John Stamos Reveals He Almost Played The Grinch — But Allergies Had Other Plans
Imagine a world where John Stamos, not Jim Carrey, was the face behind the iconic green grouch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Well, according to John himself, that alternate reality almost happened!
In a recent appearance on the ‘Tis The Grinch Holiday Podcast, hosted by Saturday Night Live star James Austin Johnson (who voices the Grinch on the show), John shared an unexpected fun fact about his Hollywood journey. “Hey, you know, I have something. Here’s an interesting fact you don’t know about me,” he said, teasing the reveal.
When Johnson’s Grinch character replied, “Shoot,” John dropped the festive bombshell: “I was originally going to play you in the movie that Jim Carrey got. Did you know that? I went to the makeup test.”
The Full House star went on to explain why he didn’t end up donning the fuzzy green suit. Turns out, an unfortunate allergic reaction to the heavy prosthetics forced him to step away from the role. “I was allergic to the, you know, all the prosthetics,” John revealed.
Of course, the part ultimately went to Jim Carrey, who brought Dr. Seuss’ beloved yet grumpy character to life alongside co-stars Taylor Momsen, Jeffrey Tambor, and Christine Baranski. The movie was a massive success, grossing over $345 million worldwide, winning an Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and even earning Jim a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor.
During the podcast, John asked James’s Grinch if he approved of Jim’s performance. In classic Grinch fashion, the green grouch quipped, “You know, they brought me in a couple days to do some consulting.”
Revealing that being on set was was a little triggering, he shared, “I was a little triggered walking around the set, just cause it’s like, you know, when they build an exact replica of your neighborhood and you’re walking around but you know that you’re on a soundstage in freaking Burbank. It’s like, it’s a little eerie.”
Interestingly, Jim recently shared in an interview with ComicBook that while he’d consider reprising his legendary role, he’d want to avoid the exhausting makeup process. “The thing about it is, on the day, I do that with a ton of makeup and can hardly breathe. 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,” he explained.
