Canadian-American actor and comedian Jim Carrey is popularly known for his energetic slapstick performances. Throughout his career, the actor has delivered some incredible performances, among which is his 1997 iconic fantasy comedy film, Liar Liar. Carrey’s performance as Fletcher Reede was so impressive that it’s indeed hard to imagine anyone else playing the role.
Interestingly, Carrey wasn’t the first choice of the filmmakers, as Hugh Grant was considered for the role of Reede, but following his 1995 s*x scandal he couldn’t take up the role, and it eventually went to Carrey.
Hugh Grant almost played the role of Jim Carrey in Liar Liar
The 1997 film, Liar Liar, is a satirical fantasy comedy film, that revolves around the story of a lawyer named Fletcher Reede. The role required a person who is funny, serious, and empathetic. The makers initially decided to offer the role to Hugh Grant, as they saw him as a great fit for the role. Apparently, the actor was also interested in taking up the role, but his 1995 s*x scandal became a big hurdle between him and the project.
At that time, Jim Carrey had already signed up for The Truman Show, but due to a delay in the commencement of the project, Carrey accepted the offer to appear in Liar Liar. The co-writer of the film, Paul Guay told SYFY,
“Because Jim is irritated that Truman Show isn’t ready, he says yes to our script.”
Guay went on to explain how entirely different Carrey and Grant are as actors, and how it would have been if Grant ended up portraying the character of Reede. He said,
“That’s a pretty different actor than Hugh Grant and part of me thinks: ‘Wouldn’t it have been fun to be able to compare the two versions?’. You’ve got the kind of more sly, sophisticated British, very classy guy — or guy who seems really classy, because he’s British — versus the ‘I need to outdo Jerry Lewis’ that Jim Carrey brings to the table.”
However, now it’s a thing of the past, as the role was played by Carrey so well, that it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing it.
What was the controversy that destroyed Hugh Grant’s chances of playing an iconic role?
The controversy due to which Hugh Grant lost an iconic role, is his 1995 s*x scandal. According to US Weekly, the scandal is considered Grant’s biggest controversy, as his involvement with a s*x worker led to his arrest.
The actor was caught cheating on his then-girlfriend, with a s*x worker. According to Deadline, he was found having s*x with her in his car in LA. He later faced legal consequences for the same.
Source: SYFY
