The Star of 'Shrek' Basks in the Green Light

There are Shrek's hands -- two thick green gloves that look surprisingly lifelike from the audience -- and the giant boots, which house smaller boots that fit James's feet. The platform soles add extra inches to his height.

James's face goes through an even more dramatic transfiguration. Three prosthetics are used to give him Shrek's bulbous nose and prominent chin before green makeup is applied.

"So you can see that this -- around my eyes and around my mouth -- is really the only thing that's visible," he says. The prosthetics are attached to a cowl, which he describes as "basically a football helmet-and-shoulder pads situation with the face cut out."

James becomes unrecognizable, except for his brown eyes and thick black eyebrows.

To prevent overheating, the show's costumers tuck ice packets into pockets of the long underwear James wears under his padded suit. Even so, he is soaked with sweat by the end of each performance.

The Shrek transformation takes James about an hour and a half; undressing after a show is faster, from 30 to 40 minutes.

To avoid parroting Myers's performance in the animated trilogy, James hasn't watched the "Shrek" movies since he first auditioned for the role. At the same time, he says he feels a responsibility to be true to the audience's memories of the character.

The show's most passionate fans and toughest critics may be the children who were raised on the movies, including Grace, his own 7-year-old daughter with his wife, actress Jennifer Prescott.