42.769 --> 00:20:45.089 And this belief is tied directly to that massive 00:20:45.089 --> 00:20:46.789 financial breakthrough we talked about earlier, 00:20:46.950 --> 00:20:49.470 isn't it? The $10 million check story. Exactly. 00:20:49.490 --> 00:20:52.190 It's fascinating. When he was broke, struggling, 00:20:52.309 --> 00:20:54.950 couldn't get arrested as an actor, he did this 00:20:54.950 --> 00:20:57.950 visualization thing, wrote himself a check for 00:20:57.950 --> 00:21:01.109 $10 million. Payable to himself for acting services 00:21:01.109 --> 00:21:04.130 rendered, and he post -dated it like seven years 00:21:04.130 --> 00:21:07.150 in the future, kept it in his wallet. Yeah. And 00:21:07.150 --> 00:21:10.420 then almost exactly seven years later... He gets 00:21:10.420 --> 00:21:12.900 paid that precise amount for dumb and dumber. 00:21:13.220 --> 00:21:16.079 Wild. A self -fulfilling prophecy, maybe. He 00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:18.240 absolutely credits it to the law of attraction 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:21.299 and also his practice of transcendental meditation. 00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:23.680 It speaks to his spiritual path, which seems 00:21:23.680 --> 00:21:27.359 very eclectic, not tied down to one single dogma. 00:21:27.400 --> 00:21:29.880 Right, like that quote from 2004 where he apparently 00:21:29.880 --> 00:21:31.900 said something like, I'm a Buddhist, I'm a Muslim, 00:21:31.960 --> 00:21:34.390 I'm a Christian. Refusing to be boxed in. He 00:21:34.390 --> 00:21:36.390 talks a lot about non -duality, letting go of 00:21:36.390 --> 00:21:38.390 the ego. He mentioned reading Eckhart Tolle and 00:21:38.390 --> 00:21:40.549 having this realization, this feeling that I 00:21:40.549 --> 00:21:42.789 was no longer a fragment of the universe. I was 00:21:42.789 --> 00:21:45.670 the universe. It's about seeking that pure, direct 00:21:45.670 --> 00:21:47.869 experience of reality, unfiltered authenticity. 00:21:48.569 --> 00:21:50.890 And if you connect that quest for authenticity 00:21:50.890 --> 00:21:53.849 to his personal life, well, it hasn't always 00:21:53.849 --> 00:21:55.750 been smooth sailing. There have been some really 00:21:55.750 --> 00:21:59.630 difficult public and tragic chapters, particularly 00:21:59.630 --> 00:22:02.329 regarding relationships. Yeah. He's been married 00:22:02.329 --> 00:22:04.549 twice. First to Melissa Womer. They have a daughter 00:22:04.549 --> 00:22:07.630 together. Then briefly to Lauren Hawley, his 00:22:07.630 --> 00:22:10.700 Dumb and Dumber co -star. He was engaged to Renee 00:22:10.700 --> 00:22:12.759 Zellweger for a while, too. Yeah. And had that 00:22:12.759 --> 00:22:14.420 long -term relationship with Jenny McCarthy. 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:17.680 Right. But the relationship that ended most tragically 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:20.720 and became very public was with Cathriona White, 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:23.779 a makeup artist he dated. She died by suicide 00:22:23.779 --> 00:22:27.099 in 2015 using prescription drugs. A terrible 00:22:27.099 --> 00:22:29.779 tragedy. Carrie was a pallbearer at her funeral 00:22:29.779 --> 00:22:33.089 in Ireland. Expressed deep grief. But then things 00:22:33.089 --> 00:22:35.930 got legally very complicated. Two wrongful death 00:22:35.930 --> 00:22:38.529 lawsuits were filed against him, one by White's 00:22:38.529 --> 00:22:41.049 estranged husband, another by her mother. And 00:22:41.049 --> 00:22:43.170 