Jim Carrey traded retirement for a paycheck with ‘Sonic 3’: ‘I need the money’

Years after swearing off acting, Jim Carrey returns to the big screen next week. Now, he’s explaining why.

In a 2022 interview with “Access Hollywood,” “The Truman Show” actor professed to be “fairly serious” about retiring from acting, saying he had “done enough.” His only contingency, he said, was a script delivered by “angels” and “written in gold ink” coming his way.

“That might have been hyperbole,” Carrey said, laughing, as he spoke to AP Entertainment on Tuesday night at the “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” premiere in London. The jokester reprises his role as antagonist and comically-large-mustache enthusiast Dr. Robotnik in the franchise’s third installment, in theaters Dec. 20.

Carrey went on to explain that he “came back to this [film’s] universe” for two main reasons, neither of which concerned cherubs or calligraphy.

“First of all, I get to play a genius, which is a bit of a stretch,” he said. The second, he continued, was, “I bought a lot of stuff, and I need the money, frankly.”

Since rising to fame via a trio of 1994 comedies — “The Mask,” “Ace Ventura” and “Dumb and Dumber” — Carrey has been acting less and painting more in recent years. The “Sonic” series make up his sole film ventures of the 2020s, according to IMDb.

The “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” actor did, however, provide radio-host-style narration throughout the Weeknd’s 2022 album “Dawn FM.” He also made a brief cameo in the music video for the album’s seventh track, “Out of Time.” The video co-starred the Weeknd’s Abel Tesfaye and “Squid Game” breakout Jung Ho-yeon.

And Carrey’s retirement increasingly seems like a short stint, as he’s also listed as an actor on “Evergreen Pines and the Fading Summer,” the forthcoming film from “It Follows” director David Robert Mitchell. The mystery, set at a sleepaway camp, is still in preproduction, per IMDb.