They say the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day.
Taylor Momsen has revealed what Jim Carrey “freaked out” about on the set of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” while celebrating the holiday classic’s 25th anniversary this month.
“It was this real sled that was up on a giant spring that was being controlled and moving from side to side, very aggressively,” Momsen, who was just 7 years old when she starred as Cindy Lou Who in the perennial Christmas movie, told Vulture.
“Jim is leaning over and being extravagant Jim,” she recalled. “There was a moment where I almost fell out of the sled, and he freaked out. He called cut and started checking in on me.”
Momsen, however, was not nearly as “freaked out” as Carrey was.
“I was having a great time,” the former child star-turned-musician shared. “I was laughing; I wasn’t thinking about the fact that I just almost fell very high off the ground.”
But that wasn’t the only incident where Carrey was looking out for her while shooting “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” more than two decades ago.
Momsen revealed that the energetic comedian was “incredibly protective” of her from the very first moment filming began.
“That’s what I remember,” she explained. “Jim was very, very protective of me on set as a person, as a kid, always looking out for me, checking in, making sure I was okay, because he was very animated, very over the top.”
“I always felt really safe with Jim,” she continued. “I liked being around him.”
Momsen, now 32, added that Carrey’s performance as the titular Grinch opened her eyes to what a determined actor he was, even despite the outrageous role.
“At such a young age, to watch an artist who is that serious at what they’re doing even while playing this very over-the-top character, it was clear to me how much he was putting into it and how much of an artist he was,” the “Gossip Girl” alum said.
Carrey, meanwhile, reflected on his and his former co-stars’ time filming “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” 25 years ago – and how he made a point not to frighten Momsen during some of their scarier scenes together.
“Of course, I’m jumping around her like an out-of-control monster, so I had to let her know that I’m going to be doing some monstrous things, but I’m not a real monster,” he laughed.
As for Momsen herself, the “Bruce Almighty” star remembered the then-7-year-old actress as “an incredibly precocious child” who was “smart beyond her years.”
“Her comedy timing was impeccable. A total pro,” Carrey, 63, gushed. “I don’t think she ever went up on a line or missed a cue or anything like that.”
Momsen also celebrated the 25th anniversary of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” this month by digging out her original Cindy Lou Who costume for a festive promo shoot tied to her recent re-recording of “Where Are You Christmas?”
“Yes…that is my real Cindy costume from the Grinch movie 25 years later,” the Pretty Reckless frontwoman captioned the Instagram clip. “It still (kind of) fits.”
“What a surreal holiday season,” Momsen added.
