Director Chuck Russell knew he wanted to cast Jim Carrey in his comedic rendition of the dark comic book "The Mask." In an interview celebrating the movie's 25th anniversary, he told Variety, "I was very excited about that because I knew Jim from seeing his stand-up, which was almost unbelievable, just what he was doing physically on stage." Combining Carrey's penchant for comedy and Diaz's breakout role as the sultry love interest, "The Mask" made over $351 million worldwide, according to the outlet.
However, the late Anna Nicole Smith was originally envisioned as Tina Carlyle by the director, according to casting director Fern Champion. But it didn't get farther than that. Russell told Variety, "We met. Anna was charming and bubbly but did not have other qualities needed for the role. I never took the next step to run scenes with her." Soon after, Russell remembered, "I saw Cameron's 8x10 on the casting desk and asked, 'What about her?'" History was this close to changing course.
