Happy 52nd Birthday, Ace! Snakkle Looks Back at Our Favorite Jim Carrey Moments

Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library

Jim Carrey, Sophomore Year, High School Yearbook Photo

O, Canada! On January 17, 1962, James Eugene Carrey was born in Ontario. The youngest child of Percy and Kathleen Carrey knew he was destined for Hollywood, even mailing his resume to The Carol Burnett Show at age 10. After attending several high schools, the funnyman dropped out of school to start making the rounds on the Toronto comedy-club circuit.

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Jim Carrey’s First Appearance on The Tonight Show (1983)

In 1983, up-and-coming comedian Jim Carrey debuted on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, where he wowed with a rubber-faced Elvis Presley impression. Or was he just having a psychotic episode onstage? Either way, Carrey—or his mania—was on the road to stardom.

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Jim Carrey as Skip Tarkenton—The Duck Factory(1984)

In 1984, Carrey got his first break on network TV, starring in NBC’s The Duck Factory. He played Skip Tarkenton, the wide-eyed cartoonist hoping to make it big in Hollywood. Who knew behind-the-scenes animation could be so wacky? Not the viewers, apparently, as the show was canceled after one season.

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Globe Photos

A Young Jim Carrey in 1984

Snakkle dug up this old photo of Carrey pretending to be a harried writer for a (lucky?) photographer in 1984 on the old Columbia lot in Hollywood. If not for the crazed grin, we'd say he nailed his deadline.

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Jim Carrey as Walter Getz—Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)

Even playing it straight, Jim Carrey got the laughs. His next big break was in the Francis Ford Coppola nostalgic fantasy Peggy Sue Got Married. As Walter Getz, Carrey doo-wopped and danced alongside Nicolas Cage.

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Jim Carrey as Wiploc—Earth Girls Are Easy (1988)

Carrey’s next appearance on the big screen came as the alien Wiploc, who crashed into Geena Davis’s swimming pool with fellow alien Jeff Goldblum. Carrey was wacky wingman to Goldblum, whose bright, sexy fur and otherwordly charms proved irresistible to costar Geena Davis.

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Jim Carrey on In Living Color (1990-1994)

Sure, we had seen Jim around the screens big and small, but it wasn’t until the 1990 TV premiere of In Living Color that the world really met the now-28-year-old Jim Carrey, genius facial contortionist. Pictured here is Carrey as female body builder Vera De Milo, teaching us the true meaning of fear.

Jim Carrey as Ace Ventura—Ace Ventura, Pet Detective (1994)

Kidnapped dolphin mascot? Missing albino pigeon? Ace Ventura, pet detective, is your man. Jim Carrey’s turn as the ambitious pet detective made the 32-year-old funnyman a megastar. The 1994 film grossed $107 million worldwide, setting Jim firmly on the path to movie stardom. Check out comedian Chelsea Handler's career in this Looking Back photo gallery!

Jim Carrey as Stanley Ipkiss—The Mask (1994)

1994 continued to be a banner year for Carrey, who followed up his success from Ace Ventura with The Mask. Here he played a superhero version of—himself? Bank clerk Stanley Ipkiss is transformed into manic facial contortionist The Mask, a crime-fighting superhero who uses grins as a Jersey Shore cast member uses self-tanner.

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Jim Carrey as Lloyd Christmas—Dumb & Dumber (1994)

You know highbrow comedies where characters walk around Paris complaining about their existential malaise? Jim’s Lloyd Christmas would be the cabdriver speeding along the streets of Paris, crushing their bodies into the Eiffel Tower. Alongside costar Jeff Daniels, Carrey brought buddy comedies to the hilariously lowest common denominator in Dumb & Dumber, the hugely successful hit which rounded out Carrey’s entry into the A-list.

Jim Carrey as The Cable Guy—The Cable Guy (1996)

Carrey followed up his huge string of successes with The Cable Guy, starring as cable TV’s equivalent to your needy, creepy cousin. As Chip Douglas/The Cable Guy, Carrey stalked customer Matthew Broderick with promises of a better life and upgraded channels.

Jim Carrey as Fletcher Reed—Liar Liar (1997)

As shady, selfish lawyer Fletcher Reede, Carrey finds he is unable to lie for 24 hours after his much-disappointed young son makes it his birthday wish. Liar Liar marked a Golden Globe nomination for Carrey for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical.

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Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank—The Truman Show (1998)

Carrey’s march towards “serious actor” continued in 1998, when he appeared as Truman Burbank, the sweet insurance salesman whose entire life is unwittingly taking place as a reality show. The Truman Show earned numerous awards and has been credited by some with promoting the rise of reality TV. In which case—uh, thanks, Jim?

Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman—Man on the Moon (1999)

In 1999, Carrey charmed as comedic genius Andy Kaufman—who clearly was an inspiration to the actor’s own early comedy acts.

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20th Century Fox

Jim Carrey as Charlie Baileygates/Hank Evans—Me, Myself & Irene (2000)

So do we like serious actor Carrey or rubber-faced toilet-humor Jim? In Me, Myself & Irene, we get both sides of Jim Carrey going full-throttle warp speed. As Charlie, Carrey is a good-guy cop with dissociative identity disorder, the sweet pushover in love with Renee Zellweger’s Irene. Or is he really Hank, the mental, disgusting bad boy with a love of painful sex toys?

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Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan—Bruce Almighty (2003)

In 2003’s Bruce Almighty, Carrey’s Bruce is given all the powers of the universe by God (Morgan Freeman) after one too many complaints about the state of the world. The film received mixed reviews but was a smash at the box office, grossing over $242 million and $484 million worldwide.

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Focus Features

Jim Carrey as Joel Barish—Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Carrey at last achieved a dramatic milestone as Joel, an unlucky-in-love everyman who seeks to purge himself of the heartbreak of his last relationship. When he reconnects with ex-girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet), we see the fully realized sensitive side of Carrey for the very first time. Here's Carrey's ex and funny lady, Jenny McCarthy, in a Before They Were Stars, seriously big hair photo gallery!

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Twentieth Century Fox

Jim Carrey as Mr. Popper—Mr. Popper’s Penguins (2011)

In Mr. Popper, Carrey plays a businessman whose life is never the same after he inherits six rambunctious penguins. What’s next for the birthday boy? Carrey is slated to appear in Burt Wonderstone, the story of dueling magicians on the Vegas strip.

Jim Carrey as Colonel Stars and Stripes---Kick-Ass 2 (2013)

Carrey played a small role as Colonel Stars and Stripes in the sequel Kick-Ass 2. However, before the film was released, Carrey rescinded his support of the film in light of the Sandy Hook shootings.