John Stamos nearly starred as the iconic Christmas-hating Grinch in the 2000 live-action version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
On a recent podcast episode of ‘Tis the Grinch Holiday Podcast from Wondery and Dr. Seuss Enterprises, the Full House alum, 61, revealed that he was originally going to play the role of the hairy, green Who in the family Christmas classic.
“Hey, you know, I have something. Here’s an interesting fact you don’t know about me,” Stamos told the show’s Grinch host, voiced by Saturday Night Live star James Austin Johnson.
“Shoot,” the Grinch responded, with the General Hospital actor sharing: “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 Grinch reacted surprised as Stamos added: “And I was allergic to the, you know, all the prosthetics.”
Stamos went on to ask the Grinch if he was fond of Carrey’s interpretation. “You know, they brought me in a couple days to do some consulting,” he replied slyly, saying that he was a “little triggered walking around 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,” the Grinch said. “It’s like, it’s a little eerie.”
Carrey, who ultimately landed the role, was recognized for his portrayal at the 2001 Golden Globes, where he earned a Best Actor nomination. The movie itself, directed by Ron Howard, received three Oscar nods that year, including for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, which it won.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas also starred Taylor Momsen, Christine Baranski and Jeffrey Tambor.
Speaking to ComicBook in an interview earlier this month, The Truman Show actor said he would be happy to reprise the legendary character if only it weren’t for the “extremely excruciating” makeup process.
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“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,” Carrey admitted. “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.”
According to the outlet, the Dr. Seuss Estate had strict guidelines for any adaptations of the late children’s author’s work. For one, his widow, Audrey Geisel, had apparently stated in a letter that the actor cast as the Grinch had to be a certain height and frame, with Jack Nicholson, Carrey, Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman named for reference.
