Taylor Momsen was by no means petrified of the titular character within the 2000 film model of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, as a result of she all the time understood that he was funnyman Jim Carrey. It's simply that she didn't know what the actual Carrey appeared like beneath all that make-up and people prosthetics.

"Jim Carrey is the Grinch." Momsen mentioned of her considering on Thursday's episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast with Alex Cooper. "So I didn't know who Jim was till the premiere and somebody needed to level him out to me and go, 'That's Jim,' and I went, 'Oh, Jim.'"

Momsen performed little Cindy Lou Who within the film primarily based on the beloved Dr. Seuss e book that was first printed in 1957. Within the story, the tot convinces the evil character — with the persona of "a foul banana with a greasy black peel" — to see that the that means of Christmas is rather more about love than commercialism. (Even if even the Whos labored themselves up right into a frenzy procuring round that point of 12 months.)

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"I get requested rather a lot if he scared me, as a result of I believe quite a lot of children have been petrified of the Grinch," mentioned Momsen, who was simply 7 when the film was launched. "He was by no means scary to me. To me, he was all the time Jim, and he was all the time in make-up."

At all times. (The film really obtained the 2001 Oscar for Greatest Make-up.)

"The humorous factor is, I by no means knew what Jim Carrey appeared like," the Gossip Lady actress mentioned, "as a result of I by no means noticed him trigger he was there method early doing the prosthetics."

'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' cast: See Jim Carrey and his costars, then and now Molly Shannon and Jim Carrey knew each other long before 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'

Nonetheless, Momsen had nothing however good issues to say about Carrey/The Grinch.

"He was very protecting of me," she recalled. "He was very type, tremendous humorous, tremendous animated, completely superior."

The remainder of the forged for the Ron Howard-directed movie included Christine Baranski, Molly Shannon, Invoice Irwin, and Jeffrey Tambor.

In August 2000, three months earlier than the film's launch, Carrey himself — by then recognized for films equivalent to Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and its sequel; The Masks; Batman Endlessly; and The Truman Present — instructed Leisure Weekly that enjoying the inexperienced creature wasn't all the time pleasant.

"About two weeks in, I used to be having quite a lot of bother with the Grinch swimsuit, so that they introduced a man in who really teaches individuals the right way to deal with torture, and he gave me a few ideas," Carrey mentioned. "You simply overlook [the pain]. Sitting round in that swimsuit was not too enjoyable, however performing in it was wonderful. I will be as uncomfortable as I would like, however when someone says motion, it's like going into one other actuality."

Hearken to Momsen's full dialog above.

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