Veteran actor and funnyman Mike Myers has had no shortage of characters played throughout his career, having just added eight more roles to his overall number with his new Netflix series The Pentaverate. Be that as it may, the animated ogre Shrek from the Shrek movies is a character that stands out for Myers. He has voiced Shrek in four separate feature films in years past, but if it were up to Myers, there's be a new Shrek film every year.
Myers said as much in a new video interview with GQ that sees him reflecting on his various career roles. He first talks about bringing the character to life with his familiar Scottish accent, a decision that came from Myers as he had a certain idea in mind for how the ogre should sound. Myers explains that he went with a Scottish accent as he loves the people of Scotland and felt that this voice would help make Shrek sound like more of a working class ogre.
“To me, the Euro-centric form that is the fairytale is really about classism. When I was approached to do Shrek, I originally did it as a Canadian and I re-recorded it as Scottish because that, to me, seems the most working class. But also, too, I have a love of the Scottish people. I have Scottish ancestry. I’m mostly English, but Liverpool is the pool of life between Scotland, England, and Ireland.”
Myers also touches on how Shrek is a drama at its core, even as an animated family comedy movie. That makes the character all the more special to Myers. The actor says how much he enjoys playing Shrek and claims he'd be happy to do a new Shrek film every single year if that were a possibility.
“I love the idea of taking a fairy tale and turning it on its head... It's a dramatic role. There’s an emotional center here. You know the old joke, I wouldn’t want to be a member of a club that would have me as a member. I have always felt that way. The concept of going from a self-loathing ogre to a self-accepting ogre was meaningful to me. I love playing Shrek. If I had to do one Shrek a year I’d be thrilled.”
Will Another Shrek Movie Ever Happen?
If Mike Myers has such an appreciation for playing Shrek, it stands to reason that he'd be up for returning in a potential fifth film. As it stands, the main series has concluded with 2010's Shrek Forever After, though the franchise has lived on through the Puss in Boots spinoff movies. There have been rumors and reports of a Shrek 5 happening, though it doesn't appear that any major updates have emerged since 2018 when Chris Meledandri would executive produce the sequel.
For now, fans can catch the spinoff movie Puss in Boots: The Last Wish when it is released in movie theaters on Sept. 23, 2022.