“Shrek” voice cast, then and now: See the All-Stars on the animated hit's 25th anniversary

Andrew Walsh, Kevin JacobsenMon, May 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC

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Shrek (Mike Myers), Donkey (Eddie Murphy), and Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) in 'Shrek'
Credit: DreamWorks Animation

In the 25 years since Shrek first lumbered into theaters, the lovable green ogre voiced by Mike Myers has arguably transcended the film franchise that made him famous. So far, his adventures have been adapted into three sequels, two spinoffs, a series of TV specials, multiple video games, and even a Tony-winning Broadway musical. He’s also become one of the most-memed characters of the 21st century, his image serving as a kind of cultural shorthand for millennial and Gen Z fans.

The Oscar-winning irreverent fairy-tale — which Entertainment Weekly gave an A– — follows Shrek (Mike Myers) as he attempts to rescue the secretive damsel Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) on behalf of the devious Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) and restore order to his swamp.

A fifth installment was officially announced in July 2024, with longtime Shrek directors Conrad Vernon and Walt Dohrn returning to the franchise. Myers, Diaz, and Eddie Murphy, who voices fan-favorite sidekick Donkey, will reprise their roles. New cast members include Zendaya (Dune), Skyler Gisondo (Superman), and Marcello Hernández (Saturday Night Live).

With a return to Far Far Away set for next summer, now is the perfect time to catch up with the voice cast of Shrek and its sequels.

01 of 13

Mike Myers (Shrek)

Mike Myers; Shrek
Credit: Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty; Paramount Pictures/ Everett

Mike Myers breathed life into the swamp-dwelling protagonist of the Shrek franchise.

"My mom read fairy tales to me," Myers told EW in 2001 of finding the voice for Shrek. "She's from Liverpool, and she's a trained actress. For me, Curious George was from London. So I went, Aha! Shrek should have the Scottish accent of somebody who's lived in Canada 20 years."

The Second City alum spent six seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, where he created iconic characters like Dieter, Coffee Talk host Linda Richman, and Wayne Campbell, the latter of whom was the focus of the 1992 hit Wayne's World. He left SNL in 1995, and, following a brief acting hiatus, returned to the big screen with Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999).

Post-Shrek, he starred in a third Austin Powers movie (Austin Powers in Goldmember), a live-action adaptation of Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat, and 2008 box office disappointment The Love Guru, which made headlines again in 2023 when a former security guard on the film's set alleged that Myers had him fired for making eye contact with the star.

In addition to small roles in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds (2009), the Oscar-winning Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), and David O. Russell's Amsterdam (2022), Myers released the Netflix series The Pentaverate, in which he plays eight different characters. The same year, he also participated in a two-part tribute on the podcast Fly on the Wall in honor of his late SNL castmate, Chris Farley — who was originally cast as Shrek. ​​

Most recently, he appeared in the Michael Jackson biopic Michael (2026) as former CBS Records boss Walter Yetnikoff. When Murphy was honored with the AFI Life Achievement Award in April 2026, Myers paid tribute to his Shrek costar in full makeup.

Myers has received multiple awards, including a 2007 MTV Generation Award and stars on both the Hollywood and Canadian Walk of Fame. In 2017, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada for his body of work.

He has three children with his second wife, Kelly Tisdale.

02 of 13

Eddie Murphy (Donkey)

Eddie Murphy; Donkey
Credit: Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; DreamWorks/ Everett

Eddie Murphy was already an icon before joining the voice cast of Shrek in 2001, thanks to his legendary stint on SNL, his stand-up specials Delirious and Raw, and films like 48 Hrs. (1982), Trading Places (1983), and Beverly Hills Cop (1984). He even had a Billboard Hot 100 hit under his belt with the Rick James-produced single "Party All the Time," and a Grammy for his comedy album Eddie Murphy: Comedian.

Murphy's vocal performance as Shrek's wise-cracking sidekick Donkey was so acclaimed that it even scored him a BAFTA nomination. He'll return to the role for Shrek 5.

Following the first Shrek, he churned out family-friendly films like Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) and Daddy Day Care (2003), as well as Disney's The Haunted Mansion (2003). He received critical acclaim in 2006 for his performance as James “Thunder” Early in the musical Dreamgirls, earning an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, as well as Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe wins.

