DEAN Chisnall can vividly remember the first time he became a fat, green, swamp-dwelling ogre.
He was working as part of the ensemble on the West End show Shrek The Musical when the actor playing the lead character was struck down with a sore throat mid-performance.
Mass panic ensued backstage and Dean was rushed on as the emergency back-up ogre.
"It was a pretty scary experience," he recalls.
"As well as being part of the ensemble, I worked as an understudy for Shrek, which meant I would stand in for the actor playing him if they weren't well enough to perform.
"So we had to just pause the show for an amount of time while I was getting my green make-up put on.
"It was nerve-wrecking obviously but thrilling at the same time."
Dean, 32, who hails from a small Lancashire town called Ormskirk, was signed up as Shrek on a permanent basis in 2012.
The decision was made by the musical's director and former EastEnders star Nigel Harman.
And Dean remembers receiving that phone call with fond memories.
"It was absolutely magical to get that phone call saying that they'd like me to step up and take over that role," he says.
"And what a role to take over as well – in a wonderful show and in an amazing theatre. I couldn't have felt prouder really."
Since it first launched in 2008, Shrek The Musical has toured everywhere from China to Israel, been shown to nearly a million people at London's West End and its director won the 2012 Laurence Olivier Award for best performance in a supporting role in a musical.
So did Dean feel any trepidation when he was asked to step into the hefty, stinking shoes of Shrek?
"There were always nerves but nerves are good if you use them in a positive way," he says.
"They back you to do a job and you back yourself to do a job and you just get on and do it really."
And Dean saw the opportunity to reinvent the role, previously held by Nigel Lindsay, star of comedy flick Four Lions.
"It wasn't a case of copying, it was a case of doing things I'd like to have done and I was given the license to be slightly creative.
"I tried to bring a bit more warmth and a bit more heart and soul to the part.
"My main aim was just to show this big ogre's heart because it's such a sweet, lovely piece."
Prior to becoming Shrek, Dean worked as one of the ensemble cast in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies, the sequel to Phantom Of The Opera.
While Shrek and Phantom Of The Opera may seem poles apart, they do have one thing in common: masks.
It takes two hours for Dean to be transformed into the ogre.
This process must take place before every show and although the actor is sat down in the comfort of his dressing room for the entirety of the makeover, he insists it is exhausting.
"I'm in the make-up chair at 4pm for a 7pm show, so it's quite a considerable amount of time," he says.
"You can have a chat and the TV's on, but to be honest you just try and zone out really.
"Shrek's face is made up of prosthetic pieces of silicone and latex.
"They put it over your head and stick these pieces on, it's really impressive."
It may look impressive, but what is it like to wear under the glare of the stage lights?
"You get used to it. Obviously it's extremely hot – ridiculously so.
"Once you've put it on a couple of times it kind of becomes second nature.
"You hardly know it's there – apart from the heat and the sweat, which is disgusting.
"It's a physically and mentally demanding role but it's my job and I love my job.
"The audiences go mad for it and it's all worth it.
"Every show is different, it's live and we've got this wonderful show with all these wonderful people in it."
Shrek, Donkey, Princess Fiona and the rest of the fairy tale characters will take up a ten-day residency at Nottingham's Theatre Royal as part of a widespread UK tour.
It has been 13 years since the DreamWorks film was released, and nearly 24 years since William Steig's original Shrek! book hit the shelves.
So what is it about the tale which makes it so popular with children and adults alike?
Dean believes it's because the lessons found in Shrek are applicable to all walks of life.
"There's a lovely meaning behind it," the actor says.
"It's that thing of not judging someone by their cover and embracing everything in life.
"You've got all those connotations in it. It's a special piece for everyone.
"West End musicals are rarely brought to the regions and if they do, so many get scaled down.
"But this is absolutely the real thing. It's got a bit of everything. It's magical and to be doing it on stage every night is such a thrill."
Shrek The Musical runs at the Theatre Royal from Wednesday to September 28. Tickets range in price from £19 to £45. To book call 0115 989 5555 or go to trch.co.uk.