India McTaggart
Jim Carrey has built a storied acting career on elastic faces and reality-bending performances.
In the past week, however, fans worldwide appeared to believe the Hollywood actor had pulled off his most audacious transformation yet – replacing himself with a double.
After Carrey made a rare public appearance at the César Awards in Paris to accept an honorary accolade, online speculation quickly spiralled into claims that an impostor had taken the 64-year-old’s place.
The theories gained so much traction that the awards organisers felt the need to step in and clarify that it was, in fact, the real Carrey on stage – and that he had spent months planning his acceptance speech in French.
The actor’s representatives later confirmed to The Telegraph that the actor “did attend the César Awards” on February 26.
The reclusive star of The Mask, The Truman Show and Dumb and Dumber had shocked fans with his changed appearance at the event, where he was sporting a new hairstyle and displayed different mannerisms to usual in red-carpet interviews.
While receiving this year’s Honorary César, France’s national film award, Carrey also took to the stage to make an emotional speech honouring his profession and father.
His candid words about his career, however, did not stop conspiracy theories from spreading online, gaining particular momentum after Alexis Stone, a British drag performer and make-up artist, suggested that they had impersonated Carrey, sharing pictures of prosthetics and a wig resembling the actor’s look that night.
Now, both Carrey’s representatives and Gregory Caulier, the awards’ general delegate, have dismissed the speculation.
On Monday, Caulier told Variety that the rumours were a “non-issue,” saying: “Jim Carrey’s visit has been planned since this summer.
“From the outset, he was extremely touched by the Academy’s invitation. Eight months of ongoing, constructive discussions. He worked on his speech in French for months, asking me about the exact pronunciation of certain words.”
Caulier added that Carrey had attended the French film festival with a large entourage, explaining: “He came with his partner, his daughter, his grandson and 12 close friends and family members.
“His long-time publicist accompanied him. His old friend Michel Gondry, who has made a film and two series with him, was there, and they were delighted to see each other again.”
In his speech on the night, delivered entirely in French, Carrey said: “As an actor, each character you play is like clay in the sculptor’s hands, which you shape to your heart’s desire.
“How fortunate I have been to share this art with so many people who have truly opened their hearts to me.”
Caulier’s intervention has followed days of speculation online from fans, with one posting two videos of the actor from months apart, saying: “You cannot tell an entire generation of people that watched this man’s face on repeat for over two decades, that the person in the second video in Paris is Jim Carrey.”
Another claimed the American-Canadian actor was actually an “impersonator”, while another fan said: “I’m no conspiracy theorist but that’s not Jim Carrey.”
One individual went so far as to suggest his eye colour had changed, saying: “This is NOT Jim Carrey! Jim Carrey has dark brown eyes for one…this copycat/clone creature has light eyes.”
The actor is known for staying out of the limelight and, until last week, had not been seen in public since November.
While promoting Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in April 2022, Carrey said he was “fairly serious” about retiring from acting, saying he felt he had “done enough” and wanted to pursue a quieter life.
He returned, however, to the franchise in 2024 for the third film, claiming his retirement talk had been “hyperbole”.
The Telegraph, London
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