Why Jim Carrey might be one of the only actors able to play classic role he wants to play 'one more time'

Any actor stepping into a role formerly played by Jim Carrey would be well aware that they have some extremely big shoes to fill.

The 62-year-old has set the bar so high with his performances that it's hard to imagine someone else portraying one of his iconic characters.

They just wouldn't bring that same je ne sais quoi which Carrey does - so it's probably a good job that stars would have to jump through a lot of hoops if they wanted to overthrow him as the Grinch.

He played the grumpy green monster to perfection, despite the hellish experience he had getting transformed into the Christmas-hating character.

Carrey compared being smothered in layers of prosthetics and make-up for endless hours each day to 'being buried alive' - and even had to undergo CIA training to cope with nine-hours in the chair.

But despite all of that, the A-lister revealed that he wouldn't mind taking the Grinch for a spin 'one more time'.

In December, Carrey revealed that he would happily reprise his role in How the Grinch Stole Christmas if a few things could be 'figured out'.

"The thing about it is, on the day, I do that with a ton of makeup and can hardly breathe," the comedian told Comicbook.com. "It was an extremely excruciating process.

"The children were in my mind all the time. ‘It’s for the kids. It’s for the kids. It’s for the kids.’

"And now, with motion capture and things like that, I could be free to do other things. Anything is possible in this world!"

Film fans would no doubt be screaming 'imposter' at the screen if someone else dared to don the green get-up which has become synonymous with Carrey, anyway.

So it seems that the only chances of a successful sequel to the 2000 Christmas film is if movie chiefs find a way to avoid making him miserable in the makeup chair.

Even if there was someone out there with the courage to take Carrey's place as the Grinch, they would have to overcome several obstacles first.

Carrey said he would reprise his role as the Grinch if there was a way around his makeup misery (Steve Granitz/FilmMagic)

As we all know, How the Grinch Stole Christmas is based on Dr Seuss' 1957 children's book of the same name.

After the author's death in September 1991, his widow Audrey Geisel set up Dr Seuss Enterprises to fulfil her husband's wish of spreading his stories with 'the widest possible audience in any and all media throughout the world'.

Which is why the world is blessed with Dr Seuss films, TV shows, games and stage productions, as well as his iconic literary works.

There are a host of strict guidelines which film producers must follow if they are looking to adapt the works of Dr Seuss, thanks to Seuss' spouse - including what actor could play the lead role.

Geisel - who passed away in December 2018 - had final approval over the director and writer for The Grinch, as well as slipping in a stipulation about the leading man.

In a letter outlining the Seuss estate’s requirements for the movie, Geisel stated that the actor cast in the role also had to be of a very particular height and frame, according to Comicbook.com.

Dr Seuss' estate got the final say on the 2000 Christmas film (Universal Pictures)

She used stars such as Jack Nicholson, Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, and Dustin Hoffman as templates - and as we all know, Carrey went on to bag the role.

So if the film studio were looking for a replacement, it seems like they'd have their work cut out for them.

I guess Carrey really is the only man for the job, eh?

As well as stipulations on who could play The Grinch, Geisel reportedly stuck a $5 million price tag on the film rights.

She also instructed the studio to give the Seuss estate a cut of four percent of the movie’s total box-office revenue, along with 50 percent of merchandising revenue and 70 percent from book tie-ins to the movie.

A shrewd businesswoman if ever there was one.