FILM · 1994 · USA
The Mask
34 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (34)
- #001
The oversized teeth worn by the Mask were originally intended to appear only in silent scenes, but Jim Carrey learned to talk while wearing them in order to make his character much stranger.
- #002
Chuck Russell said that casting Jim Carrey saved a great deal of money on special effects. Carrey's body movements were so flexible and cartoonish that they did not need to be digitally enhanced.
- #003
The banana-yellow suit worn by Jim Carrey was designed as a tribute to the suit his mother sewed for him for his first attempt at stand-up comedy.
- #004
The scene in which Stanley is chased by the gangsters and pulls a wet condom out of his pocket, saying "Sorry, wrong pocket," was improvised by Jim Carrey.
- #005
Many moments on set made it into the film as improvisation, especially the scenes involving the dog. The scene in which Milo refuses to drop the Frisbee while Ipkiss tries to hide the money in his closet was unplanned, and Jim Carrey improvised Ipkiss's exasperated reaction to Milo not running to the wall.
- #006
Cameron Diaz's singing voice in the film was provided by Susan Boyd.
- #007
Cameron Diaz had to audition 12 times for the role of Tina, but she accepted the part 7 days before filming began.
- #008
This was the first of more than ten Jim Carrey films to reach $100 million in domestic box office gross.
- #009
This was Cameron Diaz's first acting role.
- #010
Applying the mask took 4 hours.
- #011
What drew Jim Carrey to the project more than anything was that Stanley Ipkiss, like himself, was a big cartoon fan.
- #012
It is adapted from the Dark Horse comic book series of the same name, which often features very dark horror stories about how the mask would kill people with cartoon antics. Chuck Russell said the film's script began in that tone before being transformed into a vehicle for Jim Carrey's unique comedy.
- #013
The Mask blowing a smoky heart and shooting an arrow into it was Jim Carrey's idea.
- #014
Before Cameron Diaz took on the role of Tina Carlyle, the producers had suggested Anna Nicole Smith for the part. The decision was reversed when they ultimately found Diaz as she was leaving her modeling agency.
- #015
Jim Carrey was paid $450,000 for his work on the film, a major bargain for New Line Cinema because the deal was signed before Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) became a surprise hit and turned The Mask into a film set for release in the summer of 1994. Carrey later signed a $7 million deal to star in Dumb and Dumber (1994) before this film opened.
- #016
While the police are looking for the Mask's trousers, the propeller men cut the knees of the trousers as they hand out items from below.
- #017
Most of Jim Carrey's lines as the Mask were improvised.
- #018
Fitting Stanley's cartoon obsession, the Mask behaves like various cartoon characters, notably the Tasmanian Devil (traveling like a tornado), Pepe Le Pew (romancing Tina in the park), Bugs Bunny ("dying" in the gangster's arms) and Tex Avery's Wolf (spotting Tina in the nightclub).
- #019
During filming in 1993, Jim Carrey was 31 years old and Cameron Diaz was 21.
- #020
When Stanley wakes from his dream, he finds Milo licking his ear, and on the nightstand there is a freshly opened jar of peanut butter with a knife sticking out of it, revealing how the crew got the dog to perform.
- #021
The film was based on a comic book very different from typical superhero movies. The original comic series was aimed at adults and centered on the mask turning its wearer into a psychopathic killer known as Big Head, who butchered his victims horribly for meaningless reasons. The only scene in the final film that appears in the comics is the balloon animal/tommy gun scene.
- #022
The DVD/Blu-Ray includes two deleted scenes. One was the opening scene in which the Vikings come to bury the Mask on the shore. The other was in the warehouse after Peggy hands Stanley over to Dorian: she asks for a reward, but Dorian takes her and throws her into the printing press, along with a newspaper printout showing her shredded face and saying she died that night. This last scene was cut so that Peggy could be brought back for the hoped-for sequel. Also, during test screenings audiences judged the setting to be too dark. It contradicts the events of the cartoon adaptation, in which Peggy appears quite lively.
- #023
According to director Chuck Russell, Jim Carrey would not go home until he did an Elvis impression.
- #024
Jack Russell Terriers can jump about one and a half meters high, which makes Milo the perfect accomplice when he leaps off the wall to enter Stanley's prison cell in the third act.
- #025
A professional golfer was used to hit the golf ball out of Dorian's mouth, but his scream was Peter Greene's genuine reaction.
- #026
When Stanley opens the drawer to get the concert tickets, they turn out to be for the Royal Crown Revue, the band that performs "Hey Pachuco" later in the film.
- #027
The Mask's line "S-S-S-S-S-Smokin!" was improvised by Jim Carrey.
- #028
Jim Carrey based his character on his father's friend Mike "The Mask" Petronio.
- #029
The sequel that was never made would have had Dorian return to commit new evils and, as in the source comics, the Mask being worn by a woman.
- #030
The Mask wears the iconic yellow zoot suit for a total of 5 minutes in the film.
- #031
After the Mask visits the body shop, the sign above the door has broken pieces, turning "Ripley's Auto Finishing" into "Rip Off" and portraying the mechanics as crooks.
- #032
Stanley's dog Milo does not appear in the original comic series. He was created for the film to replace Kathy, Stanley's girlfriend who is neglected in the comics and who later wears the mask after him.
- #033
In this film and in The Majestic (2001), the nightclub the Mask goes to, "Coco Bongo," is also the name of a famous nightclub in Cancun, Mexico.
- #034
All the bank scenes involving Stanley (without the Mask) were shot in one filming day and mostly in sequential order.
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