SHREK...

Real or unreal?

Did you know that Shrek is based on a real person?
Shrek is famous around the world and he's the ogre loved by all.



Can you imagine what it would be if it existed in the real world?.  There is really no need to imagine it would be like, because the real Shrek was real. The character of Shrek, though unrecognized by Dreamworks, is based on Maurice Tillet, a French fighter who, suffered a serious disease affecting normal body growth, and so, he looks like an ogre.


Maurice lived a very few years, but he mastered 14 languages​​, in addition to becoming a poet. But he also had a dream: to be an actor. He moved to the United States where he got a job, the only one who could get, was a professional wrestler and was conoción as "the ogre of quadrilateral" and then as "the French Angel".

I've found an article that say why Dreamworks will never declare that they copied the image 

of Maurice Tillet:

The likely reason Dreamworks has never owned up to using 

Maurice for Shrek.

The problem for Dreamworks is this:

Those upset by utilizing Maurice appearance and character for their film may have a valid 

argument in the following:

There is a big difference between a man choosing to utilize his own image and condition to 

market himself to make money to live, and that of a production company creating a fictional 

cartoon character for a film.  

It would be too easy for people to go after Dreamworks for using Maurice, a suffering 

human being, who died from his illness, for an Ogre.

Acromegaly is a very personal disfiguring illness.  It comes with both physical and emotional 

consequences that are extremely challenging.  Those that have to live with this condition would 

find it very distasteful that after their death their image might be used to create a cartoon Ogre.  

There is a counter argument here - Please consider the following: 

Maurice himself marketed himself as a monster. He was a performer and from all indications he 

enjoyed performing to that role.  Although we cannot know for certain, I believe Maurice would 

have been proud to have been the inspiration for such a noble character, and positive societal 

influence as Shrek has become.  

Dreamworks really should acknowledge how Maurice influenced both the physical attributes 

of Shrek, and the whole tone of the character and the film.  This seems the proper way to pay 

tribute to how one man became more than himself and became the inspiration for one of our 

most beloved cartoon characters.