Regarding his father, Jim Carrey had this to say:
“My father could have been a great comedian but he didn't believe that that was possible for him, and so he made a conservative choice.
Instead, he got a safe job as an accountant, and when I was 12 years old, he was let go from that safe job, and our family had to do whatever we could to survive.
I learned many great lessons from my father.
Not the least of which was that:
You can fail at what you don't want.
So you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.” 