Jim Carrey tells Jimmy Fallon fake Hawaii missile alert of 2018 made him think it was last 10 minutes of his life

The actor was in Hawaii when the fake missile alert text was relayed to citizens of the island. With death approaching, Carrey reflected on all his blessings and realized it had been a good ride
PUBLISHED JUL 17, 2020
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Actor Jim Carrey was on 'The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon' on Thursday (July 16) episode to discuss his latest book 'Memoirs and Misinformation: A Novel' which has now turned him into New York Times Bestselling novelist. The cover of the book is a photo of the actor himself and speaking about how he came up with the idea of it, he said, "It's my face after I was told I had 10 mins left to live."

Carrey was in Hawaii when an emergency alert was sent across the state of Hawaii about an incoming missile threat, in 2018. A followup text was sent 40 minutes later clarifying that the text was nothing but an error on the part of an employee. However, the incident made Carrey realize that he had a lot to be grateful for during his life. "I started thinking what can I do with this last moment of time and I decided to go through a list of gratitudes and I could not stop thinking of the wonderful things that have happened to me and blessings that I have had. It was lovely."

Earlier on in the episode, Carrey also spoke about his feelings post the book came out. Staying true to his fun persona he jokingly said that the success of the book means, "Good sign for me, terrible sign for the planet." Dana Vachon is a credited co-writer of the book and Carrey said, "My co-writer and I are literally like chickens with our heads cut out right now we are very excited."

About what readers can take away from the book, he said, "I want them to have a good time. I want them to be so struck by the strangeness and the invention of this book that they rip their nipples off and run into the streets screaming my name and when they get hit by the car and they lay there they can't even remember their own name and that's all I really am asking.  I want this all to be nameless one thing joined in alchemy."

"It is like a lobster dinner because once you think you are full and you've eaten it all you realize there's meat in the legs and the fantasy continues," he added. 

GET THE BIGGEST ENTERTAINMENT STORIES
STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

MORE STORIES

The six-episode thriller series starring Thompson and Bernthal releases on January 8, 2026
6 hours ago
Idris Elba reprises his role as the negotiator, this time in a different mode of transport
8 hours ago
Anson Mount shared an album on social media that put Spock and Pike in focus
9 hours ago
'Pushing Daisies' premiered on ABC in 2007 and ran for two seasons before being cancelled in 2008
11 hours ago
While you wait for Glen Powell’s ‘Chad Powers’, all six episodes of Season 1 are available for streaming on Hulu
11 hours ago
'Ripple' chronicles the lives of four strangers living in New York City who develop a newfound sense of fraternity
14 hours ago
Mickey Haller is on the defense of his life as Netflix confirms ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ Season 4 will return in early 2026
16 hours ago
The film unites Spielberg with several of his long-time collaborators, including David Koepp, the writer behind the screenplay for 'War of the Worlds'
17 hours ago
A fan-favorite star is returning to CBS, and his high-stakes cameo on 'Ghosts' may unravel more chaos than anyone living or dead is ready for
18 hours ago
The new instalment introduces Miya Cech's Toph Beifong in live-action for the first time.
1 day ago