Mike Myers Got Pitched ‘Shrek’ While Crying as He Walked Out of ‘Saving Private Ryan’ Premiere; His First Reaction: ‘That’s the Worst F—ing Title Ever’

variety.com:

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Mike Myers recently joined Vulture for a career-spanning interview in which he hilariously recounted how he was first pitched “Shrek” immediately after walking out of the the world premiere screening of Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan.” Myers was an emotional wreck from the movie as his parents served in World War II.

But that didn’t stop DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg from pitching him the chance to voice a a big green ogre. “I went to the premiere of ‘Saving Private Ryan, and Jeffrey Katzenberg comes up to me afterward in the lobby and brings his daughters, who then do the dance sequence from ‘Austin Powers,'” Myers said. “This was after such a heavy movie, and I was in tears because my parents were in World War II.

I was shell-shocked and then they’re doing the dance, and I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s great. Read a room!'” Katzenberg asked Myers if he would ever consider doing an animated movie, to which Myers said “sure.” But when Katzenberg said he was developing a movie called “Shrek,” the actor responded: “Well, that’s the worst fucking title I’ve ever heard in my life.” “It’s the sound you make after drinking too many Molson Canadians. ‘Agh!

Shreck!’ So he said, ‘Just come down and see it,'” Myers said. “So I saw it and I liked that it turned fairy tales on its head.