Mike Myers has played many unforgettable characters over his career, from Wayne Campbell in the Wayne’s World sketch from Saturday Night Live and two follow-up movies, to Austin Powers (and he’s indicated Austin Powers 4 could still happen). But for more than 20 years now, there’s a generation that arguably knows him best as the voice of the Shrek movies’ title character. As it turns out, Myers was pitched on the role while attending the premiere of Saving Private Ryan (one of the best war movies ever made), and his initial reaction to the offer saw him dropping an amazing f-bomb.
If you’ve done any reading into the development of 2001’s Shrek, you know that fellow SNL alum Chris Farley was originally supposed to voice the character, but he sadly died in 1997 at the age of 33. Myers was tapped as his replacement, though his Shrek voice ended up sounding a lot different than how the character was conceived when Farley was attached. While discussing how Shrek’s Scottish voice came to be, Myers recalled to Vulture how Jeffrey Katzenberg, co-founder of what was then known as Dreamworks SKG, approached him about Shrek at the premiere of one of Tom Hanks’ best movies. Starting off, he said:
It was the craziest thing: 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, and I was shell-shocked, and then they’re doing the dance, and I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s great. (READ A ROOM.)’
Ok, I can see where Mike Myers is coming from. Fresh off one of the most intense World War II movies, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to do movies from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery’s opening dance number wasn’t the best idea. It reminds me of one of the funniest moments on Seinfeld when Jerry and his girlfriend are making out during a screening of Schindler’s List.
So things didn’t get off to a great start, and it only got worse from there, as Mike Myers made it explicitly clear to Jeffrey Katzenberg that he was not a fan of the Shrek title. He came around not too long after, but here’s how Myers explained what happened:
And then he said, ‘Mike, would you ever do an animated movie?’ and I go ‘Sure.’ And he goes, ‘Well, we have an animated movie. It’s called Shrek.’ And I go, ‘Well, that’s the worst fucking title I’ve ever heard in my life.’ It’s the sound you make after drinking too many Molson Canadians. ‘Agh! Shreck!’ So he said, ‘Just come down and see it.’ So I saw it and I liked that it turned fairy tales on its head. I thought that was really, really smart.
It’s a good thing Myers changed his mind about the title, because he’s now voiced Shrek in four movies, and the film side of the franchise as a whole, which includes the two Puss in Boots spinoffs, has grossed over $4 billion globally. And after more than a decade away, we’ll finally get to hear him as the towering green ogre, as the long-awaited Shrek 5 was officially confirmed earlier this year, with Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy respectively reprising Fiona and Donkey, too. Still, I can’t help but smile at hearing that Myers immediately dropped an f-bomb when he first heard about Shrek. With absolutely no context for the story, yeah, I can see why he would think it’s weird.
Shrek 5 is due out on July 1, 2026, and while the first three movies can currently be streamed with a Peacock subscription, you’ll need a Max subscription to access Shrek Forever After. If by some chance you’re also now in the mood to watch Saving Private Ryan, make sure you’re signed up for a Paramount+ subscription.