Justin Timberlake habla de «Shrek»

It’s appropriate that an ex-member of the Mickey Mouse Club would finally voice an animated feature — even if it’s for Dreamworks, rather than Disney.

As Justin Timberlake tells it, his role of Artie in Shrek The Third came to him by way of a short, bespectacled, flesh-and-blood animated character named Jeffrey Katzenberg.

«I’d just worked on the soundtrack of Dreamworks’ Shark Tale,» the SexyBack singer told Sun Media in an exclusive Canadian interview, «and (Dreamworks co-founder) Jeffrey Katzenberg sat me down and said I have an idea for you. I think you’d be great for a part in the new Shrek film.»

«He said we have a character we’re bringing up called Artie, who is a young King Arthur, and we want you to play him. All of a sudden you become a 10-year-old and it’s, like, (adopts a high voice) ‘Okay.’ «

And what about reports that then-girlfriend Cameron Diaz (once again the voice of Princess Fiona) campaigned for Timberlake to get the job?

«Uh, I’m not gonna be answering any questions about that.»

Fair enough. We’ll get to the also-relevant Britney question in a second.

In Shrek The Third, our big green hero (Mike Myers) finds himself reluctantly in line for the throne when his father-in-law, King Harold (John Cleese), falls ill. When he hears word of a legitimate claimant named Artie, he sets forth with Donkey and Puss ‘n’ Boots (Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas) to find him. Meanwhile, Princess Fiona and a posse of princesses go to war against Prince Charming (Rupert Everett), who stages a coup.

«I would describe Artie as kind of a high school nerd, not the coolest guy,» Timberlake said. «But he is, by the bloodline, the heir to the throne.»

And though he says he knows pretty much everybody in the cast personally, Timberlake didn’t meet a single one while working on Shrek The Third. «I did the work almost a year and a half ago. You’re there (recording) by yourself, and you just kind of trust that what you’re saying is going to be countered properly by what the other characters are saying.»

«I just saw a working version of the film. It’s great, man. It follows along with the other Shreks so well. It introduced more characters. It’s equally as funny. It’s crazy, I don’t know how they do it. I brought some of my friends to the screening and we all agreed it hits all the bases … parents, kids.»

«And it has a great message. The message of Shrek is being comfortable in your own skin.»

It’s suggested to Timberlake that people didn’t necessarily take him seriously when he quit ‘NSYNC for a solo career, and likewise didn’t expect much of him as an actor. And yet he sells millions of records and has garnered positive reviews for his work in the movies Black Snake Moan and Alphadog.

Is it preferable to work as an underdog? (He likes this question).

«I’ve never thought about that, but I think there is. There’s something about people not seeing you coming, for sure. The most you can hope for is to involve yourself in good projects and good work. Acting is always something I wanted to build. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a conscious decision to do films that were smaller and more indie. They’ve been smaller films where I didn’t fell like I had a lot of responsibility. I felt like maybe I could come in and take people by surprise a little bit.»

«It’s been great for me. I’m getting phonec alls for sure I might not have gotten before.»

The only trouble is, Timberlake admits he’s not much of a multitasker, so his movie career is on the sidelines for a while.

«I’m kind of a one-at-a-time career artist. So I don’t have anything in the can or pre-producing or anything. Other than promoting Shrek, I’m on tour for… well, the rest of my life, I think,» he says with a laugh. He’s been on the road with hip-hop artist Timbaland, «and we’re going to Europe in the summer and we’ll be there until at least the fall.»

Of course, Timbaland has told the press he has talked with Timberlake about having fresh-out-of-rehab Britney Spears join them on tour, as a «solid» aimed at getting her career back on track. Is this true?

«Nah, I don’t wanna comment on that.»