‘I don’t want to die in my car’: Jim Carrey recalls being in Hawaii during missile false alarm

Actor recounts being told he had ‘ten minutes to live’

Jim Carrey has recounted his experience of being in Hawaii during the missile false alarm in 2018.

The actor reflected on the extraordinary moment in a new interview with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, in which he spoke about the cover of his new book Memoirs and Misinformation, which shows his facial expression "after being told that I have ten minutes to live”.

In 2018, the state of Hawaii's emergency alert system sent a text that read: "Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill."

Some 40 minutes later, another text was sent clarifying that the original warning was sent in error because an employee pressed the wrong button.

In the interview, Carrey explained that he was in Hawaii when the incident occurred. He was away writing with his daughter when his assistant called him, in tears, to tell him about the missile believed to be headed towards the island.

"My brain started winding," said Carrey, adding that he was unable to get off the island with his daughter and remembered thinking: "I don't want to die in my car."

He said he then "looked out at the ocean" and pondered what he could do with "the last moment of my time”, deciding to “go over a list of gratitudes”.

Carrey added: “I could not stop thinking about wonderful things that have happened to me and blessings that I've had.”

In a recent interview with USA Today, Carrey explained that the picture on his book’s front cover was an accidental screenshot his assistant took while on FaceTime to him, telling him about the missile alert.

“That cover is somebody staring at infinity, staring at eternity,” Carrey said. “And it wasn't panic. It was more the feeling of, 'Wow, that's weird. Huh. That's how it's gonna end? Strange.’”

Memoirs and Misinformation is out now.