He was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2015 and received another Golden Globe nomination for Dolemite Is My Name in 2020, followed by the 2023 Cecil B. DeMille Award for his contributions to the world of entertainment. In 2026, he was honored with the AFI Life Achievement Award.

Murphy returned to SNL in 2019, hosting an episode that won him his first Emmy. He reprised a couple of his more famous roles with the legacy sequels Coming 2 America (2021) and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024).

Murphy has been dating model Paige Butcher since 2012. He has 10 children.

03 of 13

Cameron Diaz (Princess Fiona)

Cameron Diaz; Princess Fiona
Credit: JB Lacroix/WireImage; DreamWorks/ Everett

Cameron Diaz, a former model, made her acting debut in 1994's The Mask, then rocketed to box-office stardom in the films My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997) and There’s Something About Mary (1998). She proved her dramatic chops in 1999's offbeat Being John Malkovich, and then became a bona fide action hero with 2000's high-octane Charlie's Angels reboot.

After playing Shrek's cursed Princess Fiona, Diaz received strong reviews for her role opposite Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky (2001). She starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis in 2002 for the Martin Scorsese epic Gangs of New York, and then re-teamed with her fellow Angels for Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle in 2003.

Throughout the rest of the aughts, she led comedies such as In Her Shoes (2005), The Holiday (2006), and Bad Teacher (2011). Like Myers and Murphy, she returned to the role of Fiona for each of the sequels and specials set in the Shrek universe.

"There's always something very comforting for me for the last 10 years knowing that I get to go back to Fiona, Shrek, Donkey, and Puss," Diaz told EW upon the release of 2010's Shrek Forever After. "That they're there, and somebody is thinking about them and creating them. I’m starting to get a little bit emotional thinking about it. You don't realize what it is until it's gone."

Following her performance in the 2014 update of the musical Annie, Diaz retired from acting. In a 2021 interview with comedian Kevin Hart, she stated that the decision has made her "feel whole."

She came out of retirement for the Netflix action-comedy Back in Action (2025) and the Jonah Hill-directed Outcome (2026). She will again voice Princess Fiona in Shrek 5.

In her decade of retirement, Diaz authored the wellness-focused books The Body Book and The Longevity Book. She also married Good Charlotte's Benji Madden, with whom she has three daughters.

04 of 13

John Lithgow (Lord Farquaad)

John Lithgow; Lord Farquaad
Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty; DreamWorks/Everett

John Lithgow voiced the villainous Lord Farquaad in Shrek, a role that has made him somewhat notorious with children.

"The kids look at me completely bewildered, this big, kind of amiable man who bears no resemblance whatsoever to Lord Farquaad," Lithgow told EW. "But then I would say something like 'I'm not the monster here — you are!' and they'd recognize the line and the voice, but it didn't make any sense to them."

At the time of Shrek's release, Lithgow had almost three decades of acclaimed work on his résumé. He won a Tony for his Broadway debut in The Changing Room; received two Oscar nominations for The World According to Garp (1982) and Terms of Endearment (1983); and won four Emmys — three of which were for his performance as Dick Solomon on the sitcom 3rd Rock From the Sun. His many film credits include Blow Out (1981), The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) and Cliffhanger (1993).

The year after Shrek premiered, he won a Tony for Best Actor in a Musical for Sweet Smell of Success. He received two more Emmys in the 2010s, one for playing a serial killer on Dexter and the other for portraying Winston Churchill in season 1 of The Crown.

Over the past few years, Lithgow appeared in Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), the Oscar-nominated Conclave (2024), and the Hulu series The Old Man. He also took on the role of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in HBO's upcoming Harry Potter series adaptation.

Lithgow has been married to Mary Yeager since 1981 and has three children.

05 of 13

Vincent Cassel (Monsieur Hood)

Vincent Cassel; Monsieur Hood
Credit: Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty; Dreamworks

Before he nocked an arrow as the mercenary Monsieur Hood in Shrek, Vincent Cassel was a celebrated actor in his native France, receiving two César Award nominations — the French equivalent of the Oscar — for his breakout performance in the film La Haine (1995).

In addition to his work in French cinema, the actor, who speaks five languages, garnered strong reviews for his turns in the English-language films Jefferson in Paris (1995), Elizabeth (1998), and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999).

