who played the grinch in how the grinch stole christmas

The Grinch is a fictional character created by Dr. Seuss in his classic children's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The character was first brought to life on film in 1966 by Boris Karloff in a half-hour animated television special. The character was later portrayed by Jim Carrey in the 2000 live-action film of the same name, which was directed by Ron Howard. Both versions of the character are iconic in their own way, and both have become part of popular culture.