the core allegation was that Carrie had illegally 00:22:43.170 --> 00:22:45.569 obtained the prescription drugs she overdosed 00:22:45.569 --> 00:22:48.250 on and given them to her. That was the allegation, 00:22:48.309 --> 00:22:52.450 yes. Carrie fought back publicly, defending himself, 00:22:52.670 --> 00:22:55.269 saying her death was tragic but ultimately beyond 00:22:55.269 --> 00:22:58.309 anyone's control. It was a really dark period, 00:22:58.529 --> 00:23:01.460 legally and in the public eye. But what was the 00:23:01.460 --> 00:23:04.740 outcome of those lawsuits? Ultimately, both lawsuits 00:23:04.740 --> 00:23:07.660 were dismissed in 2018. The attorneys confirmed 00:23:07.660 --> 00:23:10.640 there'd be no further proceedings. So legally, 00:23:10.880 --> 00:23:12.980 he was cleared of liability in her death. Okay, 00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:15.480 shifting gears a bit, but sticking with that 00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:18.369 theme of him embracing controversy. his public 00:23:18.369 --> 00:23:21.250 advocacy, he really hasn't shied away from taking 00:23:21.250 --> 00:23:24.150 strong, sometimes polarizing stances. Not at 00:23:24.150 --> 00:23:26.970 all. Especially being a dual U .S.-Canadian citizen, 00:23:27.150 --> 00:23:29.269 he's weighed in heavily on American politics 00:23:29.269 --> 00:23:31.569 and public health debates. The vaccine issue 00:23:31.569 --> 00:23:33.529 is probably the most prominent example. Right. 00:23:33.569 --> 00:23:35.690 That started around 2009 when he was with Jenny 00:23:35.690 --> 00:23:38.349 McCarthy. He wrote articles like for the Huffington 00:23:38.349 --> 00:23:40.529 Post questioning standard vaccine practices. 00:23:40.789 --> 00:23:43.109 Yeah. Questioning the merits, leading marches 00:23:43.109 --> 00:23:45.829 like the Green R Vaccines campaign, calling for 00:23:45.829 --> 00:23:48.410 the removal of what he termed toxic substances 00:23:48.410 --> 00:23:50.710 from childhood vaccines. And that drew a lot 00:23:50.710 --> 00:23:52.930 of fire from the scientific and medical communities, 00:23:53.049 --> 00:23:56.410 didn't it? Oh, significant backlash, which got 00:23:56.410 --> 00:23:59.049 even more intense in 2015 after California passed 00:23:59.049 --> 00:24:02.170 a stricter vaccination law. Kerry went on Twitter, 00:24:02.269 --> 00:24:04.630 called Governor Jerry Brown a corporate fascist, 00:24:04.690 --> 00:24:07.390 accused him of poisoning children. Strong words. 00:24:07.670 --> 00:24:10.750 Very strong. And medical ethicists, science writers, 00:24:10.930 --> 00:24:13.309 they hit back hard, called him ignorant, immune 00:24:13.309 --> 00:24:15.980 to reason. highlighted the dangers of celebrity 00:24:15.980 --> 00:24:18.599 influence on complex health issues. We should 00:24:18.599 --> 00:24:21.180 be clear here just reporting the facts. Kerry 00:24:21.180 --> 00:24:23.039 framed it as protecting kids from government 00:24:23.039 --> 00:24:26.359 overreach. His critics saw it as spreading dangerous 00:24:26.359 --> 00:24:29.500 anti -science views. That willingness to court 00:24:29.500 --> 00:24:31.519 controversy definitely carried over into his 00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:34.420 more direct political commentary later on. Around 00:24:34.420 --> 00:24:36.920 2017, he started doing those political cartoons. 