In the ’90s, Jim Carrey was pretty much the biggest rock star in the world of comedy. His career took off thanks to his performances on the cult classic sketch comedy show “In Living Color.” With memorable characters like “Fire Marshall Bill,” “Grandpa Jack McGee,” and “Vera De Milo,” Carrey quickly built a large fan following, making him arguably the biggest star on the show. During the last season of the show in 1994, Carrey launched hit movie after hit movie such as “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” “The Mask,” and “Dumb and Dumber.” The movie Dumb and Dumber was Carrey’s first buddy comedy film. It also co-starred Jeff Daniels, who at the time seemed like an odd choice given his reputation as a dramatic actor.
However, as Daniels explains, taking on this role intrigued him because he had a chance to react to the “comedic genius” of Jim Carrey. He also added that it was Carrey who specifically asked for him, noting that other comedians were chomping at the bit for the role, but he wanted an actor who would give him the best back and forth chemistry. Daniels said that he just let Carrey take the lead, and his character would work “on a half-second delay,” reacting to whatever Carrey’s character would do. The plan worked brilliantly as Dumb and Dumber grossed over $247 million with a budget of $17 million. During an interview on the Conan O’Brien Show in 2018, Daniels was surprised by his old friend and co-star Jim Carrey.
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As Daniels was talking about the unexpected success of Dumb and Dumber, Carrey enters the set stage left wearing a black leather coat, black pants, black sunglasses, and black shirt with the word “Lucky” written in white. The screwball comedian looks over at his old partner with a serious expression as Daniels leans forward in his chair, grinning ear to ear. My favorite part was when Carrey mentions how disappointing folks found the second movie (One which I couldn’t even finish), and Daniels blurts out the perfect response.
Watch these two friends cracking everyone up in the video below.
