Jim Carrey insists he is the perfect actor to portray Ebenezer Scrooge in Robert Zemeckis’ new 3-D animation version of “A Christmas Carol” because he and the famous character have so much in common. “I hate Christmas,” he insists. “I’m the only one in Hollywood who hates it.”
All joking aside, Carrey was thrilled to take on the part, especially because the technology allowed him to become a more believable miser without worrying about the makeup. While the character on the screen is def-initely Jim Carrey, his transformation into a bent, scowling old man — as well as the ghosts who haunt him — is a wonder. But it wasn’t mere voice-over work.
“For an actor, there are extra challenges,” he says. “You have to create the belief in your surroundings in your head. It’s really disconcerting.”
The face that the digital artists came up with for Scrooge was also unnerving, Carrey admits.
“When I saw the movie, one of the first things I said was, ‘My family is going to have a heart attack. That is my father.’”
