Mike Myers
Mike Myers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Michael John Myers |
| Years active | 1982 – present |
- This article is about the actor. For other uses see Michael Myers
Michael John Myers (born May 25, 1963 in Scarborough, Ontario) is an Emmy Award-winning Canadian-British comedian, actor, screenwriter, and film producer, best known for his comedy work in Saturday Night Live and the film roles include the titular characters of Wayne's World, the Austin Powers series, and Shrek.
Biography
Personal
Both of Myers's parents are from Liverpool, England, and Myers has British, as well as Canadian, citizenship. His ethnic heritage is English, Scottish and Irish.
One of Myers' first acting jobs was in a TV commercial when he was nine years old[1]. Myers graduated from high school in 1982 and was immediately accepted into Toronto's Second City improvisational comedy troupe. He made numerous appearances, including as Wayne Campbell, on Toronto's Citytv in the early 1980s, on the alternative video show "City Limits" hosted by Christopher Ward. In 1985 he was one of the founding members of The Comedy Store Players, an improvisational group based at The Comedy Store in London. The next year, he starred in the British children's TV programme Wide Awake Club, parodying the show's normal exuberance with his own "Sound Asleep Club", in partnership with Neil Mullarkey.
Career
Myers was a member of the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live television program from 1989 to 1995, where he performed characters like Dieter, Linda Richman, and Wayne Campbell from Wayne's World.
The character of Linda Richman was based on Myers's real-life mother-in-law, a woman of New York Jewish extraction who is actually named Linda Richman. In 1993, Myers married Linda Richman's daughter, Robin Ruzan; however, they filed for divorce in 2005.
In 1992, Myers and comedian Dana Carvey took Wayne's World to the silver screen in a full-length motion picture based on the SNL sketch. It ended up being one of the most successful movies of the year and the following year a sequel was made - Wayne's World 2.
In 1997, Myers introduced the world to Austin Powers, with the film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Myers played the title role, and other characters in the film. In 1999, he played one of his first non-comedic roles in the film 54 where he played Steve Rubell, proprietor of New York City's famous Studio 54 (a 1970s discoteque). The film was moderately successful, and Myers' performance was widely praised. Myers later parodied the club as "Studio 69" in 2002's Austin Powers in Goldmember.
In June 2000, Myers was sued by Universal Pictures for $3.8 million for backing out of a contract to play Dieter, the SNL character, in a feature film. Myers said he refused to honor the $20 million contract because he didn't want to cheat moviegoers with an unacceptable script - one that he himself had written. Myers countersued, and a settlement was reached after several months where Myers agreed to make another film with Universal. That film would be The Cat in the Hat, released in November 2003 and starring Myers as the title character.
In 2001, Myers played the title character in the Dreamworks film, Shrek. He has re-prised this role in Shrek 4D IN 2003, Shrek 2 in 2004, and in Shrek The Third and a Christmas special - Shrek The Halls, in 2007.
Myers is a member of the band Ming Tea along with former Bangles guitarist and vocalist Susanna Hoffs. They performed the songs BBC and Daddy Wasn't There for the Austin Powers movies.
In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted among the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. As of September 29, Myers has been signed on to play the lead role in the upcoming biopic of The Who drummer Keith Moon. The film will be produced by Roger Daltrey, Nigel Sinclair and Paul Gerber.
Myers noted during a May 17, 2007, interview on CBS that it normally takes three years between films. He spends one year "living his life" and then writes multiple screenplays, develops characters and practices them in front of live audiences. Myers noted it is the same way the Marx Brothers developed their material for film. Myers then selects one of the screenplays and goes to work. Myers noted that he is working on a fourth Austin Powers film that will focus on Dr. Evil and will be the beginning of another multi film sequence.
Hurricane Katrina controversy
On September 2, 2005, Myers was paired with rapper Kanye West for a 90-second segment, part of a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina relief, A Concert for Hurricane Relief, on NBC. The event stirred controversy when West deviated from the script to criticize the media portrayal of black people in New Orleans and also commented, "George Bush doesn't care about black people" before the camera cut away to comedian Chris Tucker. On October 1, Myers appeared in the season premiere of Saturday Night Live. He was featured in a short clip with West (the musical guest for the episode), and jokingly stated that the US had revoked his citizenship (he is not known to be a U.S. citizen) and that FBI agents are monitoring him.
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Catch-phrases
Myers has spawned many American catch-phrases from both his Saturday Night Live characters and subsequent films. Some lines from the Austin Powers films including "groovy baby", "Oh, Behave!" and "Well, that's not right".
Films
Notable characters
The following characters were created by Myers:
- Dieter (Saturday Night Live)
- Linda Richman (SNL)
- Simon (Saturday Night Live) - a little boy who does drawings in the bath and complains about having "prune hands" (the theme song for this segment was a slightly modified version of the theme song from "Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings" by Edward MacLachlan)
- Wayne Campbell (SNL, the Wayne's World films)
- Pat Arnold (SNL, Bill Swerski's Superfans)
- Stuart Rankin (SNL, proprietor of "All Things Scottish")
- Stuart McKenzie (virtually the same character, So I Married an Axe Murderer)
- Charlie McKenzie (So I Married an Axe Murderer)
- Middle-Aged Man (Saturday Night Live)
- Austin Powers (the Austin Powers films)
- Dr. Evil (all three Austin Powers films)
- Fat Bastard (Austin Powers: The Spy who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember)
- Goldmember (Austin Powers in Goldmember)
- Donald Q. Cashington, Jr. III - An eccentric billionaire that requests buying the rights to name autism after himself. (Featured in The Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Event for Autism Education)
The following are notable characters who Myers has portrayed in film, but who were originally created by other writers:
- Shrek (Shrek, Shrek 2, and the forthcoming Shrek the Third and Shrek 4)
- The Cat in the Hat (The Cat in the Hat)
External links
References
- 1963 births
- Canadian comedians
- Canadian expatriate actors in the United States
- Canadian film actors
- Canadian television actors
- Canadian voice actors
- Canadians of Irish descent
- Canadians of Scottish descent
- Canada's Walk of Fame
- English Canadians
- Living people
- Canadian actors
- People from Scarborough, Toronto
- Second City alumni