Jim Carrey

"It is better to risk starving to death then surrender. If you give up on your dreams, what's left?" (Carrey). Jim Carrey has several special characteristics, for example, he is persevering and selfless. Jim Carrey's life started off rough with an unfortunate family that needed his help from the start. Once Carrey became old enough to work, he did, to support his family. He knew if he wanted to save his family from poverty, he would have to make it big. Carrey's dream was to be a comedian even after he was turned down by several comedy clubs. He worked extremely hard to be successful. Once he finally became popular, he strived, and many people desire to have his persevering characteristics. With his selfless personality, Carrey made sure his family was strong and back on their feet. A hero is someone that people look up to and admire. They must possess key qualities that make them stand out from everyone else. Jim Carrey is an inspirational hero because he is a persistent man driven by his selfless personality.

Jim Carrey is a hero because of his persevering character that several people look up to. At a young age, Carrey had to learn how to face disappointment. One time was when he performed at his first stand up comedy act, "There was some bright spots in those years, though. Carrey had his first stand-up gig at Yuk-Yuks Comedy club when he was just 15. Unfortunately, it was a flop. As Carrey recalled for Bernard Weinraub in the New York Times: 'I got booed off the stage'" (Newsmakers). Even after being booed off stage, Carrey wasn't going to stop trying. He had a dream goal of becoming a comedian, and he was going to do whatever it took to achieve that. Carrey would spend several hours practicing his skits that he would perform for his family and even his classmates. He was driven by his dream and nothing was going to stop him. Even after a horrible experience like this, in his mind, he knew that he was going to pursue his goal. He also knew it was going to take a lot of work to make it happen. Another example of when Carrey showed his persevering nature was when one of his first movies was a huge disappointment, "The movie turned out to be a disappointment, both critically and financially, but Carrey bounced back the next year with the energetic hit Liar Liar" (1997)(IMDb). When one of his movies, Cable Guy, did not do well, Carrey produced his next hit movie, Liar Liar. Carrey has a key quality most people don't have, which is the ability to forget his past downfalls and continue to be successful afterwards. He faced disappointment several times throughout his career, but he was always able to learn from his failures and make his future productions better. Carrey was forced to learn disappointment from a young age, but because he is persevering, he was able to still be successful. Jim Carrey has been knocked down so many times and he still ended up where he is today, that makes him an extraordinary hero.

Jim Carrey isn't just persevering, he is also selfless. He is one to always put people's happiness before his own. Throughout his life, he had to sacrifice his own happiness several times, that is a great quality of a hero. Carrey loved to make people happy because he was selfless. In one instance was when he put on a performance for his classmates,"He went in front of the class and delivered a wonderfully funny and complete act. The class loved it" (Newsmakers). Jim Carrey loved to see people happy more than anything else, and his way of making people happy was through laughter. He strived off the joy and laughter he gave his audience. He enjoyed the happiness of others, like a comedian should. When other people were happy, that made Carrey happy and he turned that into his career. Carrey showed many acts of selflessness, like when his family was forced to move out of their house and into a van, "They all took security and janitorial jobs in the Titan Wheels factory, Jim working 8-hour shifts after school let out (not surprisingly, his grades and morale both suffered)" (IMDb). Even when Carrey knew having a job would affect his grades, he also knew that he had to support his family. At the time, his family was living in a van because they could not afford to live anywhere else. Carrey was willing to sacrifice his education to help his family find somewhere to live. Even after they moved into a house, Carrey kept his job and dropped out of school just to pay rent. A hero is someone who puts the needs of others before their own, Jim Carrey is definitely one to do that. Jim Carrey has a mindset different then most, he has a selfless personality which is why he can be described as a hero.

When someone is persevering but also selfless, they are a hero, and Jim Carrey definitely has those traits. Even though his life started deep in the hole, Carrey managed to make a career out of something he loved to do. The only thing he wanted was to make sure everyone was happy. He put the needs of others before his own, and that was his number one priority. Jim Carrey inspires me because I admire the amount of attention he gives towards others. He also accomplished his overall goal that at first seemed impossible. Not only did he achieve his dream, but he also changed many people's lives for the better along the way. One can learn from Jim Carrey, that even though one might be at the bottom, it doesn't mean that it is impossible to get to the top.

Works Consulted

"1ST PERSON: Meet Jim Carrey." Knight Ridder/Tribune, 20 June 2000. Gale Biography In Context,       go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=powa9245&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA122196215&it=r&asid=a061295dd46d94d07dbbda0e5faf5fee. Accessed 27 Apr. 2017.

Lim, Dennis. "Unsettling Goofiness Of the Divided Mind." New York Times, 28 Dec. 2008, p. 17(L). Gale Biography In Context, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=powa9245&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA191224371&it=r&asid=c7b8498c72b15fcf89078cc147df021a. Accessed 1 May 2017.

"Biography." IMDb, IMDb.com, 2017, www.imdb.com/name/nm0000120/bio. Accessed 3 May 2017.

Werris, Wendy. "Jim Carrey rolls out his first children's book." Publishers Weekly, 14 Oct. 2013, p. S7. Gale Biography In Context, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=powa9245&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA349606785&it=r&asid=59847c6ba1ed0db9a8845084d5a57ce7. Accessed 5 May 2017.

Harrison, Lily. "Jim Carrey's Girlfriend Cathriona White Left Suicide Note for Actor." E! Online, E! News, 5 July 2016, www.eonline.com/news/777889/jim-carrey-s-girlfriend-cathriona-white-left-suicide-note-apologizing-to-actor-before-her-death. Accessed 3 May 2017.