Jim Carrey shared why he decided to return for Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
The actor, who has stepped back from acting in recent years, talked to the Associated Press at the movie’s U.K. premiere on Tuesday. He explained that one reason he came back to play the villain Dr. Robotnik in the new movie, which will be released on December 20, was because he needed money.
“I came back to this universe because, first of all, I get to play a genius, which is a bit of a stretch. And, you know, it’s just… I bought a lot of stuff and I need the money, frankly. Yeah,” Carrey said with a smile.
Carrey had a successful career in the ‘80s, ‘90s, and early 2000s. In recent years, he has been more careful about what projects he takes. In 2022, while promoting Sonic the Hedgehog 2, he told Access Hollywood he was thinking about retiring from acting.
“I’m being fairly serious,” Carrey said then. “It depends. If the angels bring some sort of script that’s written in gold ink, that says to me that it’s going to be really important for people to see, I might continue. But I’m taking a break.”
Before talking about retirement, Carrey had already started stepping away from Hollywood. He focused on other creative hobbies, like political cartooning. “I just didn’t want to be in the business anymore,” he said in 2018. “I didn’t like what was happening with big corporations taking over. Maybe I was pulled toward something else, like painting. I like the control of painting without a committee telling me what to do.”
Along with playing Dr. Robotnik, Carrey will also voice the character’s grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The movie also features voices from Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba, James Marsden, Ben Schwartz, Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Shemar Moore, Adam Pally, and Krysten Ritter.