Although it's hard to imagine Shrek being voiced by anyone other than Mike Myers and his distinctive affectation of a Scottish accent, he wasn't the first choice.
Chris Farley, who starred in classics such as Tommy Boy, Black Sheep and Billy Madison, was the original choice for the role of Shrek and had completed a significant amount of the voicework for the character.
Sadly, Farley was pass away at the age of 33 before he could finish working on the film.
Very little of the audio Farley recorded for Shrek survived as Mike Myers soon replaced him and the film went on to become a major success for all concerned.
This storyboard video surfaced online a couple of days ago and shows rough storyboards of both Shrek, Donkey and a guide-track by Farley and Eddie Murphy running through a scene.
It's interesting to see something like this pulled from the vaults and wonder about what might have been.
What's clear is that Farley was potentially trying to reinvent himself and make his act more palatable to audiences. It's very bittersweet to think of how Farley's career might have progressed if the success of Shrek had happened to him.
Have a listen, anyway.
Here's a clip from the original scene, just to compare it with. It's clear Farley was trying to create something somewhat more human and nuanced than Myers. What if, eh?
Via YouTube
