John Lithgow —Shrek’s Lord Farquaad — Thought to Movie Was Going to Be a ‘Saturday Morning Cartoon, Not a Big Deal’

Mar. 15, 2025

John Lithgow in 2025 (right); Lord Farquaad in ‘Shrek’.Photo:Deadline/Deadline via Getty; DreamWorks/courtesy Everett

Deadline/Deadline via Getty; DreamWorks/courtesy Everett

John Lithgow’s role as Lord Farquaad inShrekmight be iconic now, but he didn’t expect it to be when he first joined the project.

In a video posted March 13,Varietyhad Lithgow read lines from some of his roles and test if he remembered which movies they were from. The first —  “Some of you may die, but it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make" — was instantly recognizable to both the 79-year-old star and legions ofShrekfanatics as a line from Lord Farquaad.

But theConclavestar revealed that he never really thought the movie would become the sensation it now is. “I thought it was like a Saturday morning cartoon or something. Not a big deal,” he said.

When he joined the movie, he said, “I read my dialogue. They showed me a maquette of this little character, Lord Farquaad. And they showed me a lot of storyboards, animated storyboards. And I thought, well, this looks like fun.” The writers “pitched” him on what made the character funny, and he signed on.

But the path to the movie’s 2001 release ended up being a lot longer than he expected. “The curious thing was that was, like, four years before we ever sawShrek,” he said. “And they would bring me back in once every eight months or so to record some new material. And it was like, ‘Oh, I gotta do thisShrekthing again? What is this?’ ”

Lord Farquaad in ‘Shrek.'.DreamWorks/courtesy Everett

DreamWorks/courtesy Everett

Lithgow noted that Chris Farley was originally supposed to voice Shrek, buthe died in 1997. The studio brought inMike Myersinstead. “Mike Myers recorded the whole thing. Then they decided he should use his Scottish accent from his greatSNLsketches,” Lithgow remembered. “So there are all sorts of things that prolonged the process.”

In addition to Lithgow and Myers,ShrekstarredCameron DiazandEddie Murphy. Based on the 1990 children’s bookShrek!, the movie has had three direct sequels: 2004’sShrek 2, 2007’sShrek the Thirdand 2010’sShrek Forever After.Shrek 5is set to be released in 2026 andwill also feature Zendaya. The films have also been spun off into two movies starring the character Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas).

The cast of ‘Shrek.’ From left: Eddie Murphy, John Lithgow, Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers and executive producer Jeffrey Katzenberg.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Vicky Jenson, one ofShrek’s two directors, told PEOPLE in November 2024 that, not unlike Lithgow,the movie’s success was a “big surprise”to her. “It just felt very small because it was a tight team,” she said. “We felt like we were on our own for a lot of the time.”

“It really wasn’t until a few sequences started coming back in lighting, and we were watching full screenings, [that we] were going, ‘Wow, this. This is different,’ “ she explained. “This could either work really well or not at all.” It was when the movie was well-received at the Cannes Film Festival that she realized they might have a hit on their hands.

source: people.com