Jim Carrey Opens Up About the Movie Scene That Nearly Killed Him

Jim Carrey once opened up about a terrifying moment while filming The Truman Show, one of his most famous movies. The actor told Vanity Fair in 2018 that one scene almost cost him his life.

The scene involved Carrey’s character, Truman, trying to escape the artificial world he lived in by sailing through a massive storm. The storm was created by Ed Harris’ character, Christof, and the climax required Truman to navigate his sailboat while huge waves crashed around him. Director Peter Weir wanted the scene to feel completely real.

Before shooting, the crew took safety precautions. Divers were positioned underwater to help Carrey if he got into trouble, and oxygen tanks were on hand.

But the storm simulation turned out to be far more dangerous than expected. Carrey said, “I was wearing wool clothing—a big wool sweater, wool pants, and shoes—and they had jet engines blowing on me, and they had these giant wave machines that were creating gale-force waves.”

The weight of the wet wool and the force of the waves caused Carrey to lose control. He signaled for help as he had been trained, but the divers didn’t respond.

“They just saw it as acting,” he said. Moments later, Carrey began to sink and nearly drowned. “I went under, I had no breath left, and I was drowning. I was under the water at the bottom of the pool,” he recalled.

Using his last bit of strength, Carrey swam with a few powerful strokes and made it to the edge of the tank, where the painted sky of Truman’s world awaited him.

He clung there, gasping for air, as the storm slowly shut down. Only then did the crew realize how close he had come to danger. “I almost died,” Carrey admitted. “That was the real deal.”

Peter Weir confirmed the story, telling Vanity Fair that Carrey’s account was accurate. “The incident in the tank at Universal that Jim refers to happened the way he said,” Weir said. “Needless to say, we made changes to our safety procedures.”

Despite the scare, Carrey returned to film more takes and never held it against the director. Weir called the experience “sobering, to say the least.”

This story shows just how far actors go to make a scene feel real. Carrey risked his life to bring Truman’s story to the screen.

What do you think about actors facing real danger on set for the sake of a movie? Share your thoughts in the comments.