Like many fans who grew up with classic Jim Carrey comedies, Alan Ritchson idolized the popular Dumb & Dumber star. Though Ritchson has shown off more of his comedic side in Blue Mountain State, he’s best known for playing a no-nonsense action hero in Amazon’s Reacher. But as Ritchson explained in a new interview, it was Carrey who he looked up to as a child, as opposed to the big-name action stars of the era.

“He was my hero,” Ritchson said of Carrey, per THR. “When Ace Ventura came out [in 1994], I was in sixth grade, and I was enamored. He was so physical, goofy and unafraid. I’d never seen anything like it. I dressed up as Ace Ventura for three Halloweens in a row. I showed up to school and wouldn’t break character the entire time. I had the hair, the business card, and I would walk up to people at their lunch tables and say, ‘Excuse me, I’d like to ass you a few questions.’ People hated it, but I love that it made most people laugh. Jim Carrey knew how to do that and it’s a gift.”

Alan Ritchson Sort Of Met Jim Carrey Once
Ritchson also spoke about the time he briefly interacted with his childhood hero. When Carrey was filming the 1998 dramedy The Truman Show in a nearby town in Florida, Ritchson had trekked to the set location alongside his mother and his older brother, Eric. As Ritchson recalled, the family happened to catch Carrey exiting his trailer to head to the set, at which point the future Reacher star presented a poster to be autographed. According to Ritchson, it seemed that Carrey wanted to sign the poster, but he didn’t do so, as he was working at the time and needed on the set.

“We waited for him to come out of his trailer,” Ritchson remembered. “My mom spotted him and went, ‘There he is!’ I unveiled my poster and said, ‘Hey, Jim!’ He looked over and did this big belly laugh by arching his spine backwards. My brother and I ran over to him, but a security guard was there. He put his hand on a gun and said, ‘Don’t go any closer.’ Jim was caught in this place where he wanted to sign it but had to go to work, so he just wandered off. That’s as close as I’ve gotten.”

Maybe one day Ritchson and Carrey will get a proper meeting. In the meantime, Ritchson will be interacting with other major Hollywood veterans. It was recently announced that he will co-star with Arnold Schwarzenegger in an upcoming holiday comedy movie. Meanwhile, Ritchson is also working on the third season of Reacher.