Mike Myers Transforms into Shrek with Green Face Paint to Honor Eddie Murphy at AFI Tribute

Tommy McArdle, Scott HuverMon, April 20, 2026 at 9:06 PM UTC

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Mike Myers dressed as Shrek at the 51st AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute To Eddie Murphy at Dolby Theatre on April 18, 2026Credit: Michael Kovac/Getty -

Mike Myers wore a head full of green Shrek makeup to celebrate costar Eddie Murphy at an American Film Institute tribute on Saturday, April 18

Myers and Murphy famously voice Shrek leads Shrek and Donkey across the franchise's four movies

A fifth film in the franchise is scheduled to release in June 2027

Mike Myers went green when he stepped out to honor his friend and Shrek costar Eddie Murphy with a lifetime achievement award.

Myers, 62, wore a face full of green makeup and his signature ogre character's ears when he appeared at Murphy's American Film Institute tribute ceremony in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 18. The actor celebrated Murphy's contributions to the Shrek franchise as the character Donkey in a speech he gave at the event.

"None of Shrek's success could have happened without Eddie Murphy. Eddie's character Donkey is a masterpiece, as is every character that Eddie he has created over the years," Myers said in the speech, according to video from the event that was shared to Reddit. "Lovable, hilarious, joyous, vulnerable and loyal — Eddie combines all of those in a tour de force, and plainly put, Eddie is one of the greatest. Obviously I never got to work with Charlie Chaplin, I never got to work with Alec Guinness, I never got to work with Peter Sellers, but it is my absolute honor to say I'd be able to tell my kids that I got to work with Eddie Murphy."

Murphy and Myers' animated characters are at the center of the Shrek franchise's four movies, which are among the most successful animated films ever made. A fifth movie is set to release in 2027 that will see Zendaya portray Shrek and Fiona's (Cameron Diaz) daughter; actors Marcello Hernández and Skyler Gisondo will portray the ogres' sons, as DreamWorks announced in November 2025.

Mike Myers dressed as Shrek on April 18, 2026Credit: Michael Kovac/Getty

Myers told PEOPLE on the red carpet before the event that he "didn't say a word" the first time he ever met Murphy in the early 1990s. "I was too intimidated. I am a site-specific extrovert. When I have to be an extrovert, I can summon it," he says. "But in the presence of somebody as talented as that it's very hard to not just turn into Chris Farley when I ask him questions and stuff. Wayne's World had just opened, and much to everybody's surprise, [it] had done very, very well. And he sought me out and came to my dressing room on Saturday Night Live."

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"He could not be more gracious and generous," Myers recalls of Murphy, who rose to fame on SNL in the early '80s. "And I said, 'I am starstruck. I didn't know what to say to you. That's such a lovely thing for you to do.' And he just continues to be just a fantastic guy."

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Mike Myers onstage at the 51st AFI Lifetime Achievement Award: A Tribute Celebrating Eddie Murphy at Dolby Theatre on April 18, 2026Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty

Kevin Hart, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Spike Lee, Martin Lawrence, Jennifer Hudson, Judge Reinhold, Tracy Morgan and Kenan Thompson were among the prominent entertainers, comedians and actors who stepped out to celebrate Murphy at AFI's event.

Myers most recently appeared on the screen in the 2022 movie Amsterdam and at SNL's 50th anniversary special in 2025, during which both he and Murphy performed onstage. He appeared on SNL again in January to portray Elon Musk.

Shrek 5 is scheduled to release in theaters June 30, 2027.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”