After he retired Robin Hood's bow, Cassel continued to star in a variety of international productions, such as the controversial Irréversible (2002) with his then-wife, Monica Bellucci. Other notable credits include Ocean's Twelve (2004), Ocean'sThirteen (2007), and Black Swan (2010). In 2008, he won the César for Best Actor for his portrayal of French gangster Jacques Mesrine in the two-part biopic Mesrine.

In recent years, he played a villain in season 3 of HBO's Westworld, and starred in David Cronenberg's The Shrouds (2024). Next up, he appears in the ensemble cast of season 4 of HBO's The White Lotus.

Cassel has two daughters with Bellucci and one daughter with his second wife, model Tina Kunakey.

06 of 13

Conrad Vernon (Gingerbread Man)

Conrad Vernon; Gingerbread Man
Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage; Paramount/ Everett

Before his voice acting debut as the cheerful, snarky Gingerbread Man, a.k.a. Gingy, Conrad Vernon was a storyboard artist and writer with credits on Cool World (1992), Antz (1998), and The Road to El Dorado (2000).

Vernon spoke with TVGuide.com in 2007 about how he thinks Gingy always had an attitude, even before the events of Shrek. "If you remember the first scene with him in Shrek, he was being tough and spitting milk in the guy's eye even though his legs were being broken off. He's the proverbial tough cookie."

Following the success of Shrek, he made his directorial debut as one of the co-directors of Shrek 2 (2004). He has since directed Monsters vs. Aliens (2009), Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012), Sausage Party (2016), and both Addams Family animated movies.

He also played Mason in the Madagascar films and games, and lent his voice to Bee Movie (2007), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), and The Boss Baby (2017). He reprised his role as Gingy in the Shrek sequels and Puss in Boots spinoffs, and will return as a co-director of Shrek 5.

07 of 13

Cody Cameron (Pinocchio/the Three Little Pigs)

Cody Cameron; Pinocchio; the Three Little Pigs
Credit: Francois G. Durand/Getty; DreamWorks/ Everett; Mary Evans/DREAMWORKS /Ronald Grant/Everett

Another member of the DreamWorks animation team, Cody Cameron worked on the stop-motion animated comedy Chicken Run (2000) before joining the crew of Shrek as a story artist and writer.

Like Conrad Vernon, the fairy-tale comedy was his first credited voice acting role, and the newly minted thespian played Pinocchio, the puppet who dreams of being a real boy, and two of the German-accented Three Little Pigs.

Since his acting debut, Cameron has returned to the Shrek franchise numerous times. He has also appeared in Madagascar (2005), Open Season (2006), and Arthur Christmas (2011). In 2007, he directed the short The Chubbchubbs Save Xmas, and later directed the features Open Season 3 (2010) and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013).

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He left DreamWorks in 2004 for Sony Animation, eventually working as a story artist on 2018's Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. After serving as a supervising director on the 2019 Netflix series Green Eggs and Ham, he returned to DreamWorks for 2022's Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, for which he contributed as a story artist and reprised his role as Pinocchio.

08 of 13

Chris Miller (Magic Mirror/Geppetto)

Chris Miller; Magic Mirror; Geppetto
Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty; DreamWorks/Everett; DreamWorks

Like Vernon and Cameron, Chris Miller entered the world of Shrek as an animator and storyboard artist at DreamWorks. His work on the film's development led to him going behind the mic as Geppetto, Pinocchio's miserly creator, and the all-knowing Magic Mirror.

Miller explained to MovieWeb in 2007 how doing voices helps in his work with other artists. "It does help, working with any performer. They have very little to work with in that room. So, they get me. I'm a bonus. I will feed them every other line in the movie. Unfortunately, I play Fiona to Mike's Shrek. I profess my love to him. Then he'll ignore me. And I have to do it again, and again."

Miller has continued to add to his résumé as an artist, actor, and director. As a performer, he voiced Kowalski in the Madagascar franchise, and has provided several additional voices for Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003), Monsters vs. Aliens (2009), Captain Underpants: The First Movie (2017), and the Shrek sequels.

Additionally, he directed Shrek the Third (2007) and the first Puss in Boots spinoff, receiving Best Animated Feature nominations from the Oscars and Golden Globes for the latter. Most recently, he directed the 2025 animated musical Smurfs.

09 of 13

Jennifer Saunders (Fairy Godmother)

Jennifer Saunders; Fairy Godmother
Credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage; Dreamworks/ Everett

The star of the hit British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous brought her bawdy brand of comic magic to Fiona's devious Fairy Godmother in Shrek 2, introducing Jennifer Saunders to a whole new generation of fans across the pond.

