5 Impossible Roles Jim Carrey Nailed, & Prove He Can Make His New Cartoon Adaptation a Hit

Over the course of his career, Jim Carrey has delivered some truly delightful performances, and while the genre varies, he is always beyond memorable. Now Carrey is taking on a beloved ’60s franchise in The Jetsons, bringing the futuristic family to the big screen for the first time in live action. Carrey’s role in the film isn’t known yet, but whoever he plays, he’s shown an ability to make his characters stand out without overwhelming the world they occupy and the characters they interact with, and he’s proven this time and time again. That’s why we’re highlighting 5 impossible roles Carrey already knocked out of the park, proving that he can absolutely make his newest cartoon adaptation a hit.

5. Stanley Ipkiss in The Mask

There might be some shock at seeing such an iconic performance in the fifth spot, but let me explain. While The Mask was already a concept and character that existed in the comics, the film introduced the concept to a mainstream audience, and the same was true of Carrey to an extent as well. While Stanley Ipkiss was actually more of a blank slate and if anything, pretty unlikeable, once transformed into The Mask, the character was a perfect fit for Carrey’s comedic sensibilities.

Not only did Carrey turn Ipkiss into a more lighthearted and overall likable lead, but he was able to push everything to the extreme when The Mask took over, and we then saw history made as a result. This is easily one of Carrey’s best performances, but it’s also a case of Carrey being unleashed without as many constraints, and that’s likely not going to be the case with something like The Jetsons. There are simply others on this list that hew closer to the pairing we’ll see in The Jetsons, but it doesn’t make The Mask any less impressive.

4. The Grinch in How The Grinch Stole Christmas

Now we’re stepping into mainstream icon status with one of the most beloved Christmas stories of all time. That would be The Grinch, and anytime you step into a role like that, it comes with high expectations. You can obviously push the boundaries of certain things, but it still needs to contain certain central elements that made the original so beloved in the first place.

Thankfully, The Grinch delivered on those fronts, showcasing Carrey’s ability to adapt his animated style to the world he’s currently in without losing what makes him so compelling onscreen. It was still 100% Carrey regarding The Grinch’s mannerisms and voice, and yet it still felt like he was a natural extension of the world Dr. Seuss created so many years ago. When Carrey interacts with the citizens of Whoville, you don’t see Carrey; you see The Grinch, and at the end of the day, that’s what the assignment always needed to be.

3. Count Olaf in A Series of Unfortunate Events

Count Olaf of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events could have turned out far differently with someone like Carrey in the role, and there was always the possibility that Carrey could end up overshadowing everything else whenever he was on screen. Those worries were for naught though, as not only did Carrey absolutely crush the role, but some of the film’s best moments were when Count Olaf had the chance to play off other characters.

Every scene where Count Olaf interacts with the children who now fall under his care is memorable for any number of reasons, and Carrey pivots between disarming and scheming on a dime, while also somehow retaining an oddball charm throughout. Carrey unquestionably gets to tap into his comedy forte along the way, but there’s nuance and subtlety to his performance that grounds it, creating quite the compelling combination and showcasing how Carrey can adapt his skillset to any genre and concept.

2. Scrooge in A Christmas Carol

That brings us to one of my favorite roles Carrey’s brought to the screen to date, and like The Grinch, it doesn’t get much more iconic than Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. In Robert Zemeckis’ trademark style, Carrey delivered a mesmerizing performance as Scrooge in a classic story, and that performance has become far more appreciated in the years since it originally hit theaters.

This is one of the best examples of Carrey’s versatility, as while you still get the more animated mannerisms and facial expressions that Carrey is known for, it’s all grounded in a performance that lives in the ashes of loneliness, regret, and ego of the character. From the opening moments, Carrey fades away and Scrooge steps into his place, and you’re glued to the screen throughout every step of his journey, including one of the most haunting representations of Christmas Future to date. Carrey was the film’s star on paper, but he allowed the film and the central character to take the spotlight, and this will likely only become more beloved over time.

1. Dr. Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog

You might be going seriously, and yeah, I get it, but there’s a reason why Carrey’s most recent work is one of my favorites of his career. As a longtime fan of Sonic the Hedgehog as a franchise, I didn’t know what to expect when Carrey was announced as the villainous Dr. Robotnik, though there was cautious optimism. What I did not expect was for Carrey to end up becoming the defining version of a character that’s been around for decades, and yet Carrey’s version of Eggman could still show up in any other Sonic game and probably fit right in.

It’s an impressive feat, but once you think about it, Robotnik was never really a character through and through. He was more of a shell of one, defined more by his purpose and general aesthetic than any personally driven qualities. Carrey took that as a canvas in which to create an actual character, taking a bunch of memorable character elements and fusing them together to create one of the more delightfully off-the-wall villains in recent memory, and that’s a truly impressive feat.

Carrey gave Robotnik weird quirks and defined a voice for the character, especially in the sequels, where he had the chance to interact in different ways with Sonic and even his grandfather in the third film. Meanwhile, it was still pure Carrey, but somehow it never feels like it’s just Carrey doing something weird in a Sonic movie.

It always feels like Robotnik is making eccentric choices within his framework, and Carrey is going to need to do some of that same work in The Jetsons if he is indeed playing George. In the show, George was always more of the guy in the middle of all the chaos and reacting to it, with the rest of the family having bigger personalities. Carrey can do what he did with Robotnik and create a unique character with George that feels like his own person without losing the ability to react to what others are doing, and hopefully that’s what ends up happening when The Jetsons finally hits theaters.

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