How Jim Carrey Inspired HBO Max's 'The Gilded Age'

It's hard to imagine Jim Carrey in the same world as the Gilded Age—that opulent period of American history in the late 1800s marked by bustles, locomotives, rigid societal expectations and excess wealth.

That said, you might be very surprised to hear that the elastic, over-the-top A-list comedy king of the '90s and 2000s influenced Season 3 of HBO's cult series about the period.

Well... sorta.

The Gilded Age, which returned for its third season on the network and its streaming service this past Sunday (June 22), is a historical drama set in New York City during the 1880s.

Premiered in 2022, the shows follows the intersecting lives, scandals and relationships of a group of well-to-do families and Manhattan socialites as they navigate shifting societal expectations, romance and more.

The Emmy-nominated series' all-star cast includes Carrie Coon, Cynthia Nixon and Christine Baranski, among other actors, but it's through Baranski that Carrey had an unwitting yet impactful, unexpected inspiration on the sartorial behind-the-scenes of the show.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Baranski, who plays stubborn and old-fashioned matriarch Agnes van Rhijn on The Gilded Age, explained how her work with Carrey on 2000's How the Grinch Stole Christmas helped her navigate the "restrictive fashion" of the late 1800s.

Universal Pictures

"When Jim Carrey played the Grinch and he was covered head to toe, every part of him, it was so uncomfortable. And he spent hours in this Grinch costume, but he trained with a Navy Seal. And I thought, 'Got it,'" Baranski explained of how she learned to deal with the corseted fashion of the show, which features over 5,000 handmade costumes.

Baranski starred as Martha May Whovier opposite Carrey's green Grinch in the beloved Christmas comedy 25 years ago.

However, Baranski's slightly mistaken, as Carrey didn't exactly train with a Navy Seal but rather a unique specialist who taught CIA operatives how to survive torture techniques.

"The [Grinch] makeup was like being buried alive every day," Carrey explained on The Graham Norton Show in 2014, revealing he had to endure the iconic green makeup "100 times" while filming.

"It was horrifying," he admitted.

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Gallery Credit: Ryan Reichard