Meet the Shrek Voice Actors: The Cast Behind the Characters

Within the fairytale world full of quirky and creative characters, Shrek is a green ogre living in his very own secluded swamp. Initially established as the resentment-fuelled, not-so-nice, and even less hygienic hermit who just wants some peace and quiet, Shrek’s swamp then becomes overrun by annoying fairytale characters that have been banished from their homes by the evil Lord Farquaad.

Shrek is voiced by Mike Myers, a Canadian comedian and actor known for live-action roles such as Wayne’s World, Austin Powers, and The Cat in the Hat.

Interestingly, after voicing such an iconic character in pop culture, Mike only has one voiceover role other than the big green guy, and that’s the Ship Captain in a TV movie called Meet Julie.

Donkey is the stubborn, hyperactive, and ever-talking sidekick to Shrek from the very first adventure in finding Lord Farquaad. While his friendliness comes from a place of genuine kindness, the other fairytale characters find him especially irritating. He might not be brave, smart, or particularly patient, but his whimsical personality and love/hate friendship with Shrek make him the staple comic relief of the franchise.

Donkey is voiced by voiceover and live-action veteran Eddie Murphy. Known for his roles in The Nutty Professor, Beverly Hills Cop, and Dr Doolittle, Murphy is no stranger to comedic characters.

Similarly to Mike Myers, Murphy doesn’t have many voice roles in animation. However, you might also recognise his voice as another hilarious sidekick, Mishu, in Disney’s Mulan.

After being cursed to take the form of an ogre between sunset and sunrise, Princess Fiona was sent away to a castle guarded by a fire-breathing dragon. The curse was said to be broken by true love’s kiss, so she waited in the tower for a handsome prince to save her. Although her father, King Harold, made a deal with the Fairy Godmother for her son, Prince Charming, to save the princess, Shrek ultimately saved Fiona from the tower, and they lived happily ever after… Until Shrek 2.

Princess Fiona is voiced by Cameron Diaz, who is known for her live-action roles in Charlie’s Angels, There’s Something About Mary, and The Mask.

Beyond being a Shrek voice actor, her few voice roles include Sigmund Freud in A Liar’s Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman and the Charlie’s Angels video game.

Puss in Boots is an infamous bounty hunter hired by King Harold in Shrek 2 to assassinate Shrek. After immediately failing his task and begging Shrek to spare the last of his nine lives, they become friends, and Puss joins the adventure in debt to Shrek’s kindness (which he later repays). On the journey, we get to see the lighter, song and dance-loving, flirtatious side of Puss in Boots as a self-professed “ladies cat”  who loves nothing more than a fiesta!

Puss in Boots is voiced by Antonio Banderas, known for his live-action roles in The Mask of Zorro, Machete Kills, and The Skin I live in.

Other than in Shrek, Banderas has only voiced one other animated role as Sir Clorex in Justin and the Knights of Valor.

The Big Bad Wolf is a minor but recurring character in the Shrek franchise. In the first Shrek film, Lord Farquaad banishes him to the swamp before Shrek kicks him out of his bed. He is then found pretending to be Fiona in what used to be her tower when Prince Charming turns up expecting to find her. While you might expect this character to be as scary as the fairytale suggests, he is friendly and well-mannered in the Shrek franchise, even helping to defeat the fairy godmother with a gust of breath.

Within the Shrek cast, Aaron Warner voices the Big Bad Wolf, also known as Wolfie. You might recognise Aaron’s voice as Thomas in The Book of Life.

However, Aaron isn’t just a Shrek voice actor but was actually also a producer on every film in the franchise.

Pinocchio is particularly insecure about being a puppet. All he wants is to be a real boy, but as time goes on, he starts to accept that he’ll always be wooden. His responses are usually snarky, probably from the upset of being sold to Lord Farquaad by his creator, Geppetto. He is then banished to Shreks swap with the rest of the fairytale creatures.

Cody Cameron voices Pinnochio, among other roles in the Shrek universe, such as the Three Little Pigs. Unlike most of the Shreck voice actors, Cody has much more voiceover experience than he does live-action, and Pinocchio was his first role.

You may recognise his voice as Mr Weenie in Open Season, Elf in Arthur Christmas, and Barry in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

The Gingerbread Man, also known as Gingy, was created by the Muffin Man, who lives on Drury Lane. We first meet Gingy when he is being tortured under Lord Farquaad’s orders to reveal the locations of the other fairytale creatures. Throughout the franchise, the Gingerbread Man helps Shrek and Donkey on their adventures with his usual sugar-sweet charm and high-pitched voice.

The Gingerbread Man is voiced by Conrad Vernon in Shrek, and he’s no newbie in the world of voice acting. You will find Vernon’s talents as characters, such as Advisor Hawk in Monsters vs Aliens, Toilet Paper in Sausage Party, and Rico in Penguins of Madagascar. Vernon’s only live-action role was in a short called Herd in 1999.

