Honing his comedic skills in his native Canada and heavily influenced by his father’s comedic tastes for British comedies and Peter Sellers, Mike Myers always had his eye on performing and entertaining. So it was only natural that he joined the Second City Canadian Touring Company in 1982, the year of his high school graduation. By the mid 1980s, Mike was working in London – an experience that no doubt would influence his creation of Austin Powers.
Teaming with comedic partner Neil Mullarkey, Mike toured the British comic scene and founded the Comedy Store Players. And yet, he would return to Toronto to resume his work with Second City within a year – now armed with new gags, quirky characters, and an overall enhanced repertoire. By 1988, he would join the cast of the Chicago Second City Theater troupe, and thanks to Martin Short (who notified “Saturday Night Live” producer Lorne Michaels), Mike joined the cast of “SNL” for the fall 1989 season.
Mike was an instant success on “SNL,” his indelible characters creating a devoted fan following that would bear tremendous fruit on the big screen. His character Wayne Campbell would be given his own movie, “Wayne’s World,” in 1992, as well as a sequel a year later. The crossover success of Wayne Campbell signaled Mike as a major player on the American comedic scene, as well as stamping “Wayne’s World” as one of the cultural landmarks of the 1990s. Mike remained on “SNL” until 1995.
In the late 1990s, Mike would again introduce the world to another cultural staple of the time: international man of mystery Austin Powers. The phenomenal success of the 1997 original “Austin Powers” paved the way for a lucrative franchise resulting in a trilogy of films. At this time, Mike shifted gears for the dramatic lead in “54,” the 1970s disco period piece that was met with mixed reviews, but earned Mike impressive notices for his portrayal of Steve Rubell.
The early 2000s saw Mike close the Austin Powers series with “Austin Powers in Goldmember” in 2002 and serve as the voice of the title character “Shrek” in 2001, another lucrative franchise that would spawn two sequels – “Shrek 2” in 2004 and “Shrek the Third” in 2007. The strange live-action version of “The Cat in the Hat” with Mike in the title role mercifully came and went in 2003. Five years later, Mike returned to live-action with “The Love Guru,” in which he co-wrote and played the lead character, Guru Pitka. During his mostly successful comedic career, Mike has proven that he can juggle the pressure and demands of delivering as a leading comedic talent on a consistent basis. While he may be selective of his projects as he enters his mid-40s, he shows no sign that he intends on straying from what he has pursued his whole life – making people laugh.
Mike on the Screen
Mike started on Canadian television as a youngster on shows like “King of Kensington,” “Range Ryder and the Calgary Kid,” and “The Littlest Hobo.” Then, after a decade of improv on stage, he exploded onto the big screen as Wayne Campbell in “Wayne’s World.” He’s the lead in “So I Married an Axe Murderer” in 1993, Austin Powers for three films, Steve Rubell in “54,” Pete in the low-budget “Pete’s Meteor,” and Donnie Shulzhoffer in “Mystery, Alaska.” He’s the voice of Shrek for three films, John Witney in “View from the Top,” and The Cat in 2003’s “The Cat in the Hat.” Of course, he was also a member of “Saturday Night Life” from 1989 – 1995.
Mike Says
On Sean Connery:
“He’s the hairiest person on the planet. Bless him. He’s a god in my estimation and in my house, but my father used to say, ‘You notice, you don’t see Sasquatch and Sean Connery in the same photo.”
On his father’s inspiration:
“My father died in 1991 and two things emerged creatively – “Austin Powers” that was a tribute to my father and all the British comedy he has introduced me to and also the Guru Pitka in the ‘The Love Guru’.”