10 Iconic Movie Characters Only ONE Actor Could Play
5. The Mask - Jim Carrey
In a lot of ways, Jim Carrey only ever plays Jim Carrey in every movie he's in (well, with the exception of certain anomalies like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).
Especially during his peak in the 90s, there was nobody else able to do the kind of outlandish physical comedy the actor made millions perfecting, and his reputation of essentially being a human cartoon made him a perfect match for The Mask.
This was a film about a literal cartoon character come to life via the power of a magical mask, and there's nobody in the world animated enough to do that premise justice in live-action than the man who became famous because of his rubber face.
In this movie, Carrey's regular overacting was ramped up even higher, and the ridiculous green makeup only made the comic's unnatural facial contortions all the more hilarious and pronounced.
The reason there are few sequels to Jim Carrey movies is that Jim Carrey doesn't like doing them, and even Hollywood recognises that he is the be all and end all of the films he stars in, and that goes double for a character like The Mask.