BRENTWOOD, LOS ANGELES: Jim Carrey, Hollywood's beloved comic, has left an indelible mark on the comedy genre, winning millions of fans with his explosive slapstick humor and larger-than-life characters. The 61-year-old versatile actor has been making his audiences cry with laughter since the 90s when he rose from Toronto’s impressionist to showbiz's most bankable comedic actor.
In his decades-long career, Carrey gave a slew of brilliantly over-the-top performances in many blockbuster movies including ‘Ace Ventura’, ‘Bruce Almighty’, ‘Man on the Moon’, ‘The Mask’, ‘The Truman Show’ and ‘Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind’. But, despite his portrayal as a carefree funnyman, Carrey has battled some serious inner demons for most of his life. As per reports, the actor has struggled with depression over the years after being diagnosed with ADHD. He is often seen speaking about his past with depression and how he believes he has won the struggle against his mind.
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'There are peaks, there are valleys'
Previously, Carry’s first wife, actress and producer Melissa Womer, described him to the Daily Mail as an "extremely depressive person" and recalled consoling him late at night. In 2004, the ‘Mask’ actor told 60 Minutes that he relied on Prozac for a long time and described how his depression was like "peaks" and "valleys." "There are peaks, there are valleys. But they're all kind of carved and smoothed out, and it feels like a low level of despair you live in. Where you're not getting any answers, but you're living okay. And you can smile at the office. Do you know? But it's a low level of despair,” Carrey noted. At that time, he drew power from his "spiritual side" as he spoke about manifestation and hanging out with "Buddha and Krishna."
How depression nearly drove Jim Carrey out of Hollywood?
In 2018, Carrey spoke about how his depression nearly drove him out of Hollywood years ago. "Depression is caused by your body and your psyche becoming exhausted with who you are trying to portray in the world," he told Herald Sun at that time. The actor added, "It occurred to me one day, 'You've been out of the business for five years. You left. The only thing keeping you here is this physical avatar that does this for a living, but you're not here, this is not who you are.’” Carrey further stated, "Does anybody know who designed the great pyramid of Giza? No. There you go. Fame is fleeting."
In order to overcome his mental health issues, the actor resorted to spirituality, maintaining a sense of purpose, avoiding drugs and alcohol, and making certain lifestyle as well as mentality adjustments. After discovering new artistic avenues to deal with his despair, Carrey published his first children's book, ‘How Roland Rolls’ in 2013. Unlike many children’s books, it genuinely discussed death, which was an "early existential crisis" for the comic as a child. "I want the book to alleviate children's fears about loss and what would happen to them if they were left alone," he stated, referencing his childhood dread of losing his parents to smoking, according to the Thing.
Why Jim Carrey retired from acting?
"It's an early existential crisis, one that I experienced as a child when I was afraid that my parents would die,” Carrey further noted, adding "But when we realize that beneath the surface of things – the activities of our lives – we are all connected, that fear of loss gets softened." He then said that as a child, he struggled with two personas. "I was always two people when I was growing up. I was the kid who made my family laugh by pretending to fall down a flight of stairs, but then I’d retreat to my bedroom to think. Kids don’t get enough credit for their deeper thoughts,” Carrey stated.
Despite the illness, Carrey kept working in the Hollywood industry until he subtly announced that he was retiring in 2022. The actor was promoting his movie ‘Sonic The Hedgehog 2’ when he was asked about his thoughts on working with Dolly Parton. "Well, that's a lovely thing" the ‘Yes Man’ star replied before saying that he was already "retiring." "I'm being fairly serious, yeah," he confirmed, admitting that he might still change his mind. When asked why he's decided to take an acting hiatus, Carrey said, "I really like my quiet life, and I really love putting paint on canvas, and I really love my spiritual life, and I feel like — and this is something you might never hear another celebrity say as long as time exists – I have enough. I've done enough. I am enough."