In a recent interview with Noisey (a branch of VICE), the death metal legends in Cannibal Corpse spoke about being in the Jim Carrey movie Ace Ventura and how they almost turned down the role that, in turn, largely helped make them famous. Now, for those of you who don't know, Jim Carrey loves metal music (see more on that HERE). It was actually his idea to pursue Cannibal Corpse and have them featured in the comedy film.
I remember we turned it down at first because we had a European tour lined up during the time they wanted us down in Florida to shoot our scene. We’d had the tour lined up for months, and we’re not the kind of band that goes back on deals that we make, so we had to decline. But a few days went by and we got another call saying, “Jim Carrey really wants you guys. They’re gonna rearrange their schedule to accommodate you.” That just blew us away, because this is a major movie production, you know? I mean, Jim wanted us that bad. So of course we agreed to do it. We were just kids from Buffalo, so it was very exciting for us to be wanted in that way.
We’d never been to a movie set, so we were pretty impressed. They took us over to the [actors’] trailers, and Jim comes over to us wearing his Ace Ventura garb, going, “Oh my god! Cannibal Corpse! It’s so great to have you guys here!” Then he starts rattling off lyrics and tells us he wants us to play “Hammer Smashed Face.” It was insane.
It hadn’t been around that long, but it already seemed pretty close to a fan favorite. When we released Tomb Of The Mutilated, that song was a hit right off the bat. But it was still very new, and he already knew the song. I remember he also rattled off the lyrics to “Rancid Amputation,” which was on our previous album. So he knew what was going on. It was so surreal—we were freaking out because we’re on a movie set meeting Jim Carrey, and he’s freaking out because he’s meeting Cannibal Corpse.
He and Tom, the director, were so cool to us. They said, “Whatever you guys want, let us know.” We were treated like kings. It was so crazy.
It also turns out Cannibal Corpse were almost in the movie Airheads! You can read about that and much more in the full segment RIGHT HERE.
Also, if you've never seen the epic death metal scene from Ace Ventura – here you go. Jim Carrey would make one helluva front man!
Cannibal Corpse: Facebook // Official Website // Merch
Jim Carrey: Facebook // Official Website
