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Carrey was at the Venice Film Festival to
present "Jim & Andy: the Great Beyond - the story of Jim Carrey
& Andy Kaufman with a very special, contractually obligated
mention of Tony Clifton", a documentary about the making of the
1999 biopic.
Director Chris Smith uses hundreds of hours of behind-the-scenes
footage to show how Carrey immersed himself in the roles of Andy
Kaufman and Tony Clifton, the character of an obnoxious lounge
singer created by the U.S. comedian.
The documentary, which is being screened in the
out-of-competition section of the festival, contains footage
interspersed with interviews with present-day Carrey, reflecting
on what portraying Kaufman meant for him.
"He (Smith) made it about identity and ultimately that's the
real lesson in the whole experience", Carrey told journalists,
adding that playing Kaufman allowed him to put aside his own
issues, which he then had to face when the movie was finished.
"We spend our lives running around looking for anchors," the
55-year-old Canadian actor said, referring to how people cling
to nationalities and other labels to define themselves.
Carrey said his portrayal of private detective "Ace Ventura" was
his own bid to "destroy Hollywood, not be a part of it ... to
make fun of the leading man".
"Most of us are wearing (a mask) and when somebody’s authentic,
it becomes very difficult for everyone else to wear a mask," he
said at the Venice festival, which ends on Sept. 9.
Asked whether he would like to direct movies, Carrey said it
would probably happen one day, although for now he enjoyed "the
freedom of being an artist within a project that can
eccentrically explore every avenue of a character".
"But I would like to direct at some point if I wasn’t acting in
the film," he said.
(Reporting by Agnieszka Flak; editing by Alexander Smith)
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