In praise of the art of bad acting

Today Jim Carrey is going to be himself. Or as much of the real man as the madcap, unpredictable comedy actor allows to be seen in public. There's always the feeling that he's giving a performance, unwilling or unable to just be himself.

Serious is not a word in his dictionary. After proving his straight acting ability in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind - and this week earning a Golden Globe best actor nomination for his efforts - he's back in disguise in Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events.

Based on the books that knocked Harry Potter off the top of the New York Times children's bestsellers' list, the film finds him starring as Count Olaf, bad actor and master of disguise who's out to get his grasping hands on the inheritance of the Baudelaire orphans - even if it means killing them.

Talking before the London premiere, he's a little less exuberant and free-wheeling than on previous promotional occasions. Perhaps he's inhibited from going crazy by sharing the platform with co-stars Meryl Streep and Timothy Spall, talented teenage actors Emily Browning and Liam Aiken, and director Brad Silberling. This doesn't prevent him joking and fooling around entirely. A Carrey interview where he doesn't pull faces or fool around is unthinkable.

Playing Count Olaf required three hours in the make-up chair each day to give him a ghoul-like complexion, long fingernails and bald head. Further make-up was needed to turn him into the Count's alter egos, seaman Captain Sham and a would-be herpetologist named Stefano. Carrey has transformed himself into a character from a children's book before in The Grinch. Lots of prosthetics and a green hue there, but he thinks the new role was more of a stretch as an actor.

'The Grinch just wants to be left alone. Count Olaf wants to be seen by everyone and revered by everyone and thought of as a genius by everyone, so he's closer to the real me," he says. It's a joke but you can't help thinking the outrageous character appealed to the actor's liking for showing off.

He's been performing since he was a child growing up in Canada, claiming to know that show business was in his blood from the age of three. He couldn't stop performing, with teachers allowing him to do stand-up turns for classmates before lessons in junior high school. Presumably, they thought it would be better if he got it out of his system.

At ten, he mailed his resume to TV's The Carol Burnet Show and five years later went off to Toronto to perform in a comedy club. TV work and supporting roles in feature films kept him busy until Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask and Dumb And Dumber elevated him to the ranks of Hollywood's finest.

The disguise aspect of his latest role led director Brad Silberling to describe his leading man as "Peter Sellers' odd cousin", prompting Carrey to comment: "Comparing things to Sellers is obviously lofty. He was one of my favourites. Having just seen the TV movie about him, I hope I'm not compared to that person in all things.

"I play multiple roles, but always kept in mind that I'm Count Olaf underneath the whole time. He's really just making bad acting choices. This one is something that could be revisited because there are so many possibilities. We came up with 30 characters in the trailer that will never be seen but are so much fun.

"Bascially, the charactor of Count Olaf was born out of an absolute, completely personal sense of self, which is true of some actors. He's an actor losing his hair too, which always is a dangerous element.

"It was a fantastic idea to make fun of us actors. He's been through many an acting class and acting guru. We improvised for days. It was like repeating moments from my acting classes."

The 11 (so far) Lemony Snicket stories about the trials and hardships of the Baudelaire orphans have proved very popular with younger readers, despite the potentially downbeat subject matter, "I think it's a relief for children," says Carrey, who has a daughter from his first marriage. "No matter how bad it gets, they have something, friends or family. The books also connect with kids because everybody feels orphaned in a way these days. Even if you have both parents, people are working and there's the feeling that people never believe you."

He does feel Lemony Snicket offers something different to other stories for children. "The wonderful thing about this -- and I feel so lucky to have done so many different things in the last while - is it's completely different to Harry Potter and anything else, and has a character all of its own. It's like nothing I've ever seen, it's different and inventive.

'For young people, I believe that the most important thing is to have faith because there are times you get up against the wall in this business. There's no love, no money, very little that keeps you going except faith.

"I've always operated that way from the beginning. I had this weird feeling I could make it happen with God's help and the help of my friends."

Getting it to happen is one thing, getting it right is another and he doubts you can ever be satisfied with your work. "It's your job not to be satisfied," he says.

What's essential, if you're working in the world of make-believe as he does, is to have a child inside you. "That's what makes people love you and makes people hate you. So it's a strange thing. All I know is it's really educated play. You have to know your character inside out. When you do that, you're given gifts.

"It's so much fun playing a character like Count Olaf because you take away all the rules. There's nothing that you can't do as far as that goes. It's such a freeing kind of thing. It was a very strange kind of balancing act. He's really dangerous but you want to laugh at him.

"He thinks people are wrong, that everyone who perceives him as wrong and incorrect is beneath him. He's a child at heart, an unwanted child like the Baudelaires."

Next from Carrey is a remake of Fun With Dick And Jane, the 1977 comedy which starred Jane Fonda and George Segal. He loved the original but feels the story is very relevant today. "It's set in 2000 before Enron and everything else before George Bush got in. It's about people who are losing their middle class lifestyle. It's a really good romp," he says.

As for a return to Count Olaf for another Lemony Snicket movie, he says: "If they back the truck up" - a joking reference to the size of the pay cheque he'd require. With films that include hits like Bruce Almighty and The Truman Show, he can ask what he wants as the first Hollywood actor to take home $20m a picture upfront. A case of cash and Carrey, you might say.

* Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events is showing in cinemas now.