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:40.099 Yeah, he shifted from writing to drawing, began 00:24:40.099 --> 00:24:43.119 posting these really pointed, often savage political 00:24:43.119 --> 00:24:46.099 cartoons online, mostly targeting the Trump administration 00:24:46.099 --> 00:24:48.160 at the time. They were provocative. He even had 00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:50.559 an exhibition, right? Indignation featuring over 00:24:50.559 --> 00:24:52.839 100 of them. They definitely got attention, sometimes 00:24:52.839 --> 00:24:55.400 international attention, like the one depicting 00:24:55.400 --> 00:24:57.579 the death of Benito Mussolini. Oh, yeah, that 00:24:57.579 --> 00:25:00.740 sparked a whole feud with Mussolini's granddaughter. 00:25:01.640 --> 00:25:03.920 Alessandra Mussolini, who's an Italian politician. 00:25:04.380 --> 00:25:08.160 She called Kerry a bastard on Twitter. It became 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:10.619 this whole international incident. Shows how 00:25:10.619 --> 00:25:13.079 his need to express himself politically had gone 00:25:13.079 --> 00:25:16.019 way beyond just Hollywood statements. He eventually 00:25:16.019 --> 00:25:18.579 stopped doing the cartoons regularly in 2021, 00:25:18.819 --> 00:25:21.339 though. And politically, he's been pretty open 00:25:21.339 --> 00:25:23.759 about where he stands philosophically, too. Advocating 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:26.700 for socialism. Yeah, explicitly. Said the Democratic 00:25:26.700 --> 00:25:29.900 Party should embrace the word socialism and stop 00:25:29.900 --> 00:25:33.079 apologizing for it. Again, just embracing charged 00:25:33.079 --> 00:25:35.740 terms, pushing boundaries, true to form. It's 00:25:35.740 --> 00:25:37.619 fascinating because while all this public controversy 00:25:37.619 --> 00:25:40.339 and commentary was happening, he was also developing 00:25:40.339 --> 00:25:42.799 this whole other side, almost in private initially, 00:25:43.079 --> 00:25:45.460 his painting. Right. He started painting seriously 00:25:45.460 --> 00:25:49.299 around 2011, he said. And that 2017 short documentary, 00:25:49.500 --> 00:25:52.069 I Needed Color. was really revealing. It showed 00:25:52.069 --> 00:25:54.269 him in his studio, just throwing himself into 00:25:54.269 --> 00:25:57.009 it. He described painting as this vital therapeutic 00:25:57.009 --> 00:25:59.890 outlet, a way to channel all that energy, all 00:25:59.890 --> 00:26:02.670 those thoughts outside of performance. And it's 00:26:02.670 --> 00:26:04.670 clearly not just a hobby. It's a serious artistic 00:26:04.670 --> 00:26:08.069 pursuit for him. In 2022, he even minted his 00:26:08.069 --> 00:26:10.990 first NFT based on one of his paintings, Sunshower, 00:26:11.089 --> 00:26:13.400 with his own voiceover. Which brings us neatly 00:26:13.400 --> 00:26:17.400 to the great retirement saga. Or non -retirement. 00:26:17.539 --> 00:26:20.579 Uh -huh, yeah. Oh. April 2022, he gives this 00:26:20.579 --> 00:26:22.799 interview. Sounds very serious about stepping 00:26:22.799 --> 00:26:25.220 back from acting. Says things like, I have enough. 00:26:25.380 --> 00:26:28.079 I've done enough. I am enough. It sounded like 00:26:28.079 --> 00:26:30.759 the perfect, almost zen conclusion for someone 00:26:30.759 --> 00:26:32.579 who'd reached the absolute peak of his profession. 00:26:33.140 --> 00:26:35.380 Time to just paint and contemplate. Seems logical. 00:26:35.779 --> 00:26:39.000 But then, the lure of a certain evil genius proved 00:26:39.000 --> 00:26:42.839 too strong. Apparently. February 2024, news breaks. 