Greg Wise knows the Grinch. He has peered into the Grinch's unhappy yellow eyes and he has watched the green creature beg for eye drops. He has dragged the Grinch's dead-weight body in a Whoville conga line. And as Wise rode a bicycle, the Grinch sawed it into three parts.
For four months, Wise lived in Whoville, the object of the Grinch's malevolence. As a stuntman and actor, Wise, 37, played the parts of six different characters in "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas."
"They needed specialty people for this movie," said Wise. "They really needed someone who could ride a unicycle. I said, 'If you can build it, I can ride it.' "
Last week, the 5-foot-9-inch, 165-pound gymnast got to see the film at a Hollywood showing for cast and crew.
Wise said making his first movie was more fun than a barrel of Whomonkeys.
Workdays on the massive Whoville set at Universal City started at 6 a.m. or earlier and lasted 12 to 14 hours. One of 60 make-up artists spent 90 minutes on Wise's face, nose, ears and hair. Lead actor Jim Carrey spent three hours daily being made into the hairy green Grinch. Then, Wise waited to be called.
Some days, he'd never be called. Sometimes he'd rehearse lines, only to be told at the last minute his lines had been changed.
"With a movie, it's always something new because you're building it as it goes," he said.
Carrey earned in the double-digit millions for Grinching. Wise himself earned $450 a day, in keeping with the Screen Actors' Guild contract. A special stunt might mean an extra $500. Someone with a bit part such as his could earn about $40,000 to $60,000 plus residuals.
"The first residual check could be as much as for making the movie," he said.