Her spirited performance of "Holding Out for a Hero" is iconic now, but she revealed in 2020 how nervous she was for Julie Andrews, who was on set that day, to watch the scene. "She went, 'You'll be fine,'" Saunders recalled on Sky TV's There's Something About Movies, "and she listened to it and after it had been on and she'd watched it, she turned to me and touched my hand and went, 'Well done, dear.'"

Aside from Ab Fab, Saunders was part of the popular BBC sketch comedy duo French and Saunders, and in the '90s guest-starred on Friends as the stepmother of Ross' (David Schwimmer) second wife.

After the enormous box office success of the Shrek sequel, she won a 2005 People's Choice Award for Favorite Movie Villain and has added a handful of voice-over credits to her résumé, including Miss April Spink in Coraline (2009) and the Queen in Minions (2015).

She and Dawn French continued to film new seasons of their sketch show until 2017, and she has re-teamed with Joanna Lumley several times for a series of Ab Fab specials and a movie, earning a BAFTA in the process.

Saunders and French costarred in Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile (2022), and the actress reunited with Myers for The Pentaverate. She appeared in Lena Dunham's Netflix series Too Much in 2025, and the following year starred opposite Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy in The Magic Faraway Tree.

She's appeared onstage several times since Shrek 2, including in the London production of the Sister Act musical with Whoopi Goldberg. She even wrote the book for the Spice Girls jukebox musical, Viva Forever.

Outside the world of entertainment, Saunders is a breast cancer survivor and supporter of the charity Dress for Success. She has been married to fellow comic actor Ade Edmondson since 1985, and the couple has three children and five grandchildren.

10 of 13

Rupert Everett (Prince Charming)

Rupert Everett; Prince Charming
Credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage; DreamWorks/Everett

Rupert Everett had a long and varied career before bringing his trademark dry wit to the role of Prince Charming in Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third.

The late '90s were a particularly fruitful period for Everett thanks to his breakout turn in My Best Friend's Wedding alongside Julia Roberts and future Shrek costar Cameron Diaz. Other notable ‘90s credits include Cemetery Man (1994) and An Ideal Husband (1999).

"I think of Shrek as a golden handshake in a career," Everett told the Evening Standard in 2012. "There's nothing bad about the job. You don't do very much. You go in five or six times in the course of two years wherever you want to in the world and they just hook you up via satellite."

Since his time in the kingdom of Far Far Away, the actor has remained busy, writing two dishy memoirs and receiving an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor for his portrayal of Oscar Wilde in a London West End production of The Judas Kiss.

In 2018, Everett won a London Film Critics' Circle Award for The Happy Prince, a biopic about Oscar Wilde he wrote, directed, and starred in. He went on to appear in My Policeman (2022) and Napoleon (2023), as well as a season 4 episode of the Netflix hit Emily in Paris.

Everett was one of the few openly gay actors working in the ’90s, having publicly come out in 1989. He lives with his partner, Henrique.

11 of 13

Julie Andrews (Queen Lillian)

Julie Andrews; Queen Lillian
Credit: Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; DreamWorks/ Everett

A legend thanks to her Oscar-winning turn in Mary Poppins (1964), as well as movie musicals like The Sound of Music (1965), Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), and Victor/Victoria (1982), Julie Andrews was a fitting choice to play Queen Lillian, Princess Fiona’s mother, in Shrek 2.

Andrews spoke with IGN in 2004 about taking on what was then a rare voice role, recalling, "The very first day I met everybody I started to put some lines down, and I kept thinking, 'But how can I? I haven't worked on anything. I don't know what I'm saying?' But, you literally fly by the seat of your pants in a way. You just go for it and you trust that they know what they're doing and it seems they do."

Younger audiences might also know her as Queen Clarisse Renaldi opposite Anne Hathaway in the 2001 Disney hit The Princess Diaries. Along with her multiple Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Grammy awards, Andrews was made a Dame Commander by Queen Elizabeth II in 2000.

Following Shrek 2's box office dominance, Andrews reprised her royal roles in Shrek the Third, Shrek Forever After, and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004).

She released two memoirs: Home: A Memoir of My Early Years in 2008 and the follow-up, Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years, in 2019. The latter was cowritten with her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, with whom Andrews has authored more than 30 children's books.

