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American Morning

Mike Myers: It Isn't Easy Being Green

Aired May 22, 2001 - 11:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: "Pearl Harbor" opens this weekend, and it faces some stiff competition from a big, ugly, green ogre. I love this guy. "Shrek" took in over $42 million at the box office last weekend. Part of the film's success is the great cast who voice the animated characters, lead by Mike Myers as Shrek.

Myers sat down with our Lauren Hunter to tell her why it wasn't easy being green.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAUREN HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mike Myers is Shrek, a large, green ogre who's the hero of Dreamworks' fractured fairy tale.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SHREK")

MIKE MYERS AS SHREK: I'm a terrifying ogre. What do I have to do to get a little privacy?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTER (on camera): That voice. Tell me where that voice came from.

MIKE MYERS, ACTOR: We used to have this thing in Toronto called the Bookmobile. I'm sure everyplace has the Bookmobile. It's like saying, "We have this place called the post office." But anyways, we had a bookmobile that used to come by, and there's a place in the back that had children's stories, and my mom used to go, and she was an actress, and she used to read and act out all the parts. And for me, all fairy tales, characters, are British, because my mum was British. So, like, Babar is from Liverpool, evidently.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SHREK")

MYERS: Hey, no, no, no, no! Dead girl off the table.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTER: Is there a fairy tale that you remember?

MYERS: Yes, Babar. Although it's a story, I feel it's a great fairy tale. It's so funny. People were asking me what animated movies influenced me the most. I'd have to say "Yellow Submarine." That one blew my mind, and with he is, "he is just a nowhere man...

(THE BEATLES, "NOWHERE MAN")

MYERS: That scene got me, still gets me, what a crazy, amazing journey and Peter Max did it for "Yellow Submarine" and PDI/Dreamworks have done it for "Shrek."

HUNTER: So, is there a difference for you when you go into a booth to act as opposed to acting with someone who's three feet away from you?

MYERS: Like, you watch it and then you redo it and they redo it to what you just did. It's an amazing back and forth, very inspiring. I ended up really loving how long it took and how much time you get, the luxury of being able to sculpt it and shade it and do all that stuff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SHREK")

MYERS: For your information, there's a lot more to ogres than people think.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTER: And Shrek is such a gentle role in many ways. He's supposed to be this fierce ogre, and then he's got this sweet part that still protects the donkey and falls in love.

MYERS: I actually approached it like a dramatic part, and there's a lot of feelings that have to be played into it, and all that stuff that, as an audience member, you know you like to see, and as an actor, you like to do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SHREK")

MYERS: Come on, donkey, I'm right here beside you, OK? We'll just tackle this thing together, one little baby step at a time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MYERS: I think the message is amazing, and I didn't write it, I didn't produce it, and I didn't direct it, so I can say I think that they've made a classic, I really do, and I feel privileged to be a part of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SHREK")

MYERS: End of story. Bye-bye. See you later.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OKWU: We'll see how much more green "Shrek" makes over the Memorial Day weekend.

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