CINEMA
Bankruptcy? These are the reasons why Jim Carrey claims to have come back from retirement
The 62-year-old is back as Dr Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - two years after announcing his retirement.
Jim Carrey posed for the media on the red carpet in Leicester Square last week for the premiere of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The 62-year-old is back as Dr Robotnik in the third installment of the action-adventure comedy.
In some ways, it was a surprise to see him back in the spotlight as just a couple of years ago he claimed that he had had enough of the rat race and was stepping away to live at a quieter pace.
The Canadian-American actor, known for his roles in The Mask, Dumb and Dumber and Batman Forever was once one of the one of the highest paid stars in Hollywood - the first to command a $20 million fee for a single movie. According to Celebrity Net Worth, his fortune stands at $180 million and he owns a number of properties across the US.
So it’s easy to understand why in March 2022, Carrey told Access Hollywood that he was quitting showbiz. “Well, I’m retiring... yeah, probably. I’m being faitly serious. It depends if the angels bring some sort of script that’s y’know, written in gold ink, that says to me that it’s going to be really important for people to see, I might continue down the road but I’m taking a break”.
Carrey coaxed out of retirement
He appears to have changed his mind or been convinced to make a comeback as back in February of this year, it was confirmed he would be coming out of retirement to play Dr Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
He jokingly told reporters at Tuesday’s premiere in London that the decision was a financial one: “Y’know, I came back to this universe because first of all I get to play a genius, which is a bit of a stretch... and y’know it’s just, I bought a lot of stuff and I need the money! Frankly, yeah”.
Maybe there is some truth in it. In February 2023, the actor put his luxurious Brentwood estate on the market for $28.9 million but almost two years on it remains unsold despite several price cuts (the most recent, to $21.9 million).
But Carrey has also expressed his disillusion with Hollywood in the past and his desire to get away from it all for a more peaceful lifestyle. "My plan was not to join Hollywood, it was to destroy it. I just didn’t want to be in the business anymore," he told the Hollywood Reporter in August 2018. "I didn’t like what was happening, the corporations taking over and all that. You can dream about it all you want, but until you get it, you don’t realize that it’s really not a place that’s very comfortable for very long“.