<p id=”par-1_24″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/how-the-grinch-stole-christmas-jim-carrey-messed-up-scene-leading-funniest-improvisation.html/”><em>How the Grinch Stole Christmas</em></a><em> </em>could have been a very different movie if Dr. Seuss’ widow had her way when it came to casting. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-audrey-geisel-wanted-jack-nicholson-for-how-the-grinch-stole-christmas”>Audrey Geisel wanted Jack Nicholson for ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’</h2>
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‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’: How to Watch the Animated Dr. Seuss Classic in 2025 </a>
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<p id=”par-2_35″>In 2000, Ron Howard’s live-action adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ classic holiday tale hit theaters. Jim Carrey plays the title character – a grumpy, green creature who plots to steal Christmas from the residents of Whoville. </p>
<p id=”par-3_58″>But Carrey wasn’t everyone’s first choice to play the Grinch, insiders revealed in <a href=”https://www.vulture.com/article/how-the-grinch-stole-christmas-oral-history.html” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Vulture</a>’s recent oral history of <em>How the Grinch Stole Christmas. </em>When Audrey Geisel, the wife of the late Theodor Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss), decided to sell the feature film rights to his iconic work, she had some ideas about what the movie should look like. </p>
<p id=”par-4_67″>“Audrey said, ‘I really want <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/jack-nicholson-turned-comedy-films-avoid-depressing-people.html/”>Jack Nicholson</a> to play the Grinch,’ produce Brian Grazer recalled of making his pitch for the movie adaptation. “I said, “Jack Nicholson is amazing, but I don’t think he has the qualities of what we’re looking for. The Grinch is crabby and mean, and you have to forgive him for being crabby and mean. He has to have a lot of innocence.’” </p>
<p id=”par-5_11″>Geisel wanted to know who Grazer thought should play the part. </p>
<p id=”par-6_35″>“I said, ‘The only person I would do it with is Jim Carrey, no other actor,’” he said. Which I really believed. But I just kind of threw his name out. I didn’t ask him.” </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-jim-carrey-won-over-dr-seuss-widow-with-his-grinch”>Jim Carrey won over Dr. Seuss’ widow with his Grinch </h2>
<p id=”par-7_15″>Fortunately, Carrey – who was already working with Grazer on <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/why-jim-carreys-liar-liar-actors-best-comedic-performance.html/”><em>Liar, Liar</em></a><em> </em>– was game. </p>
<p id=”par-8_59″>“Ron and Brian came to me and said, ‘Would you be interested? And if so, would you meet with Audrey Geisel?’ I went to the Peninsula Hotel, and I met with Audrey and told her how much Dr. Seuss meant to me growing up and how important it was to pay homage to that,” the <em>Ace Ventura </em>actor shared. </p>
<p id=”par-9_19″>Carrey then put on a performance for Geisel to convince her he was the right man for the role. </p>
<p id=”par-10_41″>“Suddenly, I ended up doing the Grinch for her across the table, actually doing the face. I didn’t have any makeup on. I just gave her one of those, ‘<em>I musst find a way to stop Christmas from coming,’” </em>he said. </p>
<p id=”par-11_86″>“The voice — there’s a touch of Boris Karloff in there. He made such an impression on me. But mostly, the voice came from the interior,” Carrey continued. “I ended up gritting my teeth to the point of cracking them. He’s a character with a heart-withering sense of abandonment and alienation that has infiltrated his entire being. He resents anyone who has joy in their life. I physicalized his arrested development into this depiction of a 7-year-old who’s having a tantrum stomping off to his room.”</p>
<p id=”par-12_30″>While <em>How the Grinch Stole Christmas </em>received mixed reviews from critics, Geisel apparently was charmed by the film, which expanded on her husband’s original story and fleshed out the characters. </p>
<p id=”par-13_67″>“I remember when Audrey Geisel saw it,” Grazer said. “She sat in the front row of the near-empty Alfred Hitchcock Theater. She was all alone. I was in the back with one other person. She gets up, and she’s elated. She loved it so much. It makes me feel emotional now. We all put so much of ourselves into this that — I did — I cried.”</p>
<p id=”par-14_14″><em>Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas </em>is streaming on Peacock and Prime Video.</p>
<p id=”par-15_11″><em>For more news and exclusive interviews, follow </em><a href=”https://www.instagram.com/showbizcheatsheet/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”><em>Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s Instagram</em></a><em>.</em></p>