Actor Nicolas Cage has recently revealed that Jim Carrey originally wanted him to co-star alongside him in what became the iconic Dumb and Dumber. The film was directed by Peter Farrelly, who also contributed to the script with his brother Bobby and Bennett Yellin. The popular comedy follows two dimb-witted best friends, Lloyd Christmas (Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels), who are originally from Providence, Rhode Island.
The pair set out on a cross-country trip to Aspen, Colorado in order to return a briefcase full of money to its rightful owner. It all slowly starts to go hilariously downhill when the two realize that the briefcase they assumed had been abandoned by mistake had actually been left for ransom. The harmless duo finds themselves now having become the main suspects behind the kidnapping. The New Line Cinema movie also starred Lauren Holly as the briefcase owner, along with Karen Duffy and Mike Starr featured as mercenaries for the kidnaper, portrayed by Charles Rocket. Dumb and Dumber made its theatrical debut back in 1994 and became a massive hit at the box office, bringing in over $247 million against the film’s 17 million dollar budget.
The film is still to this day regarded as a classic when it comes to comedy and ended up heavily solidifying Carrey's place within the genre itself and Hollywood. However, if Nicolas Cage had signed on instead, Dumb and Dumber would have been a completely different film. In a recent interview with GQ, Cage confirmed that Carrey did in fact ask him to star in Dumb and Dumber and that the role of Harry Dunne was his at first. Yet, Cage explained why he ultimately ended up having to reject the role. He shared, “I know Jim wanted me to be in Dumb and Dumber with him, but I wanted to do a little movie called Leaving Las Vegas instead.”
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Of course, perhaps things turned out for the best. The Dumb and Dumber story heavily relies on the chemistry between the two pals, and the film drastically changed how Daniels was perceived once it was released. Although Carrey had been going at comedy ruthlessly for a while at this point, Daniels' filmography reflected more experience with dramatic and serious acting, which is something this film just doesn’t really have a lot of. After audiences saw how funny Daniels could be when given the opportunity, he was taken much more seriously as a comedian.
Leaving Las Vegas was in many ways much more aligned with Daniels' earlier dramatic performances that he delivered before he made Dumb and Dumber. The film told the story of a suicidal alcoholic who wants to move to Nevada after losing his family and job - along the way he ends up falling in love with a prostitute. Although the concept of watching Carrey and Cage be ridiculously dumb, take after take, sounds incredibly appealing, Cage would have never been able to make Leaving Las Vegas, which was a film that he was very passionate about.
Dumb and Dumber is now available on HBO Max.
Source: GQ/YouTube