By Caroline Westbrook BBC News Online

In his latest film Bruce Almighty, Jim Carrey plays a character who is down on his luck - but the same could not be said of Carrey himself.

Carrey is invested with God-like powers in Bruce Almighty

The film, which knocked The Matrix Reloaded off the top of the US box office charts, made nearly $200m (�120m) in its first month on release there.

It marks a return to comedic form for Carrey after the disappointing performance of his last film, 1950s drama The Majestic.

Directed by Tom Shadyac, Bruce Almighty is the story of TV reporter Bruce Nolan, who is dissatisfied with his lot in life and blames God - only for the Divine One (Morgan Freeman) to intervene and endow him with celestial powers.

Jennifer Aniston co-stars as Bruce's girlfriend, who receives the full benefit of his new talents before Bruce begins to realise that playing God does not just mean helping himself to a better life.

Carrey's on-screen girlfriend is played by Jennifer Aniston

For Carrey, part of the attraction was the chance to re-unite with Shadyac, with whom he also worked on Liar Liar and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.

"The thing about this is just Tom and I getting together and we have a hoot, we just have so much fun, on a day to day basis," he said during a visit to London.

"I wish there were cameras on set the whole time to show what a good time we have but hopefully that glow comes up over the screen."

And working with Morgan Freeman simply added to the fun - although Carrey, 41, admitted to being intimidated by his co-star.

"He is so cool and kind of scary. When I met Morgan, I walked up to him said, 'Hi, I'm so glad you're doing this movie', and he said, 'Nice to meet you too, now never touch me again!'

"He's got this way about him, you just fold under the pressure, he's like a laser, he goes right to your soul."

There are some very serious moments in this film, which I wouldn't have been able to do if I hadn't done all those dramatic roles Jim Carrey

Not that everybody has enjoyed the film's portrayal of God. Despite Bruce's huge popularity in the US, religious leaders have been quick to denounce it, and there have been reports of walkouts from God-fearing cinemagoers.

Shadyac said: "Very early on I heard about a talk show host in the middle of the country saying the movie was blasphemous and he hadn't even seen it yet. And virtually all of his callers said they did not find the concept blasphemous."

He said the film was not intended to poke fun at the concept of God.

"It's about God making fun of us, about our tendency to be self-indulgent and what we want in our lives," he said.

Carrey's character finds he is blessed with unusual abilities

Carrey acknowledged there was a serious side to the film, for all its frantic physical comedy.

"There are some very serious moments in this film, which I wouldn't have been able to do if I hadn't done all those dramatic roles."

His next two projects could not be more different.

First he will show off his dramatic acting skills in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, as a man who has his memory erased.

He also stars in Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events, based on the best-selling series of children's books about a trio of orphans trying to protect their inheritance from an evil count.

He is pleased to be given the chance to tackle such contrasting roles.

"I love acting, I love play-acting, telling stories, so whatever it is, it doesn't matter to me. It's all fun, and I love doing it, and I'm just never going to let someone put me in a box and file me under G for Goofy. It's just never gonna happen."