Jim Carrey honoured at César Awards, traces family roots back 300 years to France

Jim Carrey received a standing ovation while accepting this year’s honorary award by making an emotional speech entirely in French at the 51st César Awards held in France on Thursday, February 26.

Carrey, known for films such as The Mask and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, received the honor traditionally given to an international star, following last year’s winner Julia Roberts.

He was introduced onstage by director Michel Gondry, who worked with Carrey 22 years ago on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Speaking French with a distinctly American accent, Carrey told the audience: “As an actor, every character you play is like clay in the hands of the sculptor, and you shape them to your heart’s desire. How lucky I am to share this art with so many people who have truly opened their hearts to me.” Reported by Variety Australia.

In his speech, Carrey also touched upon his family’s historical ties with France. “About 300 years ago, his great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather, Marc-François Carré, yes Carré, was born in Saint Malo, France,” he said before immigrating to Canada.

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He finished his speech with a humorous tone and asked the audience, “How was my French? It was almost mediocre, wasn’t it? I’m sorry, I didn’t know French, but I’m just learning it. My tongue is tired.”

Carrey began his career in stand-up comedy and then rose to prominence in the 1990s with cult hits such as Dumb and Dumber, The Mask and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. He later moved on to more dramatic roles, winning a Golden Globe for The Truman Show, in which he played a man who discovers his life is being broadcast as a television show.
More critical acclaim came with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, in which he starred opposite Kate Winslet about a man who chooses to erase the memories of a failed relationship. Carrey later starred in several international box office successes, including the Sonic the Hedgehog series, before stepping back from filmmaking in the early 2020s.

At the same ceremony, American filmmaker Richard Linklater won the best director award for his 2025 film Nouvelle Vague, a black-and-white production about the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s groundbreaking French New Wave film Breathless.