Jim Carrey says SEAL Team Six officer trained him to endure 'Grinch' makeup after suffering from panic attack

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Peruvian police officer dresses as the Grinch to make drug bust

Peru's national police force canceled Christmas for some suspected drug traffickers. (Credit: Policía Nacional del Perú)

Actor Jim Carrey nearly quit his role in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," he revealed during an interview, as he suffered from panic attacks related to the make-up, but a SEAL Team Six officer helped him with training to endure torture.

"Richard Marcinko was a gentleman that trained CIA officers and special-ops people how to endure torture. He gave me a litany of things that I could do when I began to spiral. Like punch myself in the leg as hard as I can. Have a friend that I trust and punch him in the arm. Eat everything in sight. Changing patterns in the room. If there’s a TV on when you start to spiral, turn it off and turn the radio on. Smoke cigarettes as much as possible. There are pictures of me as the Grinch sitting in a director’s chair with a long cigarette holder. I had to have the holder, because the yak hair would catch on fire if it got too close," Carrey told Vulture in an interview published Friday.

Ron Howard, the director of the 2000 Christmas movie, and producer Brian Grazer, who did the interview alongside Carrey, said that Carrey had panic attacks due to the costume and make-up and at one point said he was going to quit and return his $20 million salary.

"Jim started having panic attacks. I would see him lying down on the floor in between setups with a brown paper bag. Literally on the floor. He was miserable," Howard told Vulture.

Jim Carrey looking through a phone directory in a scene from the film 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas', in 2000.  (Universal/Getty Images)

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Howard said Grazer found Marcinko, who, the director said, "trained the military on enduring imprisonment and torture."

"I said, 'Listen, you can quit on Monday, but just spend time with this guy on the weekend,'" Grazer told Vulture.

Carrey explained that he found out Marcinko was the first commanding officer of SEAL Team Six. Marcinko passed away in 2021.

Taylor Momsen listening to Jim Carrey in a scene from the film 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas', 2000. (Universal/Getty Images)

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"Later on, I found out that the gentleman that trained me to endure the Grinch also founded SEAL Team Six. But what really helped me through the makeup process, which they eventually pulled down to about three hours, was the Bee Gees. I listened through the makeup process to the entire Bee Gees catalogue. Their music is so joyful. I’ve never met Barry Gibb, but I want to thank him," Carrey said.

He said earlier in the interview that the make-up took eight hours early on in the process.

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Ron Howard and Brian Grazer speak onstage during WSJ's Future of Everything 2025 at The Glasshouse on May 28, 2025 in New York City.  (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

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Howard told Vulture they made concessions with regard to the production schedule due to medical concerns about Carrey's make-up.

"This wasn’t as much mental as it was physical because it was destroying Jim’s skin. Medically, it was determined he really couldn’t do it five days in a row. So he would have a day off, or he’d only be off-camera feeding dialogue on Wednesdays," Howard said.