Did you know Shrek was modeled after this man, Maurice Tillet? He was born in 1903, and as a teenager he manifested a rare disease called acromegaly, which caused his bones to grow uncontrollably. As result his body was disfigured, and he turned into what people back then referred to as “freak show.” He was actually a very intelligent person; a poet and writer who could speak 14 languages.