Jim Carrey suffered a close call when he received a missile alert in Hawaii in 2018, but used his reaction for the cover of his new book, “Memories and Misinformation.”
“That cover is actually my face after I was told it was 10 minutes old,” revealed Carrey, 58, on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Thursday. “And that is real. A false missile alert in Hawaii. I was there. I was writing. My assistant Linda called me, she was crying and said, ‘We have 10 minutes left.’ I said, “What do you mean?” She said, ‘The missiles are coming.’ “
On January 13, 2018, several people in Hawaii received an alert on their cell phones that read: “Incoming Ballistic Missile Threat to Hawaii. Seek immediate refuge. This is not a drill.” Authorities later said the false alarm was “part of a drill.”
Before learning that it was sent by mistake, Carrey said she tried to flee the island to reach her daughter Jane.
“I couldn’t get off the island,” she said to Jimmy Fallon. “The question was asked: should we all try to get together? I said, ‘I don’t want to die in my car.’ And we had to say goodbye. “
The comedian said he decided to spend what he believed to be his last moment overlooking the ocean on the island of Lanai.
“I just decided to review a gratitude list,” he said. “Honest with God, I couldn’t stop thinking about wonderful things that have happened to me and the blessings that I have had. It was charming. And I got to a point of grace with about two minutes to spare when I found out that it wasn’t really happening. And all I planned to do was close my eyes and be thankful that it was a good trip. “
Fallon then asked how Carrey reacted to the alert as a coincidence, to which he joked, “Then I got mad and rolled my head!”
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