Jim Carrey’s face is up for debate. No, seriously

Jim Carrey accepts the Honorary Cesar Award at the 51st Cesar Awards ceremony in Paris, France, on February 26, 2026. Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters via CNN Newsource

Jim Carrey’s representative wants you to know that was absolutely the actor making an appearance at an awards show in France last week.

“Jim Carrey attended the César Awards, where he accepted his Honorary César Award,” Marleah Leslie told CNN.

Why the fuss? Photos and video of Carrey looking decidedly fuller and smoother in the face flooded the internet over the weekend. Some commenters called him “unrecognizable” and others made unfounded accusations that it was not Carrey at all, but a lookalike dressed up like him.

The actor has been pretty reclusive in recent years, telling “Access Hollywood” in 2022 that he was “fairly serious” about retiring from acting before popping back out in public in 2025 at the UK premiere of “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” in which he reprised his role as villain Dr. Robotnik.

Adding fuel to the theories: Drag artist Alexis Stone — known for his uncanny ability to transform his look into different celebrities — put up a post on social media that seemed to be him claiming to have impersonated Carrey at the awards.

“Alexis Stone as Jim Carrey in Paris,” the makeup phenom wrote in the caption of a group of photos showing images of Carrey at the awards event as well as a picture of a mask, fake teeth and a wig that looked like Carrey’s dark hair.

CNN has reached out to Stone’s representatives for comment.

To some degree, the speculation that Carrey was pranking us was understandable. Carrey is known for his versatility and, well, rubbery expressions. They made him a hit on the 1990s sketch show “In Living Color” and his aptly titled 1994 film “The Mask.”

What’s more, this is a man who in addition to loving physical humor, years ago made headlines after a wild New York Fashion Week interview where he acted a bit whacky making statements like “There is no me. There is just things happening,” though he later explained it was all an “existential experiment.”

Or is it simply that we have such a parasocial relationship with stars that when those like Carrey who are hardly ever on the scene anymore emerge looking different it can be hard to fathom that they have not been frozen in time to look exactly as we remembered?

Female celebrities know it doesn’t even take time away for the public to judge you, favorably or not, on your appearance.

Carrey’s new look has some theorizing that he may have gotten a little nip/tuck or perhaps some fillers.

He would be far from the first. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) annual procedural statistics report reported on by New Beauty in January 2025, more men are diving head first into change their looks.

It was reported that “men made up about 7 percent of all cosmetic surgery patients in 2024, a one-point increase from the previous year.”

From singer Joe Jonas — who years ago not only used injectable brand Xeomin to smooth his fine lines, but also became a brand ambassador for them — to reality singing competition judge Simon Cowell telling The Sun in 2022 he abandoned using fillers in his face because “There was a stage where I might have gone a bit too far,” male celebs have plenty of skin in the game when it comes to cosmetic procedures.

In the case of Carrey, it wasn’t just his face that gave credence to the conspiracy theory that the person who attended the awards ceremony wasn’t really him.

His acceptance speech was delivered in French, which is not Carrey’s native language.

Gregory Caulier, the general delegate of the César Awards, attempted to tamp down the speculation telling Variety in a statement that “The Truman Show” actor “worked on his speech in French for months, asking me about the exact pronunciation of certain words.”

“He came with his partner, his daughter, his grandson and 12 close friends and family members. His longtime publicist accompanied him,” Caulier said of Carrey. “His old friend Michel Gondry, who has made a film and two series with him, was there, and they were delighted to see each other again.”

So maybe people need to stop trying to be the Grinch who stole the moment of Carrey receiving an honorary César.

By Lisa Respers France, CNN