Jim Carrey Clarifies His Retirement Comments: It’s ‘More About Power Resting’ Between Projects

Jim Carrey isn’t swearing off acting for good.

The actor returns to the big screen in the new sequel Sonic the Hedgehog 3 after previously saying in 2022 that he was “being fairly serious” about retiring from acting.

“You can’t be definite about these things,” Carrey, 62, told Comicbook.com. “I said I’d like to retire, but I think I was talking more about ‘power-resting.’ Because as soon as a good idea comes your way or a group of people that you really enjoyed working with and stuff, it just— things tend to change.”

At the Sonic 3 premiere in London Dec. 10, Carrey joked to the Associated Press that the reason he signed on for the new film was because “I bought a lot of stuff and I need the money, frankly.”

He clarified in the interview with Comicbook.com, published Dec. 11, “It’s not really about the money. I joke about the money….” And with the “right ideas,” he said he’d be open to reprising his roles in sequels to 1994’s The Mask or 2000’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

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While rolling out Sonic 2 back in 2022, Carrey said he was planning on retiring from his acting career, telling Access Hollywood at the time, “It depends. If the angels bring some sort of script that’s written in gold ink, that says to me that it’s going to be really important for people to see, I might continue down the road. But I’m taking a break.”

(When AP asked Carrey about those remarks on Dec. 10, he said with a laugh, “That might have been hyperbole.”)