Jim Carrey’s Tony Clifton Method Acting In Man On The Moon ( Photo Credit – Instagram )
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Jim Carrey didn’t just play Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon—he became Andy Kaufman. But his commitment to Kaufman’s outlandish alter ego, Tony Clifton, came with a whiff of chaos. Carrey stuffed his pockets with Limburger cheese to embody Clifton’s “purposely repulsive” Vegas lounge singer vibe, leaving co-stars like Paul Giamatti gagging.
“When he was Tony Clifton, he had Limburger cheese in his pockets, so he smelled horrible,” Giamatti revealed. “And he’d constantly be hugging people… It was disgusting.” Hugging people with cheese hands? That’s method acting for you.
Kaufman was no ordinary comedian. Known for Taxi and his jaw-dropping public stunts (yes, he wrestled women), Kaufman loved blurring reality and fiction. His Tony Clifton act was peak mischief: a bloated, chain-smoking lounge singer with a personality as rotten as that Limburger. Sometimes Kaufman played Clifton; other times, his creative partner Bob Zmuda did to mess with audiences.
Whether the cameras were rolling, he stayed in character—cheese pockets. The performance became so infamous that it inspired Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond, a Netflix documentary about his unhinged dedication.
While critics cheered Carrey’s transformative performance (Golden Globe, anyone?), the cheese-scented antics didn’t impress everyone. Enter Martin Freeman, star of The Hobbit and Black Panther, who minced no words on Carrey’s methods.
“It was the most self-aggrandizing, selfish f*king narcissistic bollocks I have ever seen,” Freeman said on the Off Menu podcast. “The idea that anything in our culture would celebrate that is deranged.” He added, “You’re not supposed to become the f*ing character… because someone’s going to say, ‘Cut.’”
Carrey wasn’t the first actor to lose himself in a role—hello, Daniel Day-Lewis and Jared Leto—but Freeman’s takedown questioned the glorification of extreme immersion. Was Carrey’s cheese-fueled performance dedication or indulgence? It depends on who you ask.
But love it or hate it, Carrey’s dive into Kaufman’s psyche was undeniably bold. And despite Man on the Moon receiving mixed reviews at the box office, Carrey snagged his second Golden Globe in two years (the first was for The Truman Show).
Carrey’s portrayal of Kaufman captured the chaos and brilliance that defined the comedian’s career. Sure, the cheese thing was a lot, but it fits perfectly into Kaufman’s playbook of unpredictability.
Carrey’s performance remains as unforgettable as the man he portrayed: Smelly pockets, offended co-stars, and all. And honestly, Andy Kaufman wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
