Footage of the original voiceover work and matching storyboards for Shrek, with Chris Farley as the title character, was recently leaked. This coincides with the premiere of biographical documentary I Am Chris Farley, which will be available on VOD on Tuesday. Word from the limited theatrical release is that I Am Chris Farley is a touching tribute to a sweet, insecure, funny guy who died way too young.
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Consistent Panda Bear Shape 
I ended up reading a lot about him and his death after reading this- not that I didn’t know the basics previously, but I don’t think I ever really read much about it when he died. One of the things that stood out to me was a quote from Chris Rock: “‘Chippendales’ was a weird sketch. I always hated it…The joke of it is, basically, ‘We can’t hire you because you’re fat.’ There’s no comic twist to it. It’s just [bleep]ing mean. Chris wanted so much to be liked. As funny as that sketch was…it’s one of the things that killed him.” ( http://gawker.com/382340/chris-rock-explains-how-chippendales-killed-chris-farley ) A lot of other places frequently state that it was hard for him because he never knew which side of the line he fell on between people laughing with him or at him. So sad 😦
Thank you for bringing this up. I had completely forgotten about the punchline of the Chippendales sketch. I have to imagine that it’s extra difficult when a fat comic actor is particularly gifted at physical comedy to discern whether people are laughing-with or laughing-at, which can totally do a number on your mind. I love to act, but I haven’t been very consistent with pursuing it. There’s multiple reasons behind that, but one of them is that concern about laughing-with versus laughing-at. I was in a sketch show once where I did the Screw the Bank monologue from Kids in the Hall (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-TscityAZo). A lot of people told me that it was funny, but I could never get over the thought that I was being ridiculed for being a fat person dancing on stage. Even if I was talented enough to act professionally, I don’t think my ego could handle it.