+
upworthy

chris farley

Pop Culture

Video of Chris Farley voicing 'Shrek' shows how different the movies would have been

Farley recorded around 85 percent of his lines before his death, and it's fascinating to hear his interpretation of the character.

Chris Farley was originally cast as the lead role in "Shrek."

The "Shrek" movies are the most popular of the DreamWorks Animation films, with "Shrek 2" being the studio's top-grossing movie of all time.

But what we now think of as the iconic Scottish ogre played by Mike Myers was almost completely different. After Nicolas Cage passed up the role, Chris Farley was cast to play Shrek. In fact, according to Uproxx, Shrek writers Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot had originally based Shrek and Donkey’s relationship on Farley and David Spade’s relationship in "Tommy Boy," so the larger-than-life comedian was a natural choice.

Sadly, Farley passed away in the middle of film production in 1997 after recording around 85 percent of his lines. He would eventually be replaced by fellow SNL star Mike Myers.

Keep ReadingShow less