John Lithgow Had Very Unexpected Thoughts on Shrek While Voicing Its Most Divisive Character
It’s safe to say the actor had no idea that Shrek would later turn into one of the most successful animated franchises to-date.
John Lithgow will soon receive another big moment of fame, becoming Dumbledore for HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter show, and even if you don’t recall his previous major roles, the actor’s voice might seem something very familiar anyway.
Back in 2001, Lithgow came on board for the first Shrek movie voicing Lord Maximus Farquaad, a narcissistic ruler of the huge castle of Duloc who almost forced Fiona to marry him until Shrek eventually came along to save her.
The film, started out as a single instalment, was met with so many accolades its creators ultimately had no other choice but to keep going with more movies in the future.
Since Lithgow was there to work on Shrek’s first movie only, he definitely had no idea about its imminent success with both critics and audiences, and initially had a very different idea of the entire story in mind.
John Lithgow Though Shrek Wasn’t Meant for Theatrical Release
Shortly after confirming his major role in the upcoming series that will reimagine J.K. Rowling’s book series, the actor sat down for some nostalgia moment with Vanity Fair, reflecting on his most prominent roles in the entire career.
The whole thing started off with Shrek’s Lord Farquaad as Lithgow had to guess which movie his line was coming from.
After recognizing the phrase that belonged to the animated franchise’s most annoying villain, the actor recalled a major misunderstanding he had about the movie while working on it, revealing that he initially considered Shrek something not very significant and meant for smaller audiences.
“I thought it was like a Saturday morning cartoon or something. Not a big deal. 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. These writers were all there, and they sort of pitched what was funny about this character”, Lithgow said.
John Lithgow Is Both Excited and Concerned About His Harry Potter Role
Despite the casting news being a rare sign of the future series’ commitment to the original source material, fans have been vocal about their concerns of whether Lithgow will be on board for the series in the upcoming several years, considering that the actor will be turning 80 later this year.
Ironically, Lithgow shares these concerns.
“I just got the phone call up at the Sundance Film Festival for yet another film, and it was not an easy decision because it's going to define me for the last chapter of my life, I'm afraid. But I'm very excited. Some wonderful people are turning their attention back to Harry Potter. That's why it's been such a hard decision. I'll be about 87 years old at the wrap party, but I've said yes”, the actor said earlier in February.
