Joshua Ryan Evans won hearts around the world for his adorable portrayal of the baby Grinch in the hit 2000 film, but the actor tragically passed away just two years after the film’s release.
Due to a rare condition called achondroplasia, which is a form of dwarfism, Joshua looked younger than his age and played the eight-year-old version of Carrey’s Grinch when he was a teenager.
Joshua died during a medical procedure at a San Diego hospital on August 5, 2002 at the age of 20 while undergoing surgery to correct a congenital heart condition.
Interestingly, on the day Josh died, so did his character Timmy the Living Doll in the episode of the soap opera Passion that aired that night, having been recorded a month earlier.
Her friend and Passions co-star Juliet Mills said Soap opera compendium that despite the tragedy: ‘He was a showbiz guy through and through. That’s what he loved more than anything: show business.
‘It was something legendary (dying the same day his character died on air). It was on the news. When he left, he made a big explosion.
Born on January 10, 1982, and residing in Hayward, California, Evans was best known for his role in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, a 2000 adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ 1957 book.
Standing just 97 cm (3 ft 2) tall, he had achondroplasia, a rare form of dwarfism that gave him the appearance of a child despite being an adult.
Joshua Ryan Evans won hearts around the world for his adorable portrayal of the baby Grinch in the hit 2000 film, but the actor tragically passed away just two years after the film’s release.
Joshua died during a medical procedure at a San Diego hospital on August 5, 2002 (pictured at the June 2002 Soap Opera Digest Awards)
Achondroplasia is a form of short-limbed dwarfism and literally means “without cartilage formation.”
Evans was also born with a congenital heart problem and had to undergo three operations as a child, which ultimately proved fatal.
His health problems meant that as a child he spent a lot of time at home watching television, which inspired him to pursue acting and he contacted an agent at the age of 12.
He told the LA Times in an interview in 2000: “I thought, if it’s all pretend, why can’t I do that?”
He added: “Watching movies took me away from my own problems and gave me a complete escape.
“I knew that if I could do that for just one person, that if I could help one person escape the way movies helped me, it would be a great way to spend my life.”
His first acting job was in ‘The Dancing Baby’ commercial for Dreyer’s/Edy’s ice cream.
He then played Stevil on the ’90s sitcom Family Matters, playing a haunted ventriloquist’s dummy in two of the Halloween episodes.
Due to his achondroplasia, Evans often played children’s roles despite being an adult (pictured at the Grinch premiere in 2000).
Evans was also born with a congenital heart problem and had to undergo three operations as a child, which ultimately proved fatal. Photographed in 1998
Josh Ryan Evans at the How The Grinch Stole Christmas DVD release party on November 20, 2001, less than a year before his death.
In 1998 he played child prodigy lawyer Oren Koolie in two episodes of Ally McBeal.
The following year he played a little boy in Baby Geniuses, despite being 17 years old.
However, the role that made him famous was How The Grinch Stole Christmas in 2000, where he played the younger version of Jim Carrey’s Grinch.
Evans played the eight-year-old version of the Grinch during his school days, which tells the story of how he came to hate Christmas and its festivities.
While at school, the Grinch had a crush on his classmate, Martha May Whovier.
However, Augustus May, who was jealous that Martha liked the Grinch and bullied him for his furry appearance.
His classmates began to make fun of him and he finally snapped, running away to Mount Crumpit and vowing to always hate Christmas.
Evans played an adorable smaller version of Carey’s character, wearing the same iconic green makeup and wig.
To get into character, the makeup alone required five and a half hours, two more than Carey.
Standing just 97cm (3ft 2) tall, he had achondroplasia, a rare form of dwarfism (pictured in June 2000).
Evans played the eight-year-old version of the Grinch during his school days, telling the story of how he came to hate Christmas and its festivities.
According to director Ron Howard, the role was originally intended to be just a small walk-on role, but he says Evans gave “heart” to the story.
As it turned out, he was able to create a beloved character and was given a much bigger role to play, with Howard commenting, “Josh was just lovely.”
Another of his notable roles was as the living doll Timmy Lenox on the NBC soap opera Passions, for which he won two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Daytime Emmy Award.
The Timmy doll was eventually turned into a real boy by a witch named Tabitha.
“I love my life,” she told E! Online in 2000. ‘Acting is not just what I do, it’s who I am. I can’t imagine spending my life doing anything else.
Tragically, on August 5, 2002, Evans passed away suddenly from complications of his heart condition during a medical procedure in San Diego.
Interestingly, that day, NBC aired an episode of Passions where his character had died and donated his heart.
He was intended to return to the show as an angelic “presence”, but the story had to be rewritten after his death.
Another of his notable roles was as the living doll Timmy Lenox on the NBC soap opera Passions (pictured).
NBC said at the time: “We are deeply saddened by the sudden and tragic loss of Josh Ryan Evans.
‘He was a truly unique talent with an extraordinary spirit. “He will be deeply missed by his Passions family and all of us at NBC.”
Reportedly, when writing autographs, Evans always told his fans to “dream big” and his personal motto was said to be, “It’s not the size of the dreamer, it’s the size of the dream.”
‘Dream big’ was also added below his name on his tombstone in Forest Lawn, Beverly Hills.