‘He’s Going Through Hell’: Jim Carrey’s Panic Attacks While Filming ‘The Grinch’ Forced Director to Make This Shocking Move to Keep Project Going

Jim Carrey, 62, had a rough time during the making of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” according to the film’s director, Ron Howard. The comedian starred as the title character The Grinch, and his role required him to sit through a makeup application process for over two hours. In addition to the prosthetics, the “In Living Color” alum had to wear custom-made contact lenses and a yak-haired spandex suit for his portrayal of the Whoville tormenter. Comedian and actor Jim Carrey had a torturous experience playing The Grinch in the 2000 live-action movie version of the holiday story. (Photo: ExtraTB/YouTube) In a resurfaced clip from Howard’s 2023 interview with “In Depth with Graham Bensinger,” he got candid about Carrey’s character “The Grinch.” “I could tell that the costume, and especially the contact lenses, were just tormenting Jim. He was having panic attacks to the point where he would be breathing into a paper bag just trying to hang on,” Howard recalled. The Academy Award-winning filmmaker added Carrey felt “claustrophobic” but he wanted to do the character. “I tried to do things just to cheer him up. Like one day, I put on The Grinch suit so that I could suffer...