The American actor has played several dim-witted roles while in front of a camera. Is he smart in real life?
It’s not known what Jim Carrey’s IQ is. There are some dubious sources online that claim the actor’s IQ is 153, which would mean Carrey is a genius, but these cannot be substantiated. What is known about Jim Carrey is that he ended his educational career when he was 15—he started working as a janitor to support his struggling family.
Stick around to learn some more interesting facts about Jim Carrey.
He had a Job as a Janitor
Jim Carrey quit school at age 15 and got a job as a janitor. His family was struggling financially at the time, so he did what he could to help out.
At one point his whole family was made homeless. More recently, the actor described the time as difficult. It was “a traumatic kick in the guts,” he revealed.
Jim Carrey Wasn’t Always Funny
When Jim performed his first stand-up routine at Yuk Yuk’s in Toronto, the crowd wasn’t digging it. The actor doubted his skills as a comedian and performer, but luckily he persevered and improved his act.
Then he started getting paid in beer to perform regularly at the club. Cheers!
He Auditioned For SNL…and Didn’t get It
Jim Carrey auditioned to appear in the 1980-1981 season of Saturday Night Live. His efforts were in vain since they turned him down. However, after gaining some fame he returned to the set of SNL as the host for 1996, 2011, and 2014.
Watch this hilarious skit from Saturday Night Live, Will Ferrell and Jim Carrey as a “Jacuzzi Lifeguard”:
He Wrote a Children’s Book
In 2013, Jim self-released How Roland Rolls—a children’s book about an ocean wave who discovers he’s also part of the ocean.
The actor-turned-writer described the book as “kind of a metaphysical children’s story, which deals with a lot of heavy stuff in a really childish way.”
The book received mixed reviews, with some praising the quirky storyline and whimsical illustrations, but others criticizing the book as jumpy and meandering.
He’s Been on a Stamp
In 2014, Jim’s portrait appeared on a limited-edition stamp made by Canada Post. The post office issued a series—Great Canadian Comedians—and Jim was one of the five selected comedians that got his own stamp.
He Battled Depression
Despite often portraying a happy-go-lucky character on screen, the real-life Jim Carrey has his demons and battled with depression.
At one point he took Prozac to help him get through the day. Since then he’s revealed that he no longer takes Prozac or any other kind of simulant including alcohol and caffeine.
Talking about the cause of his depression, Jim explained, “People talk about depression all the time. The difference between depression and sadness is sadness is just from happenstance—whatever happened or didn’t happen for you, or grief, or whatever it is.”
He continued, “Depression is your body saying f*ck you, I don’t want to be this character anymore, I don’t want to hold up this avatar that you’ve created in the world. It’s too much for me.”
“You should think of the word ‘depressed’ as ‘deep rest.’ Your body needs to be depressed. It needs deep rest from the character that you’ve been trying to play,” Carrey concluded.
He Wrote Letters to Tupac
Apparently Jim Carrey is a big fan of now-deceased rapper Tupac Shakur. He wrote letters to the rapper while he was incarcerated. Tupac wrote back that Jim Carrey was his favorite actor!