This is not the story of an actor who lost himself in a role and forgot where the boundaries were between his character and himself. This is about a performer who wanted to get lost entirely and perhaps still isn’t sure if he wants to come back at all.

ON HIS LUNCH BREAK, Mr. Carrey invited me into his trailer. The room was dim except for the light coming off the graphical tablet he uses to create some of the political cartoons that are occasionally posted on his Twitter account: jagged drawings of, say, a Russian flag planted in President Trump. The artwork is one of the only things Mr. Carrey has created for public consumption recently and he described the undertaking as if it were a patriotic obligation.

“The last few years, it’s become essential,” he said. “It’s like going into the army in Israel. Something needs protecting and you’re going to do it — you have to.” (More on this subject later.)

It’s “Kidding,” which debuts on Sunday, that Mr. Carrey said he regards as “the first thing I’ve done since I quit the business.” Not that he ever officially submitted a resignation letter to Hollywood. “I mean, in my head,” he said. “I struggled for a few years with the idea of, O.K., what now? You get to it sooner or later, if you accomplish a lot of stuff.”

Should you need reminding, Mr. Carrey’s past accomplishments are quite staggering. Beginning with his breakout 1994 feature “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” he starred in a series of blockbuster comedies (peaking commercially with “Bruce Almighty,” a $242 million hit in 2003) and family movies (a roster topped by “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” which grossed $260 million in 2000).