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Jim Carrey says he has ‘mixed emotions’ over ‘dark’ depiction of Paul Dano’s Riddler in The Batman

‘I do have a conscience about the things I choose,’ actor said

Jacob Stolworthy
Saturday 02 April 2022 09:28 BST
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The Batman: Trailer released for new film starring Robert Pattinson
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Jim Carrey has questioned the new depiction of the Riddler in The Batman.

The actor, who played an eccentric version of the villain in 1995’s Batman Forever, said he has “mixed emotions” about his depiction in the new Matt Reeves film

Carrey admitted he is yet to see the film, but suggested he had seen footage of Paul Dano’s Riddler in the blockbuster, and was left cold.

Addressing the darker version of the Riddler, who is depicted in the film as a Zodiac-style serial killer, Carrey said he was concerned the character’s actions in the film might inspire copycat behaviour.

“It’s a very dark version,” he told Unilad. “I have mixed emotions about it. To each his own and all that.”

However, Carrey, who this week claimed he is retiring from acting, said of Dano: “I love him as an actor; he’s a tremendous actor.”

“There’s a spot of worry in me over gaffer-taping people’s faces and encouraging people to do the same,” he said. “Some sickos out there that might adopt that method.”

Defending his own roles, including the villainous Robotnik in new film Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Carrey said: “I do have a conscience about the things I choose. Robotnik has cartoon bombs and no-one gets hurt.”

He continued: “I know there’s a place for it, and I don’t want to criticise it, but it’s not my kind of thing… it’s very well done, those movies are very well done.”

Jim Carrey as the Riddler in 1995 film ‘Batman Forever’
Jim Carrey as the Riddler in 1995 film ‘Batman Forever’ (Moviestore/Shutterstock)

Carrey previously denounced his appearance in Kick-Ass 2 months after the Sandy Hook shootings in June 2013.

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He wrote on Twitter: “I did Kick-Ass 2 a month b4 Sandy Hook and now in all good conscience I cannot support that level of violence. My apologies to others involve[d] with the film. I am not ashamed of it but recent events have caused a change in my heart.”

Comic-book writer and Kick-Ass 2 executive producer Mark Millar defended the film’s graphic content in a blog post, writing: “Like Jim, I’m horrified by real-life violence (even though I’m Scottish), but Kick-Ass 2 isn’t a documentary.

Jim Carrey in ‘Kick-Ass 2’
Jim Carrey in ‘Kick-Ass 2’ (Moviestore/Shutterstock)

“A sequel to the picture that gave us Hit Girl was always going to have some blood on the floor and this should have been no shock to a guy who enjoyed the first movie so much.”

Carrey is being called a “hypocrite” over his comments about the Will Smith Oscars slap. This is due to the resurfacing of a video in which he forcibly kisses a then 20-year-old Alicia Silverstone at the MTV Movie Awards in 1997.

Read The Independent’s verdict on Sonic the Hedgehog 2 here.

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