With the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, we’ve had the pleasure of seeing comedy legend Jim Carrey play Dr. Robotnik in not one, but two blockbuster movies. In the goofy role that kids loved, the actor definitely looks like he’s having a ball between the physical comedy and witty jokes. Carrey recently explained his process of getting into character with the help of a spaghetti analogy, because of course.
Jim Carrey recently spoke about his approach to playing the wacky Dr. Robotnik, and of course he exhausts all comedy options for the role. It’s Jim Carrey! In his words:
I throw the spaghetti against the wall, see if it sticks, see if it’s al dente. I know the material, and then, of course I want to try it a bunch of different ways. Give the director so much to work with, so many levels of emotion, so many levels of cartoon. I’ll do them all night if they let me.
Carrey spoke on the process in an exclusive clip for People devoted to discussing the actor’s process on set of the video game live-action/animated hybrid feature film. Additionally, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 director Jeff Fowler shared that Carrey puts “so much thought” into how he talks and moves as the character and he’s determined for a comedic moment to stick. Fowler said an actor like Carrey is the “greatest gift” a filmmaker could receive from a performance.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2’s producer Neal H. Mortiz said that whenever Jim Carrey wrapped for the day on the film, he was “exhausted” because he put his whole body and mind into Dr. Robotnik. It sounds like the actor really cares about bringing the funny villain to life for the video game franchise, which was an even bigger success than the 2020 film that introduced his character.
While Jim Carrey is not generally a huge fan of sequels, the actor made an exception for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 because he felt the material was “sweet” and feel like kids appreciate movies like “nobody else.” Following the first film becoming the highest-grossing video game movie of all time in the U.S, the recent sequel made over $375 million worldwide, beating that record and remaining one of the top grossing movies of 2022.
After many family movies went to streaming since the COVID-19 pandemic, Sonic the Hedgehog is among recent movies that show kids movies can be box office hits. But, Jim Carrey’s role in Dr. Robotnik might be a rare moment to see the comedy legend in action again, as the actor has shared recently that he is retiring from acting unless “the angels bring some sort of script written in gold ink” that he finds really special.
You can check out Sonic the Hedgehog 2 now with a Paramount Plus subscription. You can also rent or buy the sequel on Digital, or wait for the Blu-ray, DVD and 4K release on August 9.