The franchise has a great voice cast, but it's easy to miss some of the famous actors who have filled in the minor roles over the years. There have been four Shrek movies so far, with the franchise finally returning for Shrek 5 in 2026. The first trailer suggests that there's been a big leap forward in the timeline of the Shrek franchise, so there could be plenty of new characters and actors too.

Shrek's sense of humor often subverts expectations of famous fairy tale characters, even if they only appear on-screen for a scene or two. The franchise has gotten plenty of well-known actors to play these characters, but it's not always easy to spot them when they show up. Most fans will know about big-name supporting actors like John Cleese and Julie Andrews, but there are plenty more who have flown under the radar.

Robin Hood is one of the most famous characters in English folklore, but Shrek turns him into a debonair French criminal with a flair for the dramatic. The first Shrek movie got one of the most famous French actors in Hollywood for the role, but it's easy to miss Vincent Cassel's name among the credits. , who ambushes Shrek and Fiona with his band of Merry Men.

Cassel first rose to prominence for his performance in 1995's La Haine, a gritty French crime drama set in Paris. He later transitioned to English-language movies in the 2000s. While he wasn't much of a Hollywood star by the time Shrek was released, roles in the Ocean's franchise, Black Swan and other movies soon changed this. He has continued appearing in French movies, including voicing roles for French dubs of big-budget American animated movies, like Ice Age and Robots.

The Shrek franchise loves to poke fun at fairy tales and folklore, so it was no surprise to see a group of princesses show up in Shrek the Third. Although it was never explicitly stated that these fairy tale princesses were all united by the fact they have their own Disney movies, it's clear that Rapunzel, Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty were all chosen for this exact reason.

Shrek fans could easily have forgotten some of the big names that played these princesses. , while Maya Rudolph plays Rapunzel. The former Saturday Night Live star has appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows over the years, winning six Emmy Awards in the process. She's also a prolific voice actor, having appeared in Big Mouth, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Big Hero 6 and more. Shrek the Third was her first voice role in a movie.

Ian McShane has been working in film and TV since the 1960s, but his prominent role in the John Wick franchise means that he's probably more famous now than he ever has been. He has a small role as Captain Hook in Shrek the Third, who memorably plays the piano while he encourages his men to attack Shrek, Donkey, Puss in Boots and Arthur and take them to Prince Charming.

Shortly after Shrek the Third, McShane could be seen playing another famous pirate in a major Hollywood movie, as he played Blackbeard in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. . McShane reprised this role in 2024's Kung Fu Panda 4.

Shrek fans may know that Larry King voices Doris the Ugly Stepsister, but Mabel only joined the franchise later. This means that not as many people will be aware of Regis Philbin's role, especially since Mabel is never as important to the plot. For example, when Doris is locked up with the princesses in Shrek the Third, Mabel is nowhere to be seen. She's such a minor character that it almost seems as though she was written into the script so that Philbin could have a role alongside Larry King's other Ugly Stepsister.

Philbin is obviously most famous as a TV host, having worked on shows like Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee, but he had a few acting roles too. Like Larry King, he often played himself, just as he did in Little Nicky, Cheaper by the Dozen and Seinfeld, to name just a few.

Jon Hamm is most famous for his performance as Don Draper in Mad Men, but he's had plenty of other memorable roles in movies and TV shows. One role that people might have forgotten about is his portrayal of Brogan in Shrek Forever After. In the alternate timeline where Rumpelstiltskin controls the kingdom of Far Far Away, Brogan is one of the ogres who fights alongside Fiona in the resistance.

Hamm isn't the only big-name actor who plays an ogre in Shrek Forever After. He is joined by Jane Lynch and Craig Robinson, who audiences might recognize from Glee and The Office, respectively. There's still a chance that these ogres could be among the returning characters in Shrek 5, since they can be seen after Shrek returns to his original timeline. Until more plot details are revealed, their fate remains unknown.

In the last couple of months, Seth Rogen has been getting a lot of attention for his role in AppleTV+'s Hollywood satire series The Studio. This is just the latest chapter in a sparkling career which has seen Rogen conquer movies and TV ever since his breakout role in Freaks and Geeks and his early work with Judd Apatow. However, his brief role in Shrek the Third has been forgotten about.

Although it's easy to forget Rogen's brief cameo as the ship captain who sails Arthur back to the kingdom of Far Far Away with Shrek, . With DreamWorks, he's played Mantis in the Kung Fu Panda franchise and BOB in Monsters vs. Aliens. More recently, he played Pumbaa in the live-action remake of The Lion King and Donkey Kong in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Although he first became famous for his role as Jim in The Office, . By directing and starring in A Quiet Place and playing Jack Ryan in Amazon Prime Video's thriller series, he's proven that he can do more than comedy. His career has also seen him take on a few voice roles, but his role as Lancelot in Shrek the Third is a minor footnote in his list of accomplishments.

Lancelot appears briefly during Arthur's introduction scene, but the movie drops him just as quickly as Shrek does when he discovers that he isn't Arthur. This brief role shows where Krasinski was in his career at this point, but it's unlikely that he would be wasted on such a minor character if he were cast in Shrek today. He recently voiced a character in his own fantasy comedy IF, which suggests he could be open to more voice roles in the years to come.