‘I was upstaging myself constantly’: Actor Jim Carrey’s dual geniuses in Sonic The Hedgehog 3
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Jim Carrey as Ivo Robotnik (left) and Professor Gerald Robotnik in Sonic The Hedgehog 3.
PHOTO: PARAMOUNT PICTURES
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LOS ANGELES – Movies based on video games used to struggle to do well.
But 2020’s Sonic The Hedgehog – based on the Sega game series of the same name – was one of the first to break the curse.
A blend of live action and animation, the adventure comedy about a blue hedgehog which moves at supersonic speeds grossed US$320 million (S$433.5 million) worldwide and became one of the most successful video-game adaptations ever. A sequel, Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (2022), naturally followed.
Hoping to replicate that success, the latest instalment, Sonic The Hedgehog 3, lured comedic actor Jim Carrey out of retirement to reprise his role as the franchise’s main villain, mad scientist Ivo Robotnik.
The new film, which opens in Singapore cinemas on Dec 26, has also added action star Keanu Reeves to the cast as powerful new antagonist Shadow the Hedgehog, whom Sonic, Knuckles and Tails (voiced by Ben Schwartz, Idris Elba and Colleen O’Shaughnessey respectively) have to defeat to protect the planet.
Jim Carrey (left) as Ivo Robotnik and Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) in Sonic The Hedgehog 3.
PHOTO: PARAMOUNT PICTURES
At the recent Los Angeles premiere, Carrey is asked why he decided to return to the Sonic universe despite saying, while promoting Sonic The Hedgehog 2, that he planned to retire from acting.
“Well, I love playing a genius,” says the 62-year-old Canadian-American performer, star of eccentric 1990s comedy hits such as The Mask, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Dumb And Dumber. “It’s a stretch, but I think it’s a cool part.”
There were attempts to talk him out of taking the role, he reveals.
“A lot of people said, ‘I don’t know if you should do the Sonic The Hedgehog movie, Jim.’
“But I thought it’s the perfect character for the dawn of the artificial intelligence and robotic revolution,” he says of Dr Robotnik, who uses advanced technology in his quest for power.
“So I’m in the zeitgeist right now, I found the sweet spot,” adds Carrey, who earned rave reviews for his performances in psychological dramas such as The Truman Show (1998) and Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004).
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 cast member Jim Carrey at a premiere of the film in Los Angeles on Dec 16.
PHOTOS: REUTERS
In Sonic The Hedgehog 3, Carrey also plays a second character: Dr Robotnik’s grandfather Gerald, the scientist who discovered Shadow.
“There were two egotistical characters played by one egotistical actor,” he quips. “It was really hard to stay out of my own light – I was upstaging myself constantly.”
Carrey tips his hat to the whizz-kids in computer-generated (CG) animation who put the movie together.
“They are amazing CG geniuses who paint for a big canvas, and they paint in great detail. That’s why it’s fun, the idea of people going out to the theatre to see the movie on the big screen,” he says.
For co-star Reeves, this was a chance to flex a different set of muscles.
(From left) Cast members Keanu Reeves, Jim Carrey and Ben Schwartz at a premiere of Sonic The Hedgehog 3 in Los Angeles on Dec 16.
PHOTO: REUTERS
As the star of two major action movie franchises – The Matrix (1999 to 2021) and John Wick (2014 to 2023) – the 60-year-old Canadian is more accustomed to extremely physical live-action roles.
But having voiced Duke Caboom, the stuntman toy in the Pixar animated film Toy Story 4 (2019), Reeves was looking forward to working in animation again.
“You get to use your voice and be physically free when you’re performing.
“And you get to make stupid faces,” says the star, whose breakout role was in the Bill & Ted science-fiction comedies (1989 to 2020).
“If you did that on camera, it might be a little much. But when you’re in there just recording, there’s something freeing about just trying to get the emotion in your voice.”
Reeves was also in awe of Carrey’s performance in Sonic The Hedgehog 3, saying: “The man is a creative genius, and in this film, he’s a double genius because he’s playing two roles.”
Keanu Reeves voices Shadow the Hedgehog in Sonic The Hedgehog 3.
PHOTO: PARAMOUNT PICTURES
And Carrey helped keep everyone on set in high spirits, says co-star James Marsden, who plays Sonic’s adoptive father Tom.
The cast of this franchise is “such a family – we have such a good time on set”, says the 51-year-old American actor, who portrayed Cyclops in the X-Men superhero movies (2000 to 2014).
“And I’m surrounded by brilliant actors like Jim Carrey, Keanu Reeves and Ben Schwartz.
“They know their characters so well and it’s just so much fun to be in this universe with them,” Marsden says.
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 opens in Singapore cinemas on Dec 26.
