A simple “I hate you” became one of the strangest stories from Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones’ time working on Batman Forever. The two actors played rival villains in the 1995 superhero film, with Carrey as the Riddler and Jones as Two-Face. Years later, Carrey’s recollection turned an awkward encounter into one of the most enduring behind-the-scenes stories from Joel Schumacher’s Batman era.

Sometimes the most memorable movie stories happen nowhere near the camera, in a restaurant, over dinner, with two actors who are supposed to become comic-book villains the next morning.

According to Jim Carrey’s account, he approached Tommy Lee Jones casually to say hello, only to notice the actor’s reaction change dramatically.

Carrey recalled Jones becoming visibly shaken before telling him, “I hate you. I really don’t like you….I cannot sanction your buffoonery.” 

The story resurfaced in October 2017, when Carrey appeared on the late Norm Macdonald’s cult interview series Norm Macdonald Live. Looking back at his experience making Batman Forever, Carrey described Jones as a phenomenal actor and stressed that he still respected him.

The remarkable part is that the story was not actually new in 2017. Carrey had already told essentially the same restaurant anecdote during a 2014 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, while discussing the making of Batman Forever. In that version, he placed the encounter the night before their major Riddler’s lair scene. He again emphasized Jones’ talent while describing the uncomfortable exchange, making it clear that the story was less a declaration of lifelong hatred than a bizarre snapshot of two very different performers colliding at the height of production. 

Jim Carrey Upcoming Movies: Complete Guide To Confirmed Projects Of 'The Truman Show' Actor

And while that story has become part of Carrey lore, another chapter of his career is now getting its own throwback treatment.

More than three decades after that breakout, The Mask is heading back into the streaming rotation. The film is scheduled to become available to Peacock subscribers on September 1, giving audiences another opportunity to revisit the performance that helped establish Carrey as one of the defining comic movie stars of the 1990s. Its return also makes the contrast with Batman Forever particularly amusing: one role turned Carrey into a green-faced comic-book phenomenon, while the other placed him opposite Tommy Lee Jones in a production that generated one of Hollywood’s most quoted backstage stories.

Before the Riddler, Jim Carrey had already detonated onto the Hollywood scene as Stanley Ipkiss in The Mask. The 1994 fantasy comedy transformed his elastic physical comedy and rubber-faced expressions into something that felt almost purpose-built for the era of maximalist studio filmmaking. The movie became a major commercial success, earning $351.8 million worldwide from an $18 million to $23 million budget, and its visual effects earned an Academy Award nomination.

For Carrey, both films remain fascinating pieces of the same career arc, one built on physical comedy, fearless character work and an unmistakable ability to turn even a tense Hollywood anecdote into a story people remember decades later.

'Toy Story': Was Jim Carrey Really Not Famous Enough to Play Buzz Lightyear?

What do you think of Tommy Lee Jones and Jim Carrey’s Batman Forever story? Share your thoughts in the comments.