Jim Carrey has proven time and time again what a fabulous actor and an even better comedian he is. With his tremendous on-screen as well as off-screen presence, the 61-year-old actor has won the hearts of fans worldwide ever since he started as a broke teenage comedian back in 1979–more than four decades ago.
But little did the young Carrey know that he was soon going to become a superstar: one of the biggest and most in-demand actors of all time. A major part in this was played when he gambled his salary for Yes Man to acquire an ownership stake in the film instead, which landed him his highest-ever paycheck: A whopping $30 million.
Gambling With Yes Man Earned Jim Carrey His Biggest Paycheck
Jim Carrey has taken up numerous roles ever since he first decided to enter this field back in 1979, and he has somehow (unsurprisingly) managed to perform spectacularly in nearly every single one of these movies.
Not only has he earned himself a place in the Forbes list of the highest-earning actors of all time, but he has also become one of the most demanded celebrities in Hollywood over the years, with a whopping net worth of $180 million–a major stake of which goes to his 2008 comedy, Yes Man.
Although his other roles paid him quite finely as well, Yes Man particularly stands out for a reason that turned out in favor of Carrey: that he reportedly exchanged his salary for the film in exchange for acquiring an ownership stake in the film instead.
While gambling with something as risky as that could have landed him in trouble, the comedian still went for it. However, thankfully enough, things ended up in his favor as the movie grossed a stunning $223 million worldwide.
All thanks to this, Jim Carrey found himself ended up with a whopping $30 million on his hands, making it his biggest-ever paycheck throughout his career!
Jim Carrey Challenged Himself To Earn $10 Million Within 3 Years
Though Jim Carrey is inevitably listed as one of the highest-paid actors of all time, he didn’t earn his fame without much struggle. Talking about how he used to go up to Mulholland Drive every night back when he was broke, the comedian shared on The Oprah Winfrey Show back in 1997:
“I would visualize having directors interested in me and people that I respected saying, ‘You know, I like your work’ or whatever that is. I would visualize things coming to me that I wanted or whatever. I had nothing at the time [in 1987], so it was like, it just made me feel better. At that time, all it really was for me was kind of making me feel better. I would drive home and think, ‘Oh, I do have these things, and they’re out there. I just don’t have a hold of them yet, but they’re out there.”
Continuing, he further shared how he challenged himself to go rich within three years by writing himself a cheque for $10 million.
“I wrote myself a cheque for $10 million for ‘acting services rendered’ and I gave myself five years… or three years, maybe, he explained. And I dated it for Thanksgiving, 1995, and I put it in my wallet and I kept it there, and it deteriorated and deteriorated and stuff. But then just before Thanksgiving 1995, I found out that I was gonna make ten million dollars on Dumb and Dumber.”
Little did he know that that was just the beginning for him and he had several milestones ahead of him that would make him the renowned personality that he is today: Jim Carrey.
