Was Shrek based on a professional wrestler? Meet The French Angel

It has long been said that DreamWorks Studios, which created the well-known animated character "Shrek," was influenced by the renowned wrestler Maurice Tillet, who competed in the 1940s.

Maurice Tillet, better known as "The French Angel" in professional wrestling, was one of the biggest stars ever to grace the squared circle. Tillet was born on October 23, 1903, in Russia to French parents.

He had a fairly normal existence up until the age of 17, when he was diagnosed with acromegaly, a condition usually caused by a benign tumor. Tillet, who was already well into his teens, had acromegaly, a disorder that prevented the generation of growth hormones and caused the bones in his head to grow out of proportion.

However, it did cause Tillet to have a distinctive appearance that would eventually significantly impact his life. He quickly rose to stardom by using his deformity and becoming known as the biggest wrestling sensation of the early 1940s.

Despite having a prosperous wrestling career, Tillet led a solitary life. In 1953, he competed in his final match. Tillet passed away from a heart illness in Chicago, Illinois, just a year later.

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Was Tillet the inspiration behind Shrek?

The Shrek franchise is one of the most successful and well-known animated series of all time. When the first film was released in 2001, it became an instant hit and has remained popular ever since.

For years, many have believed that Maurice Tillet inspired the creation of the beloved green character of the swamp. The original illustration in the 1990s book by William Stein did not make reference to Tillet, but the animated adaptation of the DreamWorks version did. Shrek underwent a lengthy transformation before making his final animated appearance.

According to some, Shrek's animators were inspired after seeing the death masks of Maurice Tillet at the York Barbell Museum. Despite Tillet's obvious physical resemblance to the character, the film's distributor, DreamWorks, has never officially addressed the long-running rumor that Tillet's appearance inspired the animated character.

Although he probably encouraged many people to seek lucrative careers in professional wrestling, he will most likely be remembered as the inspiration for everyone's favorite ogre, thanks to the internet.