Jim Carrey Mourns The Mask Director Chuck Russell: “A Privilege to Work With”

In the days after Chuck Russell died on July 22 at his home in San Diego, Jim Carrey looked back on the shoot that changed his life: the wild, anything-goes set of The Mask. In a statement, Carrey said Russell didn’t just wrangle cutting-edge effects — he built a playground where everyone felt free to try the impossible.

“I consider it a privilege to have worked with Chuck Russell, who, during the shooting of The Mask, created an ebullient, childlike atmosphere of wonder and camaraderie on his set,” Carrey said. “I consider The Mask one of the jewels of my creative life. Thank you, Chuck.”

Released in 1994, The Mask paired Carrey’s rubber-faced physical comedy with then-new CGI to turn a timid bank clerk into a neon- green, Tex Avery–style tornado. The movie helped rocket Carrey to big-screen superstardom and cemented Russell’s reputation for mixing spectacle with a light touch.

A career across genres

Before The Mask, Russell had already made a name for himself with stylish, effects-driven genre films, starting with A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors in 1987 and his co-written, gnarlier remake of The Blob in 1988. He moved into action with Hollywood heavyweights, then circled back to horror late in his career.

• A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) — director
• The Blob (1988) — co-writer/director
• The Mask (1994) — director; breakthrough hit with Carrey
• Eraser (1996) — director; starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
• The Scorpion King (2002) — director; launched Dwayne Johnson as a leading man
• I Am Wrath (2016) — director; starring John Travolta
• Paradise City (2022) — director; reuniting Travolta with Bruce Willis
• Witchboard (2024) — director; a supernatural horror remake and his final film

Russell’s cause of death has not been disclosed. His final completed project, Witchboard, arrived this year.