00:26:43.640 --> 00:26:46.799 He's back, reprising his role as Dr. Robotnik 00:26:46.799 --> 00:26:49.619 in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and playing Robotnik's 00:26:49.619 --> 00:26:51.440 grandfather too, apparently. And the best part, 00:26:51.640 --> 00:26:54.059 the producers totally leaned into the whole retirement 00:26:54.059 --> 00:26:56.640 angle. They reportedly delivered his copy of 00:26:56.640 --> 00:26:59.559 the Sonic 3 script written in 24 karat gold ink. 00:26:59.660 --> 00:27:02.019 That's hilarious. A direct callback to him joking 00:27:02.019 --> 00:27:04.400 previously that he'd only come back if angels 00:27:04.400 --> 00:27:06.059 bring some sort of script that's written in gold 00:27:06.059 --> 00:27:08.240 ink. The layers of irony just keep piling up. 00:27:08.750 --> 00:27:11.069 Then he tells a reporter, clearly joking, that 00:27:11.069 --> 00:27:14.130 he came back because I need the money, frankly. 00:27:14.529 --> 00:27:16.829 Classic Kerry deflection. But he did clarify 00:27:16.829 --> 00:27:18.750 later, didn't he? Said it wasn't really retirement, 00:27:18.930 --> 00:27:21.210 more like a power rest, leaving the door open. 00:27:21.430 --> 00:27:23.450 Suggests he's just operating on his own terms 00:27:23.450 --> 00:27:26.230 now. Yeah. Which seems fitting. Hashtag tag outro. 00:27:26.470 --> 00:27:28.910 So where does that leave us? We've tracked this 00:27:28.910 --> 00:27:32.539 guy from... literally living in a VW van, desperate 00:27:32.539 --> 00:27:35.019 to escape poverty. To becoming the $20 million 00:27:35.019 --> 00:27:37.900 comedy king, then pushing for serious dramatic 00:27:37.900 --> 00:27:40.799 cred. And then spending his later career channeling 00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:43.480 that same intensity into, well, controversial 00:27:43.480 --> 00:27:46.279 public commentary and deeply personal art. It 00:27:46.279 --> 00:27:48.720 really is a story defined by this constant... 00:27:48.890 --> 00:27:51.269 Almost restless search, isn't it? Yeah. He broke 00:27:51.269 --> 00:27:53.490 out of the impressionist box. He redefined comedy 00:27:53.490 --> 00:27:55.950 stardom. He proved himself as a dramatic actor, 00:27:56.109 --> 00:27:58.630 always breaking the mold. And now the focus seems 00:27:58.630 --> 00:28:01.450 almost entirely internal. Art, philosophy, speaking 00:28:01.450 --> 00:28:04.089 his mind. Consequences be damned. So the final 00:28:04.089 --> 00:28:06.950 thought maybe is this. How does that relentless 00:28:06.950 --> 00:28:09.329 need to break type, whether it's through extreme 00:28:09.329 --> 00:28:12.190 method acting or divisive political cartoons 00:28:12.190 --> 00:28:15.890 or painting, how does that reflect a lifetime 00:28:15.890 --> 00:28:18.509 pursuit? maybe not of success in the traditional 00:28:18.509 --> 00:28:22.730 sense, but of something else. Like a raw, unmediated 00:28:22.730 --> 00:28:25.349 authenticity, even if that authenticity rubs 00:28:25.349 --> 00:28:27.529 people the wrong way or leads straight into controversy. 00:28:27.869 --> 00:28:30.349 Exactly. That feels like the central paradox 00:28:30.349 --> 00:28:32.890 of Jim Carrey, the rubber face who just refused 00:28:32.890 --> 00:28:35.490 and still refuses to stay fixed in one shape. 00:28:35.670 --> 00:28:37.849 A question maybe only he can answer, or maybe 00:28:37.849 --> 00:28:39.549 the answer is just in the continued searching 00:28:39.549 --> 00:28:42.170 itself. Yeah, through whatever comes next. Another 00:28:42.170 --> 00:28:44.809 movie, another painting, another unexpected statement. 00:28:44.990 --> 00:28:47.230 A really compelling place to leave it. Thanks 00:28:47.230 --> 00:28:48.369 for joining us for this deep dive.