Jim Carrey is one of the most prolific comedic actors of his generation. He is of French-Canadian, Scottish, and Irish extraction.
Jim Carrey was born in Newmarket, Ontario Canada, and grew up between Scarborough and Burlington. Although he has lived most of his adult life in the US Jim is Canadian, a dual citizen of Canada and the US.
He has retained his Canadian citizenship as a means of honoring his Canadian roots and as a reminder of who he is.
Early Life
James Eugene Carrey was born on January 17, 1962, one of four children to parents Kathleen and Percy, in Ontario, Canada.
Jim was always a performer. He distracted himself from his hard life, providing comic relief for his family by making faces in the mirror and doing impressions.
By the age of ten, he had already firmly set his sights on becoming a comedian, at one time sending a letter to Carol Burnett and offering to be on her show.
Canadian Comic
Jim Carrey attempted to launch his career in Canada by performing sketches and then made his debut as a stand-up comedian at the age of 15.
It was a painstakingly slow process and Jim hit many lows before he started properly earning money as a comedian.
Jim Carrey managed to turn things around in two years with his style of improv and visual story-telling.
Introduction to US Audiences
When Jim was 19 he moved to the US in order to increase his chances of scoring big with a US audience. He managed to get on stage at the Comedy Factory and he soon came to the attention of Rodney Dangerfield and Buddy Hackett.
Rodney invited Jim to open for him in a series of shows for an entire season he hosted in Las Vegas. Jim wrote his own material, which helped him later find synergy with US audiences.
Splitting TIme
In between filming movies in the US, he traversed back and forth to Canada where he also starred in television productions such as, “Introducing…Janet”.
He very soon landed a starring role on the sketch show, “In Living Color” and the rest is history. Jim Carrey has gone on to establish himself as an unparalleled actor, becoming one of the first to earn $20 million for a film.
Jim Carrey talks about Canada in his stand-up performances and dedicated a sketch to Universal (Canadian) Health Care which is posted to his Twitter page.
Jim Carrey’s Identity
Jim has lived in the US for more than three decades and is cognizant of the fact that moving to the country defined his success. He credits the US for “making my dreams come true.”
He does, however, maintain his Canadian roots and finds it important to continue to recognize his heritage. As a proud Canadian, he thinks his upbringing in Canada has defined him.
He views retaining his Canadian citizenship as an ode to the people who supported him in his early days.