Everyone in this world should be familiar with one of the most famous characters from DreamWorks Animation that is Shrek. From his vibrant green colored body to his obnoxious but generous attitude towards others. All Shrek’s movies have been a worldwide sensation with their funny storylines and also entertaining journeys. But, does anyone truly know what is the true history of the Shrek’s character and where does he come from?
For everyone’s information, this animated Shrek character is rumored to come from a real-life inspiration that was a man nicknamed “The French Angel”. This man was formally named as Maurice Tillet. He is a Russian-born Frenchman and he was a very well-known mas as a wrestling star in the 1930s and ’40s. When he was born in the year of 1903, Tillet said to have blonde hair and an angelic face hence the nickname “The French Angel” was given to him by boyhood friends. Unfortunately at the age of 17, he was diagnosed by the doctors with acromegaly. This is a disease where the hormonal disorder would cause increased bone growth including in the hands, feet, and also face.
These are the images of Maurice Tillet after the occurrence of an acromegaly-induced growth spurt. Based on the physical appearance, he does bear a very close resemblance to Shrek, the very kindhearted ogre.
Even though with the uncanny physical resemblance between Maurice Tillet and Shrek, DreamWorks has never addressed the long-standing rumor officially that Maurice Tillet’s appearance served as the basis for the animated character, Shrek. A spokesman at the company did not return a request for comment about this issue.
Source: Huffpost.
