In this weekend's Mr. Popper's Penguins, Jim Carrey plays a ruthless Manhattan businessman who is unexpectedly bequeathed a brood of penguins. How did Carrey transform himself from the Hollywood goofball talking out of his butt cheeks in Ace Ventura to the buttoned-up father figure in this family comedy from 20th Century Fox?
You can always trace a direct line through a few important roles to illustrate what led to an actor's current success. So let's look at nine pivotal performances that track the evolution of Jim Carrey.
In Living Color (1990)
Compared to most Hollywood actors and actresses, 28 is a little "old" to be breaking into the business. Yet that is how old the Ontario-born actor/comedian was when he was hired by Keenen Ivory Wayans to star on the Fox sketch show In Living Color. Before In Living Color, Carrey had spent nearly a decade in Los Angeles going on failed auditions (for Saturday Night Live among many others), landing bit parts (like in Francis Ford Coppola's Peggy Sue Got Married) and honing the physical comedy skills that would make him one of the most bankable movie stars of the '90s.
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
Four years later, Jim Carrey would have one of the most successful working years of any actor in recent memory. In February, the unknown comic hit the box office with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, playing a wacky, loose-limbed P.I. opposite Courteney Cox. For this role, Carrey was nominated for a Razzie. In July, Carrey returned to the multiplex with The Mask, where he again played the wacky, loose-limbed title character. This time, his effort was rewarded with a first Golden Globe nomination. In December, Dumb and Dumber hit theaters, cementing Carrey's movie star status. All together, the comedian's films that year grossed over $700 million worldwide.
The Cable Guy (1996)
After playing The Riddler in Batman Forever and reprising his Ace Ventura character in When Nature Calls, Carrey earned $20 million -- the highest paycheck commanded by any comedy actor until that point -- for his stuttering, starring role in Ben Stiller's dark comedy The Cable Guy. Although the film received mixed reviews, The Cable Guy still found a cult following and Carrey was easily able to rebound from the critical failure the next year with Liar, Liar.
The Truman Show (1998)
Having proven his ability to command comedy audiences, Carrey rerouted his career in the late '90s to prove that he was as flexible dramatically as he was physically. In Peter Weir's The Truman Show, Carrey held his own against Laura Linney and Ed Harris as a man who is at first unaware of the fact that his life is being broadcast to the world as a reality television show. In spite of garnering Oscar buzz for his role, Carrey did not receive an Academy Award nomination (although the film received three), but he did win his first Golden Globe. Carrey followed this critical success with another in Milos Forman's Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon, for which Carrey earned another Golden Globe.
Bruce Almighty (2003)
Five years later -- after starring in Ron Howard's adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas and exploring Communism onscreen in the majestic failure The Majestic -- Carrey reunited with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Liar Liar director Tom Shadyac for this comedy about a down-on-his-luck reporter given God-like powers. The film, for which Carrey earned his first producer credit, grossed nearly $250 million domestically and reassured studio executives that the actor was still box office gold.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
The next year, Carrey returned to the dramatic side of his acting spectrum in this Michel Gondry/Charlie Kaufman masterpiece. As the emotionally withdrawn Joel Barish, the actor's exploration of nonlinear heartbreak opposite Kate Winslet earned him another Golden Globe nod. The film, which won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, is thought by many to be the best title in Carrey's filmography.
The Number 23 (2007)
Once upon a time, Jim Carrey dipped his toe into the suspense thriller genre... and it didn't work out so well. The actor reunited with Batman Forever director Joel Schumacher for this film about one man's obsession with the number 23. Coincidentally, The Number 23 earned just 8% on RottenTomatoes.com, which is the number you get if you divide the number 23 by 3 and round up.
I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)
After rebounding at the box office with the family-friendly Horton Hears a Who!, Carrey pushed popular movie boundaries with I Love You Phillip Morris. Carrey played real life con artist Steven Jay Russell who falls in love with fellow inmate Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor) and escapes prison four times just to be with him. After facing some difficulty finding a distributor, Phillip Morris got a limited theater release in 2009 and was greeted with largely positive reviews.
Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011)
Having starred in nearly every kind of film -- from comedy to drama to experimental love story to gay love story to psychological thriller -- Carrey returns to his box office bread and butter: family films. In this weekend's Mr. Popper's Penguins, Carrey plays a cold real estate businessman whose heart thaws when he inherits a family of penguins. Will Carrey go the Eddie Murphy route and fall into a rut of family films, or will he resurrect some of his beloved characters going forward? Only time will tell.