Pictures from Secrets About How the Grinch Stole Christmas

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At that time, Hiro said that all was well that ended well.

“About two months after filming was finished, Jim and I spoke again,” he shared Times. “He said he admired me and told me I did a good job and said thank you. I also thanked him for going through it all. I think How the Grinch Stole Christmas was the hardest film I’ve ever worked on. It’s a good memory, but if we had to do it again… we won’t!”

It turned out that Hiro – who has won two Oscars since, for the 2017s Darkest Hour and 2019 Bomb-started in therapy after his experience at HTGSC.

It got bad enough, Hiro told Vulture in 2018 that a producer suggested he leave to show Carrey how important he was to the production. (The film’s makeup department was fightbut among the credits, Hiro is the only one dedicated to the Grinch.)

He didn’t answer when Carrey called after a week, Hiro said, but Howard assured him the actor had vowed to change his ways.

While his friends urged him to ask for a big raise, the Kyoto-born artist persisted, deciding he would ask the studio for help in getting a green card instead.

It worked and he has since become a US citizen. (And therapy helped him realize he was “really an introvert.”)