Who doesn’t recognize Shrek? He is known worldwide and is the most loved ogre by all. They imagine what he would be like if he existed in real life. But how much he would suffer due to the rejection of his physical appearance. Actually, we don’t have to imagine what it would be like, because the real Shrek was real. Who am I talking about? By Maurice Tillet.
Maurice Tillet was born in France in 1910, but his life took a turn when he developed acromegaly, an endocrine disease that excessively alters the production of growth hormone, leading to disproportion in the limbs and head.
But the worst was not only the deformities, rather it was an early death and a life of physical pain, leading to arthritis, migraines, hypertension, diabetes and heart and kidney problems.
But Was everything tragic in your life? Of course not. During his 25 years he studied and mastered 14 languages, in addition to becoming a poet. But he also had a dream: to be an actor, unfortunately he did not achieve it because his appearance earned him the hospitality of his native country. So he moved to the United States where he got a job, the only one he could get, was a professional wrestler and became known as “the ogre of the ring” and later as “the French Angel”.
Even with the fame and everything, his life was lonely, he had few friends. In 1955, on his deathbed, plagued by heart problems from his illness, three molds of his face would be made.
Tillet and Shrek
Although he was never officially recognized by DreamWorks, it is known that once he accepted William Steig’s tale, he lacked the form of the ogre, but found the characteristics in a man he never dreamed of acting: Maurice Tillet. And it’s very similar. Curious right?