Despite a botched 1997 vocal surgery that all but ended her singing career, she has continued to use her famous voice in new ways after Shrek. Notable voice credits include Gru’s disapproving mother in the Minions franchise, the mythical sea creature Karathen in 2018’s Aquaman, and Lady Whistledown, the narrator of Bridgerton and its spinoff, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.

She was presented with the 48th AFI Life Achievement Award in celebration of her six decades in the arts in 2022.

Andrews has three children, two stepchildren, nine grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. She was married to her second husband, director Blake Edwards, for 41 years until his death in 2010.

12 of 13

John Cleese (King Harold)

John Cleese; King Harold
Credit: TF-Images/Getty; DreamWorks/ Everett

Fiona's father, the frog-turned-ruler King Harold, was croaked into existence in Shrek 2 by Monty Python star John Cleese.

"I think it's funnier than the first one," Cleese told EW of Shrek 2 in 2004. "I’ve been doing it for a year, in a lot of different sessions. The filmmakers are completely obsessive. They'll sometimes re-record a scene two or three times, like this one scene I have with [Antonio] Banderas. One minute I'm talking to him through an open door, and the next time the door is closed and I'm trying to whisper through that. They play with tiny changes like that just to see what's best."

Cleese rose to fame as part of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, and then starred in the classic comedies Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Life of Brian (1979), and The Meaning of Life (1983).

He also starred in and cowrote the popular '70s British sitcom Fawlty Towers with his then-wife Connie Booth, and was nominated for an Oscar in the late '80s for his screenplay for A Fish Called Wanda, in which he costarred with Jamie Lee Curtis. Harry Potter fans will recognize the actor as Nearly Headless Nick in the first two films of the popular Hogwarts saga.

In the decade-plus since he leapfrogged out of the Shrek universe, Cleese has amassed a long list of voice-over credits in both animation and video games, including King Gristle Sr. in Trolls (2016).

Cleese has written three books post-Shrek, and toured with his comedy shows John Cleese: His Life, Times and Current Medical Problems, John Cleese: TheAlimony Tour, and John Cleese: The Last Time to See Me Before I Die. He faced backlash on Twitter in 2020 for transphobic tweets in support of controversial Potter author J.K. Rowling, stating he's "not that interested in trans folk" and voicing opposition to trans women competing in sports.

In 2023, it was announced that he and his daughter Camilla were planning a revival of Fawlty Towers. He has been married to jewelry designer Jennifer Wade since 2012.

13 of 13

Antonio Banderas (Puss in Boots)

Antonio Banderas; Puss in Boots
Credit: Aldara Zarraoa/WireImage; Paramount/ Everett

Antonio Banderas was a regular player in the films of Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar long before slipping into the leather boots of Shrek 2's Puss in Boots. He made his screen debut in the filmmaker's feature Labyrinth of Passion (1982), then went on to star in four more films for Almodovar before making the leap to Hollywood with 1992's The Mambo Kings.

Banderas went on to earn acclaim for his performances in Interview With the Vampire (1994), Desperado (1995), Evita (1996), The Mask of Zorro (1998), and the original Spy Kids trilogy. In 2003, he was nominated for a Tony for Best Actor in a Musical for the Broadway revival of Nine.

After his turn as the suave, swashbuckling tabby cat, Banderas reprised his role as another mythic outlaw hero in The Legend of Zorro (2005). He reunited with Almodóvar 21 years after their last collaboration for 2011's The Skin I Live In, and again for 2019’s Pain and Glory, for which he received his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor. He also earned Emmy, SAG, and Golden Globe nominations for portraying Pablo Picasso in the National Geographic limited series Genius: Picasso.

He remains prolific, having recently appeared in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), Babygirl (2024), and the Anthony Bourdain biopic Tony (2026).

The Stabby Tabby starred in his own spinoff, 2011's Puss in Boots, and its 2022 sequel, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, both of which were nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the Academy Awards.

"I've established a relationship with this character, giving my voice to him for almost 20 years," Banderas told EW in 2022. "I'm 62 now, so for one-third of my life he's been with me, and I feel very close to him. Almost like an alter ego. So to now establish a different kind of relationship to the character, one that's more sincere, has been fabulous."

Banderas has one daughter, Stella, with his ex-wife, Melanie Griffith.

Where can I watch Shrek?

Shrek is available to stream on Disney+.

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