Universal/courtesy Everett Collection
What To Know
- When Ron Howard and Brian Grazer pitched the live-action Grinch film to Dr. Seuss’s widow, Audrey Geisel, she initially wanted a different actor for the Grinch.
- The filmmakers felt the actor wasn’t the right fit.
- Producer Brian Grazer insisted that Jim Carrey was the only actor suitable for the role.
The horrible holiday hijinks of the Grinch have been a Christmas staple ever since Dr. Seuss first introduced the curmudgeonly character to kids in 1957 with How the Grinch Stole Christmas!.
In 1966, the green, grumpy galoot made the jump to the screen for the first time in Chuck Jones‘s half-hour animated special, featuring the unmistakable voice of Boris Karloff. It quickly became a holiday favorite, airing annually as kids across the country watched year after year while the Grinch’s heart grew a few sizes and he feasted on roasted beast.
Among those kids were filmmaker Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer, who by the ’90s were keen on bringing the Grinch to the big screen. And, according to Vulture, the timing was right: around the same time, Audrey Geisel, Dr. Seuss’s widow, was finally ready to sell the feature-film rights to the book.
Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection
The duo got together and brainstormed how to turn a somewhat thin kids’ book into the feature film, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
“I was on a plane, next to my wife, Cheryl, coming out to L.A. She said, ‘The story is all about commercialism. And if Whoville has just gotten ridiculous, maybe Cindy Lou could have an attitude about that. So in a way, it could be an affirmation story for her and a lesson for all the Whos,’ said Howard to Vulture, who covered the making of the film in an article about the oral history. “I thought, “Oh, what if that’s the third act? What if we deal with this commercialism, deal with his alienation,” which was a very Seussian theme.”
Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection
It seemed like a match made in holiday heaven, but Mrs. Geisel had a strange request that took both filmmakers by surprise.
According to Vulture, the duo pitched their idea for a live-action Grinch to the widow of Theodor Seuss Geisel, but she had a request.
“So we pitched it, and Audrey just assumed Ron would direct,” said Grazer. “And Audrey said, ‘I really want Jack Nicholson to play the Grinch.’”
Columbia/Courtesy Everett Collection
Jack Nicholson. While the Oscar-winning actor was no stranger to prosthetics, heavy makeup, or cartoonish characters — having famously brought the Joker to life in 1989’s Batman — he wasn’t exactly who the duo had in mind for the role. Luckily, they were able to convince her otherwise.
“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,’” explained Grazer.
“And she said, “Who would you want?” I said, “The only person I would do it with is Jim Carrey, no other actor,’” said Grazer.
And after that, the rest was Hollywood holiday history.
