Mike Myers, the star of the Shrek franchise, was first introduced to the project in a rather emotional state at a cinema.
The 61-year-old Hollywood star, who lent his voice to the lovable ogre in four films, numerous specials and countless video games, is set to return for Shrek 5 next December.
However, he wasn’t initially thrilled about the prospect of the original Shrek film. Known for his roles in Wayne’s World and the Austin Powers trilogy, Myers was approached by Jeffrey Katzenberg about the role of Shrek right after watching the emotionally charged Saving Private Ryan.
The premiere had left him teary-eyed, but that didn’t deter Katzenberg from pitching his idea.
Myers recalled: “I went to the premiere of ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ and Jeffrey Katzenberg comes up to me afterward in the lobby and brings his daughters, who then do the dance sequence from ‘Austin Powers.'”
“This was after such a heavy movie, and I was in tears because my parents were in World War II. I was shell-shocked and then they’re doing the dance, and I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s great. Read a room!'”
Katzenberg then proposed that Myers consider an animated film Dreamworks was developing, revealing its title as “Shrek”. Myers’ initial reaction to the name was less than enthusiastic. He said these three words: “Worst f**king title”.
His whole reaction was: “Well, that’s the worst f**king title I’ve ever head in my life.”
Fans may have initially scoffed at the title of the film, but they’re now thrilled that Mike Myers stepped into the role intended for the late Chris Farley.
With Farley’s untimely passing before completing his lines, Myers’ involvement steered the film in a new direction. One Reddit user agreed with Myers’ scepticism about the film’s name, stating: “I mean, he’s not wrong.”
Another added: “Between the death of Chris Farley, changing from animation to CGI, and Mike Myers insisting on re-recording his dialogue in a Scottish accent, it’s a miracle it even got released, let alone broke even.
“25 years, 4 sequels, and spin offs later it’s the franchise that kept Dreamworks relevant and the only thing keeping Mike Myers from having to work with anyone in person.”
The conversation then shifted to Harrison Ford’s initial disinterest in Star Wars, drawing parallels to Myers’ situation.
A commenter shared: “It’s a similar story about Harrison Ford, who initially had no interest in playing Han Solo. He was only invited to help other actors at the audition. However, he eventually got the role, which became one of the most famous of his career.”
Echoing Myers’ sentiments, another user admitted their own initial reaction to the Shrek title. They said: “I thought it was a bad name too when I first heard it but it’s iconic now.”