Watch: Early Recording Surfaces of Chris Farley as ‘Shrek’

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Before Mike Myers was cast as the voice of Shrek in DreamWorks’ Shrek, the role belonged to Chris Farley. The comedian reportedly recorded at least 80-90% of the character’s dialogue before his death from a drug overdose on December 18, 1997.

A sample of those recordings recently surfaced on Reddit, accompanied by video of a rough story reel. Farley’s portrayal of Shrek was clearly a lot more heartfelt and dramatic than the eventual final product, as Chris was hoping to distance himself from his usual “fat person falls down” shtick. In the original version, Shrek was a teenage ogre trying to break away from his parents’ ways and become a good guy. When fellow SNL alum Myers was later cast, the script was completely rewritten into the lighter comedy we all now know.

A new documentary about the comic’s life, entitled I Am Chris Farley, will be released on August 10, 2015.

About Gonzo Green

@Gonzo_Green is a chronic sufferer of Pre-life Crisis Syndrome. He drinks frequently, and wears hats sometimes, with these events occasionally occurring concurrently. Gonzo also likes watching baseball, and putting ketchup on foods that ketchup has no business being on. He enjoys rock’n’roll from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, when rock was rock, and meaningless repetitive phrases were frowned upon. But it is what it is.