Jim Carrey’s Best Line From ‘Dumb and Dumber’ Wasn’t in the Script

Dumb and Dumber remains one of the most successful comedies of all times, and not just at the box office. Yes, the 1994 film from director Peter Farrelly (who, amazingly, recently took home the Best Picture Oscar for Green Book) raked in $247 million when it was in theaters, but its legacy has lived on beyond that for over twenty years, thanks to the many devoted fans who will never tire of reciting the movie’s many quotable lines.

Now that Dumb and Dumber is on Netflix, it’s easier than ever to revisit your favorite Harry and Lloyd moments. I’ll admit, I’m not a Dumb and Dumber superfan—I appreciate what the film did for blockbuster comedies as a genre, but stupidity humor isn’t my cup of tea—but I do absolutely love the “Big Gulps” scene. For those who don’t remember, here’s how the scene goes down: Lloyd (Jim Carrey) and Harry (Jeff Daniels) pull into a convenience store to pick up some road trip snacks. Coming out of the store, Lloyd runs into two men drinking sodas—Big Gulps, if you will.

“Hey guys,” Lloyd says. “Oh, Big Gulps, huh? Alright! Welp, see ya later!”

And that’s it. The scene lasts no longer than 10 seconds, yet a quick look at the YouTube comments in the above video confirms it’s one of the most beloved scenes of the film.

Personally, I like the scene because I’d heard a rumor that Carrey was purposefully trying to make those two guys speak, because if they did, then the studio would have to pay them as speaking actors, rather than as extras. That’s a pretty great story, and it makes sense, given the guys’ bemused, almost embarrassed reactions to Carrey’s antics, as if they had no idea what he was going to say. So, like any good entertainment journalist, I did some investigating to find out if it was true. (Before you ask: Yes, I do get paid to do this, and yes, it is great.)

As it turns out Carrey did improvise that line, but he was not trying to rack up the bill for New Line Cinema by making the extras talk. In fact, the Big Gulp guys weren’t actually extras at all. They were, according to Farrelly, just guys who happened to be standing around the store when the production was filming in Colorado. In a Reddit AMA from 2014, the director explained how the scene—which was never in the script—just happened to come together.

“One line that was definitely ad-libbed is the Big Gulp line,” wrote Farrelly. “In fact, the two guys he was talking to weren’t even extras, they were just hanging out, watching us shoot and I decided to pull them in. They happened to have Big Gulps and Jim just ran with it. True story.”

So there you have it! Not only did the beloved Big Gulp guys not get paid for a speaking role, it kinda sounds like they didn’t get paid at all. They also aren’t, as far as I can tell, listed in the film’s credits. Yet they are forever immortalized in this scene in comedy history. Justice for the Big Gulp guys! Just kidding. Sort of.

Jim Carrey as Lloyd in 'Dumb and Dumber' Big Gulps Welp See Ya Later gif
GIF: New Line Cinema / Decider

Stream Dumb and Dumber on Netflix