The film industry was very different in the early 2000s than it is now. It was a period when franchise films were still relatively rare. And the box office was dominated by A-list stars who could draw audiences to theaters based solely on their names. As one of the biggest stars of the time, Jim Carrey also enjoyed great success with his 2003 flick, Bruce Almighty.
What distinguished Tom Shadyac’s film from most of the Carrey films that came before it was that the actor was not the only humorous element in the story. He has many of the funniest scenes with his co-star Morgan Freeman, who played the ‘God’ in the movie.
In an interview with the BBC, the Canadian-born actor admitted to feeling intimidated by Freeman. Carrey truly believed that everyone in the film industry was hesitant to work with the Oscar-winning star.
Jim Carrey: Morgan Freeman Was One Of The Actors That Everyone ‘Was Afraid Of’
In an interview with the BBC, Jim Carrey was asked about his experiences working with the legendary Morgan Freeman in Universal Pictures’ fantasy comedy flick, Bruce Almighty. Despite finding Freeman a little intimidating, Carrey spoke eloquently about his experience working with him, complimenting his “class” and calm manner.
He told a funny story about how Freeman scared director Tom Shadyac in jest:
“[Freeman] raked [director Tom Shadyac] over the coals something awful through this whole movie. You knew he was joking, but it was still so uncomfortable. To me he’s one of those guys that every actor is afraid of, because you walk on screen with him and you’ve got to be ready. Be ready, or he’ll burn your soul.”
Carrey made it very apparent that he was complimenting Freeman on his extraordinary talent. The latter is renowned for his honest demeanor and extremely dry sense of humor. He also appeared in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy (2005–2012) as DC Comics’ character Lucius Fox.
The Truman Show star added:
“Morgan Freeman is so class. Man, he’s so cool and kind of scary. The first day I met Morgan, I walk up to him, shake his hand and say: ‘Hi Morgan, this is so great, I’m so glad you’re doing this movie’. And he says: ‘Nice to meet you too. Now, never touch me again’. He’s just got that way about him. He’s like this laser that goes right to your soul.”
Bruce Almighty featured one of Freeman’s most memorable performances to date. In the much less impressive spin-off, Evan Almighty, he later reprised his role as God.
Bruce Almighty Has Been Banned In Some Countries
There are few more lighthearted comedies than Bruce Almighty. The film narrates the simple story of an ordinary man who felt trapped in his daily life and required a series of awakenings in order to fully appreciate the gift of life. Despite its seemingly innocent plot, Jim Carrey’s film was viewed as much darker in some countries due to the portrayal of God.
One of the countries that banned Bruce Almighty when it was first shown in theaters was Egypt, according to The Guardian.
A section of the Muslim community in Malaysia also took issue with the movie’s content, and they petitioned the government to prevent the 2003 flick from being screened in theaters (via The Guardian).
Abdul Hamid Zainal Abidin, the nation’s minister of religious affairs at the time, stated:
“We cannot equate ourselves with God Almighty, even as a joke.”
But that did not stop the movie from making a respectable profit at the box office. Tom Shadyac’s helmed film opened to a record-breaking $86.4 million on Memorial Day weekend at the box office, despite receiving mixed reviews from critics.
Bruce Almighty is streaming on Netflix.