The ruthless Lord Farquaad dreams of a world free from all magical beings and, therefore, banishes the fairytale creatures from the city of Duloc to Shreks swamp. After deciding to marry Princess Fiona, he hosts a tournament to choose which knight will rescue her from the castle. Shrek accidentally wins this tournament before striking a deal to rescue the princess so Lord Farquaad will stop sending the creatures to his home. Farquaad will stop at nothing to achieve perfection but suffers from self-image issues due to his short stature.

John Lithgow voices Lord Farquaad and is known for live-action roles in film and television, such as Dr Dick Soloman in 3rd Rock from the Sun, Winston Churchill in The Crown, and Donald in Interstellar.

He has also appeared in many voiceover roles, breathing life into characters like Jean-Claud in Rugrats in Paris and Augustus Redfield in The Simpsons.

The Fairy Godmother is the most successful potion manufacturer in Far Far Away and even decides who gets to live happily ever after. She makes a deal with King Harold to have her son, Prince Charming, rescue Fiona and live happily ever after, but Shrek beats him to it. The Fairy Godmother is a calculated businesswoman who will do whatever it takes to secure success and good fortune for her and her son… not to mention her incredible singing voice.

Jennifer Saunders voices the Fairy Godmother and is known primarily for her live-action roles as Edina in Absolutely Fabulous and Marie Van Schuyler in Death on the Nile.

However, she also has plenty of voiceover credits under her belt other than being part of the Shrek cast, including The Queen in Minions, Nana in Sing, and Pheobe in The Simpsons.

Ever since he was a child, Prince Charming was told that one day, he’ll rescue Princess Fiona from her dragon-guarded castle, break the curse, and live happily ever after. Unfortunately, this plan didn’t work out, as Shrek beat him to it. Charming is an arrogant mother’s boy and mainly plays the role of comic relief in Shrek 2 before becoming the primary villain in Shrek the Third.

Prince Charming is brought to life by Rupert Everett, who auditioned for the role of Gaston in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, but he did not sound arrogant enough. He made sure to change this for the role of Charming.

You might recognise his voice as Sloan Blackburn from The Wild Thornberrys or Mr Fox from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In live-action, he’s known for his roles in My Best Friend’s Wedding, Napoleon, and Stardust.

Mother to Fiona and Wife to King Harold, Queen Lilian was used to living the perfect life before discovering that a witch had cursed her daughter. She and her husband did all they could to keep their daughter safe, even making a deal with the Fairy Godmother to have her son rescue Fiona and break the curse. However, after witnessing Fiona fall in love with Shrek, Queen Lilian accepts the fate of the curse, understanding that her daughter is happy as an ogre.

Queen Lilian is voiced by Julie Andrews, who is known for iconic roles such as Maria in The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, and Victoria Grant in Victor/Victoria.

Andrews also has plenty of experience in voice acting, breathing life into characters like Ms Julie in Despicable Me, The Narrator in Enchanted, and Lady Whistledown in Bridgerton.

King Harold struggles to accept that his daughter, Fiona, fell in love with an Ogre, but it’s soon revealed that he was once not so human himself. Harold was actually born as a frog before seeking the Fairy Godmother’s help to court Queen Lilian. After their first kiss, he permanently transformed into a human being and, after their marriage, became King of Far Far Away. While he is predominantly featured in Shrek 2, King Harold unfortunately croaks at the beginning of Shrek the Third.

John Cleese is the Shrek voice actor for King Harold and has a huge list of acting credits. He is known in live-action for roles such as Archie in A Fish Called Wanda, multiple roles in the Monty Python films, and Nearly Headless Nick in The Harry Potter franchise.

Cleese’s voice acting roles can be found in animation and gaming, including Sid Cadwell in The Elder Scrolls Online, Bulldog in Planes, and Jasper in Fable 3.

Rumplestiltskin is known for the deals he makes with unsuspecting customers. They may think they are getting what they want, but there’s always a catch. In the fourth instalment of the franchise, he makes a deal with Shrek in which Shrek can live as an ogre again for the day in exchange for the day he was born. In this new timeline, Shrek never saves Fiona from the tower, which leads to King Harold and Queen Lilian taking his original deal to swap the Kingdom of Far Far Away for the removal of Fiona’s curse, making Rumplestiltskin the new ruler.

Voice actor Walt Dohrn brings Rumplestiltskin to life. Unlike many of the Shrek cast, Dohrn has plenty of voiceover experience but no live-action roles.

Walt’s voice is in Penguins of Madagascar, Trolls, The Boss Baby, The Bad Guys, and many more blockbuster animated films.