Eighteen years after it was recorded, a clip of the late actor Chris Farley’s version of Shrek has leaked online. The world may know the character Shrek as voiced by Mike Myers, but Farley was originally given the role, having completed 80 to 95 percent of his role (depending on the source of the estimate) before his untimely death in December of 1997.
According to Jim Hill Media, Farley’s Shrek was supposed to have had a very different storyline:
It wasn’t a movie about an ogre who just wanted to be left alone in his swamp. But — rather — it was about a teenage ogre who wasn’t all that eager to go into the family business. You see, young Shrek didn’t really want to frighten people. He longed to make friends, help people. This ogre actually dreamed of becoming a knight.
Interestingly, Princess Fiona was to have been voiced by Janeane Garofalo, rather than Cameron Diaz, because ” it was thought that [Garofalo’s] somewhat abrasive, sarcastic comic persona would provide a perfect counterpoint to Chris Farley’s sweet if somewhat dim take on Shrek.”