People were wondering.
Do you remember a few years ago when Joaquin Phoenix went on David Letterman's chat-show and started to behave really strangely?
In the end, it was revealed that the star of Gladiator and Walk the Line was playing a character for an upcoming documentary that was directed by Casey Affleck, I'm Still Here.
During his interview with the legendary TV host, Phoenix was simply 'staying in character'
Well, it appears that something similar is going on with Jim Carrey. This interview during the New York Fashion Week went viral.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JmNKGfFj7w
Clip via - E! Live from the Red Carpet
The actor was speaking with
ET Canada and it's very likely that this "performance" was linked to a new documentary that's appearing on Netflix.
Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond, is a documentary which details Carrey's intensive method acting to prepare for the role of Andy Kaufman in the 1999 film Man on the Moon.
During the interview with ET Canada, the actor said that, "I thought I had become Andy Kaufman, but then I realised there was no me at the end of it all. I realised this character was making choices to play a character, so that’s what happened and what Chris found in this interview and this footage, it was like an existential, not a crisis, but a discovery."
When asked to specifically explain that viral interview, the star of Dumb and Dumber added, "I think that we’re all trying to add things to ourselves so we can finally define ourselves, and everyone will get us, and go ‘oh this is what you are,’ and if you actually get there, you will find it so empty, you’ll realise that’s so not what it’s about."
Right.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbLsOF4avIs
Clip via - ET CANADA
To promote the release of this upcoming documentary, Carrey was also speaking with
Deadline where he provided even more confusing answers.
When asked about his first meeting with Spike Jonze, he said: "I started talking to Spike [Jonze, producer]. I was going through all kinds of crazy sufferings and awakenings, and he’d check in on me every once in a while, and we’d have existential conversations for long periods of time. He’d go, “How does this point of view of yours feel in the world?” I said, “Well, it doesn’t feel. I feel like the world is feeling me.”
Regarding the process of actually filming Man on the Moon, Carrey stated that "I was at a point in my life where I don’t care what the result is. It’s not about the result, it’s about being authentic."
In a very clear link to his recent interview during New York Fashion Week, Carrey argued that there are similarities between acting, the public's interest in watching documentaries and people that he believes are living "invisible" lifestyles.
"Everybody’s interested in invisible men, and invisible women. Artists are invisible people. They make avatars of themselves to be seen, and then at a certain point, you start realizing all the avatars you’ve made are not you, and even the first one that you are supposed to be is not you," he said.
Carrey is due to face trial next year in relation to the death of his ex-girlfriend Cathriona White.
