Before fronting The Pretty Reckless, singer Taylor Momsen was perhaps best known for her role as Cindy Lou Who in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” In celebration of the film’s 25 year anniversary, Momsen spoke with Vulture about the iconic movie, sharing several behind-the-scenes stories.
Looking back at her time on set as a 7-year-old, she recalled that co-star Jim Carrey was extremely protective of her during filming.
“I remember when we were shooting the scene coming down the mountain on the sled. It was this real sled that was up on a giant spring that was being controlled and moving from side to side, very aggressively,” Momsen told Vulture.
“Jim is leaning over and being extravagant Jim. There was a moment where I almost fell out of the sled, and he freaked out. He called cut and started checking in on me,” she continued. “I was having a great time. I was laughing; I wasn’t thinking about the fact that I just almost fell very high off the ground.”
“I always felt really safe with Jim. I liked being around him,” she added. “At such a young age, to watch an artist who is that serious at what they’re doing even while playing this very over-the-top character, it was clear to me how much he was putting into it and how much of an artist he was.”
Carrey’s watchful presence proved important as Momsen performed nearly all of her own stunts in the movie.
“I did go to Who school. I had to go through stunt training because I was doing my own stunts,” she recalled. “I had to learn to fly on wires and how to fall correctly onto the pad. I fell through a trap door. I had to slide down a massive slide that you had to climb up using a rope because there was no stairs to it. The only stunt I didn’t do myself was the actual shooting out of the trash can at the end.”
