Having had little success in television movies and several low-budget films, Carrey was cast as the title character in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective which premiered in February, 1994, making more than $72 million domestically despite receiving mixed critical reception. in a Hamilton Spectator interview (February 2007), Carrey remarked, “If my career in show business hadn’t panned out I would probably be working today in Hamilton, Ontario at the Dofasco steel mill.” When looking across the Burlington Bay toward Hamilton, he could see the mills and thought, “Those were where the great jobs were.” At this point, he already had experience working in a science testing facility in Richmond Hill, Ontario. in 1979, under the management of Leatrice Spevack, Carrey started doing stand-up comedy at Yuk Yuk’s in Toronto, where he rose to become a headliner in February 1981, shortly after his 19th birthday. Joel Schumacher had him audition for a role in D.C. Cab, though in the end, nothing ever came of it.

James Eugene “Jim” Carrey (born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, singer and writer. After gaining prominence in 1981, he began working at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles where he was soon noticed by comedian Rodney Dangerfield, who immediately signed him to open his tour performances. The film spawned a sequel, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995), in which he reprised the role of Ventura.

James Eugene “Jim” Carrey (born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, singer and writer. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk’s in Toronto, Ontario. Having had little success in television movies and several low-budget films, Carrey was cast as the title character in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective which premiered in February, 1994, making more than $72 million domestically. High profile roles followed when he was cast as Stanley Ipkiss in The Mask (1994) for which he gained a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, and as Lloyd Christmas in the comedy film Dumb and Dumber (1994). Between 1996 and 1999, Carrey continued his success after earning lead roles in several highly popular films including The Cable Guy (1996), Liar Liar (1997), in which he was nominated for another Golden Globe Award and in the critically acclaimed films The Truman Show and Man on the Moon, in 1998 and 1999, respectively. Carrey has also taken on more serious roles including Joel Barish in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) alongside Kate Winslet and Kirsten Dunst, which earned him another Golden Globe nomination, and Steven Jay Russell in I Love You Phillip Morris (2009) alongside Ewan McGregor. The Ventura character became a pop icon, and the film made Carrey a superstar. in the film, Carrey plays a man who becomes obsessed with the number 23, after finding a book about a man with the same obsession.