Jim Carrey Says He’d Be Open to Filming a How the Grinch Stole Christmas Sequel — but with a Catch

In a recent interview, the actor said getting into character was a physically “excruciating process”

Jim Carrey, Jim Carry as the Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 2000. Photo: Karwai Tang/WireImage; FlixPix/Alamy Stock Photo

Jim Carrey says he’d be open to filming a sequel to the 2000’s live-action How the Grinch Stole Christmas — but with a caveat.

Carrey, 62, played the titular character in the film, an adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s 1957 book, released by Universal Pictures in November 2000. But playing his character required wearing copious amounts of makeup and being covered head-to-toe in green faux fur and heavy prosthetics.

In an interview with ComicBook, Carrey said he’d do another film “if we could figure out the Grinch.”

“The thing about it is, on the day, I do that with a ton of makeup and can hardly breathe. It was an extremely excruciating process,” he told the outlet. “The children were in my mind all the time. ‘It’s for the kids. It’s for the kids. It’s for the kids.’ And now, with motion capture and things like that, I could be free to do other things. Anything is possible in this world.”

Jim Carrey in How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 2000.Melinda Sue Gordon/Imagine Ent/Kobal/Shutterstock

As ComicBook notes, Carrey would be one of only a select few actors who would ever be able to portray the Grinch, due to strict guidelines set by the estate of Seuss, who died in 1991. Per the estate, the actor cast as the Grinch had to be of a very particular height and frame. In a letter outlining examples of actors who would fit the characteristics, Carrey — along with Jack Nicholson, Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman — was mentioned.

In 2023, reports circulated online claiming a sequel to How the Grinch Stole Christmas was in the works with Carrey attached to return, but a rep for the actor told PEOPLE at the time that those reports were inaccurate.

Speaking to ET in a recent interview, Carrey acknowledged that Grinch was among his most iconic characters, saying, “When I sit at home and I put the TV on and I see Grinch up there being viewed by everybody every Christmas … it’s so gratifying. It’s unbelievable. There really is, truly, incredible magic in the universe.”

Carrey’s remarks about his willingness to participate in a sequel came as he is promoting another sequel: Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

Back in 2022, while promoting Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Carrey said he was planning on retiring from his acting career.

“I’m being fairly serious,” he told Access Hollywood at the time, adding, “It depends. If the angels bring some sort of script that’s written in gold ink, that says to me that it’s going to be really important for people to see, I might continue down the road. But I’m taking a break.”

When the Associated Press asked Carrey about those remarks on Dec. 10, he said with a laugh, “That might have been hyperbole.”