Jim Carrey had the best reaction when asked why he returned for Sonic the Hedgehog 3
The Sonic the Hedgehog movies are very popular, and a big part of that is Jim Carrey’s performance as villain Dr Robotnik. Carrey has never seen a piece of scenery he hasn’t eaten and his larger-than-life comic persona is perfect for the Sonic films. Who doesn’t want to watch a blue hedgehog fight a man with a silly mustache?
But we might have lost Carrey after the second movie, because he was seemingly growing tired of the acting world at that point. And that’s fair. Carrey was huge in the ’90s and ’00s, doing films including The Mask, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Bruce Almighty, and he’s earned a rest. He told Access Hollywood in 2022 that he had “had enough” of Hollywood and wanted to spread some time painting instead. (Carrey embarked on a new career as a visual artist in 2011.)
He would only go back to acting, Carrey told the outlet, if a really good script came along, or in his words “if the angels bring some sort of script that’s written in gold ink that says to me that it’s going to be really important for people to see.” Well, seemingly those angels were hedgehog-shaped, because Carrey signed up for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 having not appeared in a movie since the second franchise installment. And now, he’s revealed what drove him to do it.
The Associated Press caught up with Carrey on the red carpet for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and asked him if that was truly the script that got him back into acting. Was it a film that was really important for people to see? Sonic fans might say yes, but Carrey admitted his 2022 comments were “hyperbole.” The reasons for him coming back to Sonic were much more down to earth. “I came back to this universe because, first of all, I get to play a genius, which is a bit of a stretch,” he quipped. “And, you know, it’s just … I bought a lot of stuff and I need the money, frankly.”
Let’s face it, a lot of actors do blockbuster family films for the money, whether they admit it or not. It’s actually kind of refreshing to see Carrey come out and say, yep, money is the reason.
Carrey actually plays two roles in this new movie, both Robotnik and Robotnik’s grandfather Gerald. So you can’t say he didn’t earn that paycheck. The jury’s still out on whether he’ll say yes to the almost inevitable Sonic the Hedgehog 4, of course, but maybe he has more stuff he wants to buy?
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