There's no denying that Batman Forever is pretty much an acquired taste for some, and a lot of that is down to just how cartoonish and crazy it is - typified by the idea of character actor Tommy Lee Jones playing a raging lunatic in Two-Face alongside Jim Carrey in a skin-tight, neon green bodysuit.
Oh, and nipples. The nipples. With that in mind, it's a real testament to Tommy Lee Jones' professionalism that for over twenty years, it never showed for one second that he hated working with Jim Carrey or that he wasn't having a blast playing an utter cartoon character as well. In an interview on Norm Macdonald's podcast show, Carrey explained the situation with Lee Jones back in '94 and it wasn't pretty.
As Carrey tells it, the animosity was there from the get-go, but was only revealed when they met during filming at a restaurant one night. "The maitre said, 'Oh, I hear you're working with Tommy Lee Jones. He's over in the corner having dinner.' I went over and I said, 'Hey Tommy, how are you doing?' and the blood just drained from his face. And he got up shaking—he must have been in mid-kill me fantasy or something like that."
"And he went to hug me and he said, 'I hate you. I really don't like you.' And I said, 'What's the problem?' and pulled up a chair, which probably wasn't smart. And he said, 'I cannot sanction your buffoonery'... I was the star and that was the problem. He's a phenomenal actor, though. I still love him," said Carrey.
To be fair to Tommy Lee Jones, seeing Jim Carrey in that era - up close and going ninety throughout the day - would test the patience of anyone. Especially considering the fact that Tommy Lee Jones spent years working as an actor, honing his craft, and Carrey pretty much exploded as an international star in a short space of time with Ace Ventura.
Either way, Lee Jones' hatred notwithstanding, it never once showed during film - unless scenes like this weren't actually acting.
Via YouTube
